"We Cannot Wait for Change" -- Freed Whistleblower Chelsea Manning on Iraq, Prison & Running for Senate

See original here

Last year, President Obama granted her clemency in one of his final acts in office. She had written to the president requesting what she described as a "first chance at life." Since her release, Manning has emerged as a leading activist for trans rights and greater transparency. She has been featured in the pages of Vogue, where she was photographed by Annie Leibovitz, and was named 2017 Newsmaker of the Year by Out magazine. In January, she announced her bid for the U.S. Senate in Maryland, challenging Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, who is seeking a third term.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

JUAN GONZÃ �LEZ: Fifteen years ago this month, the U.S. invasion of Iraq began. Today we spend the hour with the war's most famous whistleblower, Chelsea Manning, in her first live television interview. Manning served as an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, based in Iraq. In 2010, while on leave in the United States, Chelsea Manning, then known as Bradley, made a decision that would change her life and the public's understanding of the U.S. War in Iraq.

After first approaching The New York Times and The Washington Post, Manning decided to leak a trove of documents about the Iraq War to WikiLeaks. She also leaked diplomatic cables, as well as information on Guanta'namo and the U.S. War in Afghanistan. It would become the largest leak of classified data in U.S. history. Over the next year, WikiLeaks would team up with major news organizations to break countless stories based on Manning's leaks. The documents exposed how U.S.-backed forces were involved in torture, summary executions and war crimes in Iraq.

But Manning was soon caught. On May 27, 2010, Manning was arrested at Forward Operating Base Hammer, outside Baghdad. She was initially held in a cage in Kuwait. Then she was moved to the Marine Corps base at Quantico in Virginia, where she was held in a tiny cell in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. The United Nations said her prison conditions violated the U.N. Convention Against Torture. On August 21st, 2013, Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison -- the longest sentence ever given to a whistleblower in the United States.

AMY GOODMAN: The next day, Manning issued a statement through her lawyer announcing she was transgender. She said, quote, "As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female."

Manning would battle with military officials for years in an attempt to receive the proper healthcare, including hormone therapy. She would stage hunger strikes and twice attempted suicide.

Then, in 2017, a shocking development occurred. President Obama granted her clemency, in one of his final acts in office. She had written to the president requesting what she described as a, quote, "first chance at life." Chelsea Manning was finally released from Fort Leavenworth in Kansas on May 17th last year.

Since then, she's emerged as a leading activist for trans rights and greater transparency. She has been featured in the pages of Vogue magazine, where she was photographed by Annie Leibovitz, and was named 2017 Newsmaker of the Year by Out magazine. In January, she announced her bid for the U.S. Senate in Maryland, challenging Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, who's seeking a third term. And today she joins us here on Democracy Now! for her first live television interview.

Chelsea Manning, welcome to Democracy Now!

CHELSEA MANNING: Thanks for having me.

AMY GOODMAN: So, it has been 10 months, but how does it feel to be free?

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |  11

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).