January 25, 2013. Ft. Meade. Is uncovering treason and act of treason? As Pfc. Manning approaches his 1,000th day in jail for providing US military secrets to WikiLeaks, his attorney is requesting that the military court dismiss the charges due to the lack of a speedy trial. That motion will be ruled on next month, while Manning and his lawyer rethink their strategy after the judge ruled that much of their supporting testimony and evidence will be barred from admission.
Pfc. Bradley Manning
Bradley Manning and his ordeal are described by his support group’s website saying, ‘Nobel Peace Prize nominee PFC Bradley Manning, a 24-year-old Army intelligence analyst, is accused of releasing the collateral murder video, that shows the killing of unnamed civilians and two Reuters journalists, by a US Apache helicopter crew in Iraq. He is also accused of sharing the Afghan War Diary, the Iraq War Logs, and a series of embarrassing US diplomatic cables. These documents were published by the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, and they have illuminated such issues as the true number and cause of civilian casualties in Iraq, along with a number of human rights abuses by US-funded contractors and foreign militaries, and the role that spying and bribes play in international diplomacy. Given the war crimes exposed, if PFC Bradley Manning was the source for these documents, he should be given a medal of honor.’
The website goes on to point out that, ‘Not a single person has been harmed by the release of this information…Yet the Obama administration has chosen to persecute the whistle-blower rather than prosecute the war criminals who were exposed.’
Uncovering treason is treason
Bradley Manning is accused of being the culprit of the largest leak of US secrets in American history. Military authorities insist he stole hundreds of thousands of pages of documentation and videos and released them to WikiLeaks. The most serious charge is ‘Aiding the Enemy’, which the government arrived at by accusing Manning of knowingly giving the secrets to enemies like al-Qaida.
Manning’s defense argues that none of the released information helped al-Qaida in any way. Their assertion is confirmed by military authorities as well. But now, that testimony has been barred from the trial, along with an assortment of other evidence that clearly shows Pfc. Manning did no harm to the US other than expose the wrongdoing of high-ranking military and diplomatic officials. In reality, the footage and documentation released by Manning documented fraud, lies and war crimes being carried out by multi-national military contractors and an assortment of foreign and US military personnel.
Whistleblower defense
In handing down his ruling, Colonel and Judge Denise Lind decided that Bradley Manning’s motives weren’t relevant to his treason trial. Therefore, volumes of testimony and evidence proving that the Army Pfc. had no intention of harming the US, its soldiers or its war effort, will not be allowed into his trial. As Manning’s attorney repeatedly argues, that is one of the two focal points of his client’s defense.
His supporters insist that one, Manning never intended to cause harm to the United States. And two – no harm was ever done. They argue that Bradley Manning is a true whistle-blower, only interested in righting a wrong and shining a light on those many believe are the true perpetrators of treason. Judge Lind ruled that Manning’s motives had no relevance to the trial portion and could only be used during his sentencing phase, ominously enough, as if he were already found guilty.
Is treason even illegal anymore?
As this author’s two favorite examples, President Bush turned over suitcases full of billions and billions of dollars to al-Qaida and the Taliban WHILE we were at war with them. His attempt to buy their allegiance only replenished their arms and funding, compliments of the US taxpayer. And second, let’s not forget that ‘war profiteering’ has been an act of treason in America for 200 years – until Dick Cheney and Halliburton got involved. The documented cases of fraud perpetrated by Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR against the American people during its time of war are too countless to list in this one article.
Manning’s supporters agree that there was one bright spot in the Judge’s recent ruling. His defense team will be allowed to submit evidence that the Army analyst had no premeditated knowledge that al-Qaida or Osama bin Laden would ever acquire the documents in question. And most importantly, evidence that shows Manning only leaked documents that had no negative impact on the United States will be admissible. The defense will show that Bradley also came across additional secret documentation, but that he purposely did not leak the details because he knew it many aid the enemy.
Next steps
According to the support group website for the accused 24 year-old, Judge Denise Lind rescheduled Manning’s pretrial hearings for the end of February and the end of May. The actual court martial trial is scheduled for June 3, 2013.
For more information, visit BradleyManning.org.
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