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Torturing Bradley Manning - by Stephen Lendman
A previous article discussed him in detail, accessed through the following link:
Another discussed torture as official US policy, institutionalized under Bush II, continued under Obama, practiced despite official denials, accessed below:
Manning, of course, is the courageous Army intelligence analyst turned whistleblower, who admitted leaking thousands of diplomatic cables, many others from Iraq and Afghan war databases, as well as two or more explosive videos, showing US air strikes murdering civilians. As a result, he felt obligated to reveal them. They're criminal acts, demanding prosecution of everyone up the chain of command ordering them.
At great personal risk, Bradley heroically disclosed them. He and others like him deserve praise, not prosecution. They're heros, risking personal harm to reveal disturbing truths, what government and media reports suppress, sanitize and distort, letting warlords plunder lawlessly so war profiteers can cash in. Americans are the worse off for it.
Held initially in Kuwait, a July 29, 2010 Pentagon press release said:
"US Army officials transferred PFC Bradley Manning from the Theater Field Confinement Facility in Kuwait to the Marine Corps Base Quantico Brig in Quantico, Virginia, on July 29. (He) remains in pretrial confinement pending an Article 32 investigation (like a grand jury or preliminary hearing) into the charges preferred against him on July 5."
"The criminal investigation remains open....findings and recommendations (will determine) whether to recommend (if) the case (will) be referred to trial by court-martial."
It's planned. The Pentagon and Obama administration will throw the book at him, perhaps imprisoning him for life, instead of hailing him as a hero.
Meanwhile for nearly 10 months, he's been horrifically treated in solitary confinement, charged with using unauthorized software to obtain classified information from government databases, unlawfully downloading it, improperly storing it, and releasing it publicly.
Initially, he faced 12 counts of leaking classified information. In early March, 22 additional charges were added, including "knowingly giv(ing) intelligence to the enemy, through direct or indirect means," in violation of Article 104 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, called "aiding the enemy," potentially carrying the death penalty. The enemy is defined as any hostile nation, organization, or body US forces oppose.
If convicted of the most serious charges alone, he'll forfeit all pay and allowances, be reduced to the lowest enlisted pay grade, be dishonorably discharged, and imprisoned for life - to show other potential whistleblowers what they'll face if caught doing the same thing. Prosecutors told Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, that capital punishment won't be recommended. However, the presiding military judge may impose it.
Other charges include wrongfully publishing classified material online, five counts of theft of public property or records, eight counts of transmitting national defense information to unauthorized recipients, two counts of computer fraud, and five counts of breaking US Army computer security rules.
The Bradley Manning Support Network
