Purple Television
[June 27 2013] : love
I am Bradley Manning by The Bradley Manning Support Network
On June 3rd, after more than 3 years of pretrial confinement, military whistle-blower and democracy advocate Bradley Manning will go to trial for “Aiding the Enemy,” a capital offense that could open future whistle-blowers to the death penalty. As many have pointed out, there is no basis for this charge in a free and just society, because only the public has benefited from his actions. The charge will set a dangerous precedent for the first amendment, opening whistle-blowers and those who help them to the death penalty. Bradley’s actions have helped motivate democratic movements around the world, including the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street. They have shed light on the undue influence corporations wield in international policy, US-supported torture in Iraq, and the true number of civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. The video that Bradley released from Iraq, “Collateral Murder,” is the most stark and obvious evidence of war crimes that the public has seen in our decade. None of those associated with the murder of unarmed civilians and journalists in the video have been brought to justice. As of yet, the Obama administration and the military court have failed to produce any evidence whatsoever that Bradley’s leaks put the lives of service members of government officials at risk. After his arrest Bradley suffered nearly a year of solitary confinement, resulting in protests by the UN, the ACLU, and Amnesty International. Though he has since plead guilty to the charges associated with releasing the files to the public, if Bradley is convicted of “Aiding the Enemy” he will spend the rest of his life behind bars and future whistle-blowers may face the same. Join thousands of us already to say: I am Bradley Manning
