A kinship with Bradley Manning
Democracy is doomed without informed citizens, says a son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were executed by the U.S. for spying.
By Robert Meeropol
August 12, 2013
... We now know that my parents' trial judge collaborated with the prosecution, that witnesses perjured themselves and that evidence was fabricated; but we also know that my father, codefendant Morton Sobell and others did provide valuable military information to the Soviet Union during the 1940s. What they transmitted, however, wasn't the secret of the atomic bomb as the government claimed to justify the death sentence, and the government executed my mother even though officials knew she did not engage in any espionage ...
Some think Manning is a traitor. He released classified material that embarrassed the U.S. government and could put us at a disadvantage when dealing with other nations. I think the idea that we should elevate the interests of our country above those of all others, at a time when so many nations have weapons of mass destruction, threatens the security of every person on the planet.
My parents placed their faith in the USSR, a nation they felt represented the interests of the working class, which they believed included the vast majority of the world's people. I think they were misguided. While some countries may be a lot better than others, none has evolved to the point of deserving uncritical support. Although I do not reflexively reject the application of all state power, my primary identification is with humanity as a whole ...
I wish all the world's armies were made up of people like Bradley Manning.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-meeropol-bradley-manning-rosenbergs-20130810,0,2142736.story