Bradley Manning: Private Democrat.
The mania that followed the release of military papers and consular communications by U.S. Army Private and intelligence officer Bradley Manning hasn’t been seen since the height of the anti-communist scares of the 1950s. Bradley Manning, recently convicted of a plethora of charges before a military judge, faces over a century in prison for, among other things, espionage.
Manning is about as much a spy as Mickey Mouse. But he was so grossly overcharged that it was virtually inevitable that some judge somewhere feeling the pressure of prosecutorial and political zeal would convict him of charges that no serious observer could support. And although a military judge threw out a charge that would have meant a life sentence, aiding the enemy, the remaining charges exposed Manning to, as I said, over a century in prison.
Manning released classified videotapes showing US troops shooting unarmed civilians, and at least one journalist armed with a camera. Needless to say, none of these killers of innocents face 100 plus years in jail, nor are they ever likely to. Manning believed that, in a democracy, the people should be able to see what their military and politicians do in their name. For that, he was thrown into solitary, naked and taunted, until international protests became too loud to ignore. Under international law, Manning was subjected to torture for daring to act on the belief that Americans had a right to know. Bradley Manning awaits formal sentence.
From imprisoned nation, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
