Bradley Manning-American Hero
Today on Democracy Now, in an interview with Glenn Greenwald, I was enlightened about the plight of Bradley Manning. He is imprisoned and living in solitary confinement, only allowed out of his cell for an hour in a 24 hour period. He is charged, as Greenwald states, of "transmitting classified information without authorization". This could evolve into a 72-80 year prison sentence. There are other charges pending that could even bring about a death sentence. Here is the link to the segment on Democracy Now I have been referring to:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/16/alleged_wikileaks_whistleblower_bradley_manning_imprisoned
It was Adrian Lamo, a hacker himeself, who outed Manning in June, 2010, to government officials. He stated that Manning had confided in him that he had released classified government documents and video footage to WikiLeaks. I don't know how Lamo can live with himself, knowing the potential consequences Manning would face. I believe that solitary confinement is torture, both physically and mentally. Now our justice department is desperately trying to find ways to prosecute Julan Assange in connection with Manning. I have heard from several sources that he could be considered a co-conspirator. That he and Manning were working together, simultaneously, to release the information.
I can't see into the future. Will Assange be prosecuted by the U.S.? Is Manning going to be further tortured and face death? All I know is that Manning has suffered the most. A young man doing the right thing no matter what the consequences. In the words of Daniel Ellsberg, Manning is a "hero".
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