The court-martial for Army Pfc. Bradley Manning begins today in Fort Meade, Md. Manning is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of military and State Department documents that ended up being published by online organization WikiLeaks, in what has been described as the most extensive leak of classified information in U.S. history.
Manning, 25, faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious charge of aiding the enemy. The trial is expected to last three months.
In the three years since first being detained during a combat deployment to Iraq, the former Army intelligence analyst has become a cause célèbre for civil liberties and anti-secrecy advocates who consider him a whistle-blower.
Army prosecutors consider him a traitor. The most serious of the 22 charges he faces is for aiding the enemy, which carries a potential life sentence. Prosecutors chose not to pursue the death penalty for the charge.
The additional charges include wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet knowing that it is accessible to the enemy; theft of public property or records; transmitting defense information; fraud and related activity in connection with computers.
Manning pleaded guilty in February to 10 of the lesser charges that carried a 20-year prison sentence. At a pre-trial hearing, Manning read for an hour from a 35-page statement in which he explained his motivations in providing 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks.
A soldier provides evidence to the public about the illegal war in Iraq and he is treated like a criminal. This is one soldier that had the courage to take action in hopes of stopping these illegal wars. Soldiers like box like to blame the citizens for allowing soldiers to be deployed to these illegal wars, Manning understood it was his personal responsibility to show the American people the reality of these wars.
If there should be a national holiday in America celebrating sacrifice, it should be Bradley Manning Day A day the recognizes the real courage to end immoral and illegal wars. Manning sacrificed his life to bring truth to the American people.
They will make an example out of him even though his leaks had no significance to the enemy and were pretty much forgotten about 2 months after the leaks were made public. In the mean time ally spies that were caught were simply handed back over to their governments with hardly any consequences.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
They will make an example out of him even though his leaks had no significance to the enemy and were pretty much forgotten about 2 months after the leaks were made public.
These leaks could have affected public support for the wars. Americans are not used to seeing these images of war, like the soldiers laughing as they machine gun down people. The corporate media does a very good job sanitizing war in the mind of the public conscience.
These leaks could have affected public support for the wars. Americans are not used to seeing these images of war, like the soldiers laughing as they machine gun down people. The corporate media does a very good job sanitizing war in the mind of the public conscience.
It could have but it didn't, at least it didn't to the majority. Most people would rather turn their heads and ignore the problems because they are to lazy or to conditioned to question the government. Notice how you have neo-cons and liberals now both supporting the war efforts, neo-cons love it because Obama continued and expanded the wars, Liberals love it because their man is the one giving the orders so it must be justified.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
It could have but it didn't, at least it didn't to the majority. Most people would rather turn their heads and ignore the problems because they are to lazy or to conditioned to question the government. Notice how you have neo-cons and liberals now both supporting the war efforts, neo-cons love it because Obama continued and expanded the wars, Liberals love it because their man is the one giving the orders so it must be justified.
68% of the American people oppose military action in Syria. I don't know if that is from the leaked footage of 12 years of war, but there is war weariness. 12 years of perpetual war is an amazingly long period of time for maintaining public support.
68% of the American people oppose military action in Syria. I don't know if that is from the leaked footage of 12 years of war, but there is war weariness. 12 years of perpetual war is an amazingly long period of time for maintaining public support.
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to support U.S. military action in Syria 31% to 20%. While Democrats oppose military action 72% Republicans oppose only 64%. Gallup.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
The most intriguing of the more than 100 witnesses that have been listed for the trial will never be seen in public, even if he is called at all. The witness, referred to in court only as "John Doe", was present at the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan in which Osama bin Laden was killed. Though the prosecution has not openly said as much, he is likely to be one of the 22 Navy Seals who carried out the raid. John Doe is one of four prosecution witnesses who will be allowed to give evidence entirely in secret, dressed in a "light disguise" and at a location that will remain undisclosed. The prosecution has indicated it wants to call him in order to show that Bin Laden personally asked to see some of the WikiLeaks disclosures including the Afghan war logs – a finding that the US government thinks will help its case that Bradley Manning "aided the enemy". John Doe is said to have retrieved three items of digital material from Bin Laden's compound that contained WikiLeaks files. However, it is possible that John Doe will not be called to the stand at all: at the final pre-trial hearing earlier this month, Manning effectively accepted that the digital items with WikiLeaks on them had been found in the al-Qaida leader's hideout, thus easing the burden on the prosecution to prove this point.
The most intriguing of the more than 100 witnesses that have been listed for the trial will never be seen in public, even if he is called at all. The witness, referred to in court only as "John Doe", was present at the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan in which Osama bin Laden was killed. Though the prosecution has not openly said as much, he is likely to be one of the 22 Navy Seals who carried out the raid. John Doe is one of four prosecution witnesses who will be allowed to give evidence entirely in secret, dressed in a "light disguise" and at a location that will remain undisclosed. The prosecution has indicated it wants to call him in order to show that Bin Laden personally asked to see some of the WikiLeaks disclosures including the Afghan war logs – a finding that the US government thinks will help its case that Bradley Manning "aided the enemy". John Doe is said to have retrieved three items of digital material from Bin Laden's compound that contained WikiLeaks files. However, it is possible that John Doe will not be called to the stand at all: at the final pre-trial hearing earlier this month, Manning effectively accepted that the digital items with WikiLeaks on them had been found in the al-Qaida leader's hideout, thus easing the burden on the prosecution to prove this point.
There IS no enemy! Only the ones fabricated by the government for the sheople to accept and support their illegal war!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
There IS no enemy! Only the ones fabricated by the government for the sheople to accept and support their illegal war!
Tell that to the families of 9/11! Tell it to the families of those killed and injured fighting the Taliban!! Go meet with these people in person and tell them!!!
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
Tell that to the families of 9/11! Tell it to the families of those killed and injured fighting the Taliban!! Go meet with these people in person and tell them!!!
Don't the families know the hijackers were Saudi's?
What do pakistani's tell the innocent people killed by US drones when they want revenge?
Tell that to the families of 9/11! Tell it to the families of those killed and injured fighting the Taliban!! Go meet with these people in person and tell them!!!
Tell the families that their loved ones were killed because of blow back.....anyone with a half a brain knows that! Or do ya wanna tell these families that their loved ones died because people hated our 'freedoms'. This political rhetoric allowed GWB to start an 'illegal' war in Iraq..........which has now opened the door for obama's illegal wars in 'how many countries'??
You can go meet these people and you can either tell them the truth or continue the lie......it's your choice!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
68% of the American people oppose military action in Syria. I don't know if that is from the leaked footage of 12 years of war, but there is war weariness. 12 years of perpetual war is an amazingly long period of time for maintaining public support.
We are once again pumping weapons and assistance to terrorist organizations that are attempting to overthrow the legitimate government.
The "yayboob" will say it's justified because of the way Assad treated the people.
The rebels are committing despicable atrocities every day.
But we need them for now, so we will spend the money to get them to further destabilize the region.
And Russia will do the same pumping millions in weapons in to Assad.
Logged
