Bradley Manning: A Tale of Liberty Lost In America
The ever-astute Glenn Greenwald delivers this excellent op-ed regarding the prosecution of Bradley Manning, and the hypocrisy of the Obama administration for pursuing it.
Whatever one thinks of Manning’s alleged acts, he appears the classic whistleblower. This information could have been sold for substantial sums to a foreign government or a terror group. Instead he apparently knowingly risked his liberty to show them to the world because, he said when he believed he was speaking in private, he wanted to trigger “worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms.”
Compare this aggressive prosecution of Manning to the Obama administration’s vigorous efforts to shield Bush-era war crimes and massive Wall Street fraud from all forms of legal accountability. Not a single perpetrator of those genuine crimes has faced court under Obama, a comparison that reflects the priorities and values of US
justice.
Manning isn’t being punished for what he did, but for who it affects most. This isn’t about protecting “national security.” It’s about protecting the “insecurity” of the elites of power, who simply cannot stand being exposed or made to look the fools that they often are. This is why those who commit crimes for power (such as torturers, banksters, etc…) are left totally off the hook, whereas those whose actions challenge power, are mercilessly pursued by those same organs of power.
The repressive treatment of Bradley Manning is one of the disgraces of Obama’s first term, and highlights many of the dynamics shaping his presidency. The president not only defended Manning’s treatment but also, as commander-in-chief of the court martial judges, improperly decreed Manning’s guilt when he asserted in an interview that he “broke the law”.
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Bradley Manning has bestowed the world with multiple vital benefits. But as his court martial finally reaches its conclusion, one likely to result in the imposition of a long prison term, it appears his greatest gift is this window into America’s political soul.