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Bradley Manning: An American Hero
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. This week, his supporters are holding rallies in 21 cities, seeking Manning's release from military custody. Manning is in the brig for allegedly disclosing a classified video depicting U.S. troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in Iraq in July 2007. The video, available at www.collateralmurder.com, was published by WikiLeaks on April 5, 2010. Manning faces 52 years in prison. No charges have been filed against the soldiers in the video.
In October 1969, the most famous whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg, smuggled out of his office and made public a 7,000 page top secret study of decision making during the Vietnam War. It became known as the Pentagon Papers. Dan risked his future, knowing that he would likely spend life in prison for his expose.
The release of the Pentagon Papers ultimately helped end not only the Nixon presidency, but also the Vietnam War, in which 58,000 Americans and three million Indochinese were killed. Dan's courageous act was essential to holding accountable our leaders who had betrayed American values by starting and perpetuating an illegal and deadly war.
Manning's alleged crimes follow in this tradition. The 2007 video, called "Collateral Murder," has been viewed by millions of people on the Internet. On it, U.S. military Apache helicopter soldiers from Bravo Company 2nd Battalion 16th Infantry Regiment can be seen killing 12 civilians and wounding two children in Iraq. The dead included two employees of the Reuters news agency.
The video shows U.S. forces watching as a van pulled up to evacuate the wounded. They again opened fire from the helicopter, killing more people. During the radio chatter between the helicopter crew members and their supervisors, one crew member gloated after the first shooting, saying, "Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards."
One Iraqi witness told Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! "The helicopter came yesterday from there and hovered around. Then it came right here where a group of people were standing. They didn't have any weapons or arms of any sort. This area doesn't have armed insurgents. They destroyed the place and shot at people, and they didn't let anyone help the wounded."
Another witness said, "They killed all the wounded and drove over their bodies. Everyone witnessed it. And the journalist was among those who was injured, and the armored vehicle drove over his body."
Journalist Rick Rowley reported that the man who they drove over had crawled out of the van that had been shot and he was still alive when the American tank drove over him and cut him in half.
Commanders decided that the wounded children would not be taken to a U.S. military field hospital. Ethan McCord, one of the soldiers on the scene who picked up one of the children and tried to take him to a military vehicle, was reprimanded for his response.
The U.S. Central Command exonerated the soldiers and refused to reopen the investigation. Reporters Without Borders said, "If this young soldier had not leaked the video, we would have no evidence of what was clearly a serious abuse on the part of the U.S. military."
In fact, the actions depicted in "Collateral Murder" contain evidence of three violations of the laws of war set forth in the Geneva Conventions, which amount to war crimes.
There were civilians standing around, there was no one firing at the American soldiers, and at least two people had cameras. There may have been people armed, as are many in the United States, but this does not create the license to fire on people. That is one violation of the Geneva Conventions - targeting civilians who do not pose a threat, not for military necessity.
The second and third possible violations of the laws of war are evident in the scene on the tape when the van attempts to rescue the wounded, and a later scene of a U.S. tank rolling over a body on the ground. The soldiers shot the rescuer and those in the van, another possible violation of the Geneva Conventions - preventing the rescue. Third, when the wounded or dead man was lying on the ground, a U.S. tank rolled over him, effectively splitting him in two. If he was dead, that amounted to disrespecting a body, another violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Josh Steiber, a former U.S. Army specialist and member of the Bravo Company 2nd Battalion 16th Infantry Regiment, was not with his company when they killed the civilians depicted in Collateral Murder. Steiber told Truthout that such acts were "not isolated incidents" and were "common" during his tour of duty. "After watching the video, I would definitely say that that is, nine times out of 10, the way things ended up," he said.
Steiber explained that during his basic training for the military, "We watched videos celebrating death," and said that his commanders would "pull aside soldiers who'd not deployed, and ask us if somebody open fired on us in a market full of unarmed civilians, would we return fire. And if you didn't say 'yes' instantly, you got yelled at for not being a good soldier. The mindset of military training was one based on fear, and the ability to eliminate any threat."
Manning is also being investigated for allegedly leaking the "Afghan War Diary" documents that were posted on Wiki Leaks in coordination with the New York Times, the U.K. Guardian, and the German magazine Der Spiegel. But President Obama said, "...the fact is, these documents don't reveal any issues that haven't already informed our public debate on Afghanistan."
Those reports expose 20,000 deaths, including thousands of children, according to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Many of them also likely contain evidence of war crimes.
Besides the fact that targeting civilians is illegal, it also makes us less safe. A new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which was released by the New America Foundation, concluded that civilian attacks in Afghanistan make our troops more vulnerable due to retaliation. A typical incident that causes two Afghan civilian deaths provokes six revenge attacks by Taliban and other fighters.
Moreover, Marine Col. David Lapan, a senior Pentagon spokesman, said that so far, there is no evidence that the Taliban has harmed any Afghan civilians as a result of the WikiLeaks publication of the 76,000 logs this past summer.
Over 1,000 Americans and untold numbers of Afghans have been killed in this war which is just as illegal, expensive, and counter-productive as the one in Iraq.
The charges against Manning end with the language, "such conduct being prejudicial to good order and discipline in the armed forces and being of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces." On the contrary, if Manning did what he is suspected of doing, he should be honored as an American hero for exposing war crimes and hopefully, ultimately, helping to end this war.
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23 Comments so far
Show All"such conduct being prejudicial to good order and discipline in the armed forces and being of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces."
Does not the conduct of those soldiers in the video bring discredit upon the armed forces? How come none of them has been charged. I would argue that what Manning did was bring credit to the armed forces and he should be commended not charged.
I went to Majorie Cohn's website to try and see what cities the rallies were in. I could not find any information her site. If anyone was info what cities the rallies are in please post.
Nick
Here is a list of twenty cities that held rallies over the weekend in support of Bradley Manning.
http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/859/122/
Yes, Please do post the dates and cities.
I second Nick's request.
Thanks.
peacekeepertwo;The US has nothing to offer Afghanistan. The Defense Dept has lost all creditability in Afghanistan. NATO will only make things worse if they stay. We must stop flushing money down the Toilet in Afghanistan. The Poor are fighting these War’s. Is the Life of a person born into Poverty, worth less than someone born Rich? The Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are two of the best examples of how the Capitalist System has failed us. When you over produce, you must do anything to create a Market. We have the Best Weapons in the World because our Soldiers test them in real life Situations. Poor women are pressured not to have Abortions, so we will have plenty of Poor children to join the Military. The GOP doesn’t care about breaking God’s Law, to illustrate my point. Why is Carl Rove so upset with the Tea Party? The Tea Party will call Attention to the GOP master Plan. The GOP see’s the Afghan War as way to get rid of that peasant Riff- Raff and keep defense contractors Flush with Cash. Evangelical Ministers have always seen Poor uneducated people as Cash Cows. Many Evangelical’s have joined the Military. I have concluded Evangelical Minister decided to use their Skills to the Aide the War effort. None of this is about God. War is the Business of killing People. Ministers are involved; the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will always be about killing people of a different Faith. The fact is War is just as sinful as Abortion. Abortion is a sin to the Right, because it eliminates a valuable Commodity for the war. Money is a God in the Capitalist system. Everything and everyone has a price Tag.
TMPress ™ – United News & Press Features ®
(TMPress International – New York – May 07, 2004) – Quotes From a Few Good Marines … Gen. Smedley Butler’s confession, in 1935, a two-time Medal of Honor winner, retired former U.S. Marine Commandant, Gen. Smedley D. Butler accused major New York investment banks of using the U.S. Marines as racketeers and gangsters to exploit the peasants of Nicaragua.
Later, Butler stated, `The trouble is that when American dollars earn only six percent over here, they get restless and go overseas to get 100 percent … the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.' `I wouldn’t go to war again as I have done to defend some lousy investment of the bankers … we should fight only for the defense of our home and the Bill of Rights … war for any other reason is simply a racket.' `There isn’t a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to.` `It had its ‘finger men’ to point out enemies, its ‘muscle men’ to destroy enemies, its ‘brain men’ to plan war preparations and a ‘Big Boss’ – supernationalistic capitalism.’
Separately from Butler … sound familiar … history has a funny way of repeating itself and this is the 1930s, when comments like this came from our top brass!
Now continuing with Butler … `I spent 33 years in the Marines. Most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism. `I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenue in. I helped in the rape of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. `War is a racket.' – General Smedley Butler, former U.S. Marine Commandant, `Common Sense' in November 1935.
And another more recent Marine Commandant … `I believe that if we had and would keep our dirty, bloody, dollar soaked fingers out of the business of these (Third World) nations so full of depressed, exploited people, they will arrive at a solution of their own. And if unfortunately their revolution must be of the violent type because the `haves' refuse to share with the `have-nots' by any peaceful method, at least what they get will be their own, and not the American style, which they don’t want and above all don’t want crammed down their throats by Americans.' – General David Sharp, former United States Marine Commandant, 1966.
Finally let us examine a newer conversation with an ex-Marine who served with Reagan's so-called `Contras’ all during the 1980s – 1990 … a talk by John Stockwell, 13-year veteran of the CIA and former U.S. Marine Corps major, `Systematically, the Contras have been assassinating religious workers, teachers, health workers, elected officials, government administrators. Remember the ‘Assassination Manual’ that surfaced in 1984? It caused such a stir that President Reagan had to address it himself in the presidential debates with Walter Mondale. They use terror to traumatize society so that it cannot function. `I don’t mean to abuse you with verbal violence, but you have to understand what your Government and its agents are doing. `They go into villages. They haul out families. With the children forced to watch, they castrate the father. They peel the skin off his face. They put a grenade in his mouth, and pull the pin. With the children forced to watch, they gang-rape the mother, and slash her breasts off. And sometimes, for variety, they make the parents watch while they do these things to the children. `This is nobody’s propaganda!' `There have been over a hundred thousand American `Witnesses for Peace' who’ve gone down there, and they have filmed and photographed and witnessed these atrocities immediately after they’ve happened, and documented thirteen thousand people killed this way – mostly women and children. `These are the activities done by the Contras … the Contras are the people who former President Reagan called ‘freedom fighters.’ He said … `They are the moral equivalent of our founding fathers.' – Major, John Stockwell, 13-year veteran of the CIA and former U.S. Marine Corps major.
Well the point is mostly mute, if you know your third-world history and US involvement there … and you can pick-a-country … `Pre-emptive War’ and clandestine operations are not new, Iraq, Panama, Grenada, Guatemala, Chile or Vietnam … the result is the same … death and war crimes perpetrated by US military and allied forces – how many have ever faced International justice? – By John Osborne, Sr. Political Editor – TMPress International Newswire
© 2004 TMPress International Newswire. Reprint granted without fee or license, please feel free to query for reprint confirmation.
Article Sources/Citations: TMPress International and the historical site on Free Speech issues and quotes attributed to those at http://free.freespeech.org/
TMPress International Newswire and TMPress/United News & Press Features, editorial syndicate newspaper units of TeleMedia Press Syndicate, LLC, Glens Falls, NY – USA (27/7 – Phone/Fax) 760-462-2751 tmpress_unitednews@earthlink.net, unpress_features@hotmail.com or tmpress_syndicate@yahoo.com
Manning demonstrated extreme bravery in the face of certain condemnation and imprisonment from the military. He sacrificed his freedom so that others might live. That is manhood.
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning did not act =as a soldier= in his decision and action to reveal secret military records to the public. He acted as an =individual= with humanitarian values that, in his personality, hold a status higher than other social values. Credit goes to those whom Bradley references in HIS mind as heroes and role models. He does not have to tell us who they are.
Sadly, what is at stake is the Uniform Code of Military Justice. An armed force cannot defend the country if it must allow civilian law to supersede when the American public is angry. The latitude comes in the punishment dispensed under UCMJ.
But the least smart thing anyone can do at this stage is call Pfc. Manning =a Hero=. He is a principled, courageous young person who chose an action in reasonable understanding of the possible consequences. I support Bradley, mainly because my life involved a courageous decision regarding my humanistic beliefs and principles - and it turned out to be the single most important decision of my life. Among others, I credit David Dellinger, Alice Herz, Norman Morrison, and Roger LaPorte, and I hope my life has been a credit to them.
Trylon
The problem is this, too many Americans view Bradley Manning as a 'no good son of a bitch'. I bet over 90% of the senators, representatives and Supreme Court members hold this point-of-view.
America is a majority of people who are hateful warmongers scared of boogie men.
The small minority of us who support both Common Dreams and Bradley Manning are being drowned-out by the majority of unhappy cowards that vote on election days.
Exactly; the elitist, fear mongering masses, and the war criminals from bush, cheney to obomber and 90 % of congress; they all play into why the fascist amerikan empire IS collapsing !
Democracy Now reported Daniel Ellsberg was speaking to raise fund for manning's legal defense. my search for a contribution link has produced nothing. help anyone?
CuriousSteve and others
I hope this link is helpful as it provides information where people can donate money for Manning's defense.
http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/850/1/
thank you.
We have raised over $50,000 for Manning's legal defense and hired a private attorney to represent him. Events were held all over the country last week in support of Manning.
Go to Courage to Resist.org to learn how you can help.
my check's in the mail. please keep us posted.
If you want to stop this, you must hold Bush and Obama responsible! After all, as they themselves have said, they are the Commander in Chief!
The only reason the collateral murder tape was classified was for the simple fact that it showed US soldiers commiting war crimes! Covering up a crime by accussing the person who brought the crime to light of a crime can best be described as an on going criminal conspiracy! Turning the intent of US law on it's head to protect the guilty has become a favorite pass time of corporte heads, politicians and military brass in this country lately. And the American people say nothing!
Mr. Manning is one military hero in a million. If our military,industrial,congressional, media, complex was not sooooo corrupt he would be given the Congressional Medal Of Honor for trying to save many American and Afghan lives.
While it is common currency to do so, cut the hero story. It is just 'tooooo 'American'', too shallow, too adolescent; a source of the problems of the USA.
What he did can be seen as heroic. His actions need to be approved in public, but the identity as a hero part is destructive. It always is. In addition he is a young man and from all reports a little foolish and his motives were probably naive in the extreme; more of a naughty little boy than anything else.
He needs to be protected and supported. Making him your hero will merely incite the mob who endorse and desire such stupidity to break him, because they are against you and will smash your mascot in favour of theirs.
To get my point if you are puzzled, just try calling Nelson Mandela a hero to his face.
Bradley Manning is not an "American hero."
How many Americans even know who he is? If they did, 60% or more would want to shoot him on sight.
He is a 'hero' to the human community alone, and people of conscience, but it is a contradiction in terms and a grotesque incongruity to ever believe he could be an American hero
His chances of appearing on a commemorative postage chance in America are much smaller than Dick Cheney's chances, or even Erik Prince's chances. The latter two are truly American heroes.
America, being a fascist country, should have fascist heroes. The chances of Manning ever being accorded the status appropriate to his deeds, would be similar to America electing a President who was not a state terrorist and war criminal: Few and none.
Bradley Manning would be undeserving of the encomium, for in truth, what sentient, decent human being would even want to suffer the disgrace? It could only be seen as a humiliation.
Wait for the Blackwater postage stamp, and hail what America is all about.
Honor Manning and other good people, but don't violate his spirit by allowing the wretched epithet and ignominy to be proclaimed an "American hero."
And who, tomorrow, is getting a posthumous decoration from Barry O'Bomber -- that is, as long as the bomber is dropping bombs on furriners? -- but a long-perished airman stationed in Laos who helpled kill Vietnamese while Barry's mom was opposing that war.
I think Barry O really hated his mom. And his dad.
"Dan's courageous act was essential to holding accountable our leaders who had betrayed American values by starting and perpetuating an illegal and deadly war."
But perpetuating illegal and deadly wars is the quintessential American value.
cuckoo cuckoo cuckoo take ur meds people