Bradley Manning should win the Nobel Peace Prize

[xchrom]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/30/bradley-manning-nobel-peace-prize-candidate


Army Pfc Bradley Manning is escorted into a courthouse at Fort Meade on the third day of his court martial. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP

Peace is more than simply the absence of war; it is the active creation of something better. Alfred Nobel recognized this when he created alongside those for chemistry, literature, medicine and physics, an annual prize for outstanding contributions in peace. Nobel's foresight is a reminder to us all that peace must be created, maintained, and advanced, and it is indeed possible for one individual to have an extraordinary impact. For this year's prize, I have chosen to nominate US Army Pfc Bradley Manning, for I can think of no one more deserving. His incredible disclosure of secret documents to Wikileaks helped end the Iraq War, and may have helped prevent further conflicts elsewhere.

I recently visited Syria, where I met a few of the millions of refugees and internally displaced people whose lives have been torn apart by the ongoing conflict in that country. I learned from those I spoke to, both within the government and in opposition groups, that while there is a legitimate and long-overdue movement for peace and non-violent reform in Syria, the worst acts of violence are being perpetrated by outside groups. Extremist groups from around the world have converged upon Syria, bent on turning this conflict into one of ideological hatred.

In recent years this would have spelled an undeniable formula for United States intervention. However, the world has changed in the years since Manning's whistleblowing – the Middle East especially. In Bahrain, Tunisia, Egypt, and now Turkey, advocates of democracy have joined together to fight against their own governments' control of information, and used the free-flowing data of social media to help build enormously successful non-violent movements. Some activists of what has come to be known as the Arab Spring have even directly credited Bradley Manning, and the information he disclosed, as an inspiration for their struggles.

In a Middle East newly dedicated to democratic flow of information, those who would commit human rights violations can more easily be held accountable. If not for whistleblower Bradley Manning, the world still might not know of how US forces committed covert crimes in the name of spreading democracy in Iraq, killing innocent civilians in incidents such as the one depicted in the "Collateral Murder" video, and supporting Iraqi prisoner torture. Now, those who would support foreign intervention in the Middle East know that every action would be scrutinized under international human rights law. Clearly, this is for the best. International peacekeepers, as well as experts and civilians inside Syria, are nearly unanimous in their view that United States involvement would only worsen this conflict.

[ananda]

1. Agree.

I signed a couple of petitions for Manning a while back.

[jehop61]

2. Where in the hell did the Guardian come from?

The seem to be in the mold of bad British tabloid journalism. I don't give them much creedance. Similar to all the Murdoch junk

[William769]

3. Kick & highly recommended.

[SidDithers]

4. ROFL...

Sid

[cpwm17]

5. Bradley Manning exposed some of the worst criminality on the face of the Earth

The Iraq War has to be the world's worst crime this century. The perpetraitors of this crime don't deserve secrecy. Our government officials need to have their behavior exposed for all to see.

We can thank Bradley Manning for his part in exposing these enemies of peace. Give him the Nobel Peace Prize.

[WillyT]

6. K & R !!!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. The author won the Nobel Peace Prize herself.

Mairead Corrigan-Maguire founded the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (later renamed the Community of Peace People) and won the 1976 Nobel peace prize

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. kick

[Karmadillo]

8. Kick