Free Bradley Manning
There is a call for justice for US Army Private First Class Bradley Manning, a 22 year old intelligence analyst stationed in Iraq, who was incarcerated without charge on June 18 (finally charged on July 6, 2010) at Camp Arifjan, Kuwaitto.
He stands accused of disclosing a classified video (the video was published by WikiLeaks on April 5, 2010), depicting American troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in 2007. Eleven adults were killed, including two Reuters employees, Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen. In addition, two children were critically injured. Bradley Manning faces up to 52-years in prison, however no charges have been filed against the soldiers in the video.
Yesterday, Manning was transferred to the Marine Corps Base Quantico Brig in Quantico, Virginia. He was transferred because of the potential for lengthy continued pretrial confinement given the complexity of the charges and ongoing investigation.
In the meantime, public support is growing. The Bradley Manning Support Network is a grassroots initiative in collaboration with Courage to Resist, in order to defend and support Manning. The network began accepting online donations for the legal defense of Bradley Manning, July 27, 2010.
“We have heard from the family and the military lawyers assigned to Bradley that the cost of his defense will be significant. We are also concerned that Bradley may choose his legal counsel based on his available funds. If he fears his family will absorb the cost of the trial, he might choose a less experienced, less expensive attorney. We’re very concerned about the ramifications of such a decision.” -- Mike Gogulski, an online activist and founder of the Bradley Manning Support Network.
The mainstream media is not doing their job. Rather than revealing crucial information, they are concealing crucial information. Americans are not being informed of what's really going on in a war that we started. By exposing evidence of war crimes, Bradley Manning is nothing short of a hero. However, in a society where the rich and powerful are above the law, despite their atrocious unlawful behavior, those who act courageously, morally, with integrity are banished to spend eternity in torment.
"Far above and beyond the practical applications of the Rule of Law there is a principle of the utmost moment not only to democracy, but to the whole of humanity- namely, that justice is an end in itself and must be pursued unflinchingly, whatever the inconveniences to individuals or to governments. The contrary principle, which is established in all totalitarian societies, is that justice is an instrument of policy. To any true democrat this is the ultimate and unpardonable heresy, the sin against the light. Law, thus interpreted, is power; and the whole meaning of the Rule of Law is that it is a restraint on power." -- Sir Carleton Kemp Allen, Democracy and the Individual, 1943Links:
Sign the Petition to free Bradley Manning
Donate to Bradley Manning's legal defense fund
Add a Bradley Manning link/banner to your emails.
Analysis of charges against Bradley Manning
2 comments:
"The point to be grasped has been staring Western civilization in the face for the last half century: Namely, that a predominantly megatechnic economy can be kept in profitable operation only by systematic and constant expansion. Instead of a balanced economy, dedicated to the enhancement of life, megatechnics demands limitless expansion on a colossal scale. A feat only war or mock-war-rocket building and space exploration can supply." -- Lewis Mumford
Bradley Manning deserves everything that is coming to him. He published confidential documents for the world to see!
How would you like it if some random employee published all of your confidential documents?
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