Afghan Peace Volunteers thank Bradley Manning

[Luminous Animal]

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/05/29/thanking-bradley-manning/

I often hear Afghan individuals and groups express longing for a far more democratic process than is allowed them in a country dominated by warlords, the U.S./NATO militaries, and their commanders. In the U.S., a lack of crucial information increasingly threatens democratic processes. How can people make informed choices if their leaders deliberately withhold crucial information from them? Manning’s disclosures have brought desperately needed light to the U.S. and to countries around the world, including struggling countries like Afghanistan.

Hakim, who mentors the Afghan Peace Volunteers, recalled that Bradley Manning passed on documents that record 91,730 “Significant Actions,” or “SIGACTS” undertaken here by the U.S. /ISAF forces, of which 75,000 were released by WikiLeaks.

Visit the Afghan Peace Volunteers website here:
http://ourjourneytosmile.com/blog/

[Luminous Animal]

1. SF Chronicle: Ellsberg on why San Francisco Pride should support Bradley Manning

Manning's revelation of U.S. Department of State cables describing American atrocities that had been publicly denied and not prosecuted by the United States made it politically impossible for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to grant immunity from Iraqi prosecution to the thousands of American troops that President Obama was negotiating to keep in Iraq beyond the deadline agreed to by President George W. Bush. Without that immunity, Obama, against his wishes, was compelled to remove all U.S. combat units by the deadline.

Contrary to the false suggestion by the SF Pride Board in its initial statement that Manning's actions put American troops in harm's way, in reality, not a single American life was harmed or even endangered by his actions. Without Manning's act of conscience, at least 10,000 and perhaps many more American troops would still be in harm's way in Iraq at this moment, and no small number of them would have died by now.

Manning made a profoundly important moral decision. I believe history will honor Manning. But Manning the person - the young soldier facing trial next month - needs the support of this community right now, or he may spend the rest of his long life in prison.

After publishing the Pentagon Papers, I faced a possible life sentence, much as Manning does today. I was able to pursue a long trial to the point of seeing government misconduct against me revealed, leading to dismissal of charges, thanks to my tireless supporters - many of whom were here in the San Francisco Bay Area. While high government officials called me "traitor" - as many misguided persons say of Manning now - the advocacy of my supporters helped shift public opinion for the better.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/S-F-should-support-Bradley-Manning-4554902.php?t=b8f256d415cefdcb88

[Luminous Animal]

2. Democracy Now! Assange on Manning's show trial

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/5/29/assange_us_probe_of_wikileaks_show

Transcript and video available:

JULIAN ASSANGE: Bradley Manning is making his statements under duress, presently. He is facing a capital offense, which Barack Obama would have to sign, so politically there is possibly only a 3 percent, say, chance that Barack Obama would sign a death certificate or that the judge would decide to promote a death certificate. But if there was a 3 percent chance of you crossing the road, you wouldn’t do so.

He’s also facing a quite decent chance of life imprisonment. And the life imprisonment charge comes from a very new ambit claim of the Pentagon, that is—and the Department of Justice, that is, communicating with a journalist is communicating to the public, is communicating to al-Qaeda. And there’s no allegation that Bradley Manning intended to communicate to al-Qaeda. The only allegation is that he indirectly did so as a result of communicating with journalists, who communicated to the public. If that precedent is allowed to be erected, it will do two things. Firstly, it means it’s a potential death penalty for any person in the military speaking to a journalist about a sensitive matter. Secondly, it also embroils the journalist and the publication in that chain of communicating, they would say, to the enemy, and therefore making them susceptible, as well, to the Espionage Act, which also has capital offenses. And that is part of the U.S.—that latter part is part of the U.S. attack on WikiLeaks, including myself.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Julian Assange, there are about 150 witnesses who are set to testify against Manning at the trial. Among those witnesses, The Washington Post reports, is a person they have called a DOD operator, whose name they have not revealed, who is likely to say that Osama bin Laden received access to some of the WikiLeaks material through an associate because of what Manning revealed.

JULIAN ASSANGE: Well, the latest information I have is that there are, in fact, four of those people involved in the Osama bin Laden raid who will be testifying in one way or another. This is, of course, part of the show trial. The alleged actions here are a communication between a source and a journalist. There’s no allegation anyone else was present in the room. So, 141 prosecution witnesses, 31 of them are giving secret testimony, in part, or behind a screen or something like this. This is a show trial. The trial is meant to go for 14 to 16 weeks, And the prosecution, the Pentagon and possibly White House is hungry for this. This is their big Broadway musical moment, and they have their star divas, from the SEALs and elsewhere, that they intend to put up in order to terrorize people from communicating with journalists and communicating with the public.

[KoKo]

8. Kick again for the DN link and interview with Assange.

:kick:

[KoKo]

9. Another Kick...so hard to get DU'ers engaged in this...even those who KNOW

Manning's Human Rights have been violated beyond what we would have ever tolerated if Bush was the President.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. Nice piece. K and R. Evidently, one of the things that "turned" Bradley was finding out that...

... peaceful dissidents like the above AVPs were being rounded up by the puppet gov't and Abu Ghraib-ed.

When he told his c/o this was happening he was told to told... in the way whistle-blowers are always told ( pre-whistleblowing).... to mind his own business, shut the fuck up, just round 'em up and turn 'em over.

[Luminous Animal]

4. Yep. That's what happened.

[Luminous Animal]

5. Kick.

[sabrina 1]

6. It was people like them that Manning tried to save in Iraq from being handed over to the Iraqi

police who were torturing them for protesting peacefully. He was ignored by his superior officers and his conscience bothered him. He spoke eloquently about why he finally did what he did when he was unable to stop the crimes against those peaceful protesters in the conversations he had before his arrest.

It really is nice to know that even in Afghanistan there are people who understand the morality of what he did. Too bad there are so many here who are not capable of that kind of understanding.

[KoKo]

7. Recommend!