http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/201139154141620744.htmlWar crimes good, exposing them bad
While military and political leaders accused of war crimes sleep soundly, one alleged whistleblower languishes in jail.Medea Benjamin and Charles Davis Last Modified: 10 Mar 2011 10:11 GMT
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None of the soldiers who carried out that war crime have been punished, nor have any of the high-ranking officials who authorised it. And that's par for the course. Indeed, committing war crimes is more likely to get a soldier a medal than a prison term. And authorising them? Well, that'll get you a book deal and a six-digit speaking fee. Just ask George W Bush. Or Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld or Condoleezza Rice. Or the inexplicably "respectable" Colin Powell.
In fact, the record indicates Manning would today be far better off if he'd killed those men in Baghdad himself - and on the lecture circuit, rather than in solitary confinement.
Hyperbole? Consider what happened to the US soldiers who, over a period of hours – not minutes – went house to house in the Iraqi town of Haditha and executed 24 men, women and children in retaliation for a roadside bombing.
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