U.S. Military, State Department and White House Trapped in Bradley Manning Quagmire

[JohnyCanuck]

At every stage of the prosecution: pretrial hearing, motion hearings and trial, there will be more focus on what he is accused of doing and that will inevitably lead to the documents and videos he allegedly leaked being more closely examined. This attention will not be kind to the U.S. military and State Department as the documents show consistent illegal and unethical behavior by the U.S. government; support for dictators, oligarchs and royalists who work against their people's interests; as well as U.S. foreign policy and war being a vehicle for big business interests.

In addition to the content of the materials he is accused of leaking, the trial of Bradley Manning will be closely watched. People are already wondering whether a fair trial in the U.S. military is possible. If the Obama administration allowed nine months of abusive solitary confinement before trial how can they be expected to give Manning a fair trial? The media and people concerned about this case will be watching closely to see if he gets a fair, fully open, public trial.

snip

But, the focus will not be primarily on process but on content -- what is Bradley Manning accused of leaking? And, that is a question the U.S. military and foreign policy establishment does not want Americans or people around the world to look at. It is not a pretty picture. Here are a few examples among many:

- That U.S. troops kill civilians without cause or concern and then cover it up (more examples of hiding civilian killings here, here and here) including killing reporters;

- The diplomatic cables also show that beyond the war fronts that Hillary Clinton has turned State Department Foreign Service officers into a nest of spies who violate laws to spy on diplomats all with marching orders drawn up by the CIA;

- The U.S. looks the other way when governments it puts in power torture;

- That Israel, with U.S. knowledge is preparing for a widespread war in the Middle East, keeping the Gaza economy at the brink of collapse and show widespread corruption at border checkpoints.

- The CIA is fighting an undeclared and unauthorized war in Pakistan with Blackwater mercenaries;

http://www.opednews.com/articles/U-S-Military-State-Depar-by-Kevin-Zeese-110420-66.html

[Scuba]

1. Just like Nixon trying to cover up his crimes, the White House...

...is at risk of being brought down by trying to cover up war crimes.



Only through shining light on our wrongdoings, and prosecuting those responsible, can we ever hope to regain any respect on the world stage, or at home with our own citizens.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. FREE the Manning One!!!!!

[Wilms]

3. Release the unrecers.

[mike_c]

4. Free Bradley Manning!

eom

[tekisui]

5. KNR! Poor liars and criminals at the top having their work exposed.

[girl gone mad]

6. Set him free.

He's done nothing wrong.

[jwirr]

7. All they have to do to get out of the trap is to give him a fair trail and

that means a trial by jury not a military trial. What are they waiting for? The other question this raises is - what did they do to wikileaks to shut them up? All in all they need to do what the constitution says regarding trials. And then they need to come clean. We are learning more and more to distrust our government. That is not good for them or us.

[xchrom]

8. Frankly some people 'love' & 'support' this country & admin in a perverted way.

Sunshine is no enemy of democratic state.

[sabrina 1]

9. And the question will e raised everywhere whether the U.S.

government has done anything at all to investigate the war crimes exposed by the leaks.

Since the answer is 'no', the only conlcusion can be that the U.S. condones war crimes, and considers exposure of them to be a far greater crime.

And it is this lawlessness that has led countries like China to issue their own reports on the U.S. and its human rights record.

We have lost the moral authority so necessary to address the issue of human rights everywhere. I don't know who can take that role, but it would have been far better to have prosecuted war crimes and to take action against the crimes revealed in the leaks than to go after the messengers.

No wonder no one listens to the US on these issues anymore. We have supported and are still doing so, the most brutal dictators in the world. And then have the gall to tell others how bad their human rights policies are.

I wish we could get a government that had integrity and honor. I wish I could hear our leaders condemn our own war criminals, rather than have to listen to others do so.

El Baradei, who could become Egypt's next president, has spoken out against the Bush administration's war crimes. That should have come from the U.S. government.

In a fair trial, which no one expects, Manning would be set free for time served and there would be an aggressive investigation to all the crimes committed since we were lied into these wars.

[PufPuf23]

10. Catch 22 with Manning.

There are others in the chain of command that did not properly vette Manning and no way should a 21 year old PFC have less than secure access to such intelligence data.

That said, Manning is heroic and is obviouly being broken for trial. I classify Manning as whistle blower.

[JohnyCanuck]

11. kick n/t