[col. writ. 7/31/13] © ’13 Mumia Abu-Jamal
The mania that followed the release of a flood of military papers, videos and consular communications by U.S. Army Private and Intelligence officer, Bradley Manning, hasn’t been seen since the height of the anti-communist scares of the 1950’s.
Bradley Manning, recently convicted of a plethora of charges before a military judge, faces over a century in prison, for, among other things, espionage.
Manning is about as much a spy as Mickey Mouse.
But he was so grossly overcharged that it was virtually inevitable that some judge, somewhere, feeling the pressure of prosecutorial and political zeal, would convict him of charges that no serious observer could support.
And although a military judge threw out a charge that would have meant a life sentence (for “aiding the enemy”), the remaining charges expose Manning to over 100 years in prison.
Manning released classified videotapes showing U.S. troops shooting unarmed civilians and at least one journalist, armed with a camera.
Needless to say, none of these killers of innocents face 100+ years in jail. Nor are they ever likely to.
Manning believed that in a democracy, the People should be able to see what their military and political leaders do in their name.
For that, he was thrown into solitary, naked, and taunted – until international protests became too loud to ignore.
Under International Law, Manning was subjected to torture; for daring to act on the belief that Americans have a right to know.
Bradley Manning awaits formal sentencing.
–© ’13 maj