Free Bradley Manning

Bradley Manning, the 23-year-old former Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking classified information to the website WikiLeaks, has recently been indicted on new charges by the U.S. Army.  

The new charges, 22 in total, filed March 1, include the serious charge of “aiding the enemy,” which, if Manning is convicted, carries the possibility of the death penalty.
Captain John Haberland, a spokesman for the Military District of Washington, stated that the new charges “more accurately reflect the broad scope of the crimes that Pfc. Manning is accused of committing.” 

Although prosecutors have said they would not seek Manning’s execution if he were convicted, some individuals closely following the proceedings are skeptical. 

Jeff Paterson, project director of Courage to Resist, which is an organization that has helped raise money for Manning’s defense, said, “I’m shocked that the military opted to charge Pfc. Bradley Manning today with the capital offense of ‘aiding the enemy’... while the military is downplaying the fact, the option to execute Bradley has been placed on the table.” 

Also, as lawyer and author Glenn Greenwald highlights, the larger implications of Manning facing potential capital punishment are especially disturbing.

“This prosecution theory would convert acts of whistle-blowing into a hanging offense,” Greenwald said.

The idea of executing whistleblowers for exposing crimes committed by the state and informing its citizens so as to be able to hold that government accountable does not seem like an outright reversion to Stalinism to some U.S. politicians, though.

In December, former governor of Arkansas and Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee endorsed the possible execution, saying, “Whoever in our government leaked that information is guilty of treason, and I think anything less than execution is too kind a penalty.”

The former governor made the remarks while he was promoting his holiday books “A Simple Christmas” and “Can’t Wait Till Christmas.”

And, Mike Rogers, Republican representative from Michigan and member of the House Intelligence Committee, explained that Manning “clearly aided the enemy to what may result in the death of U.S. or those cooperating,” thus the death penalty “clearly should be considered.”

However, the Pentagon has tacitly admitted no deaths have been associated with the leaked documents. As Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told the Washington Post, “We have yet to see any harm come to anyone in Afghanistan that we can directly tie to exposure in the Wikileaks documents.”   
 
Still, Manning, who has not yet been convicted of any crime, has been placed in solitary confinement for more than seven months, which includes “being confined to a 6-by-12 foot cell for 23 hours each day, constantly watched on video cameras, denied physical exercise and articles of clothing and bedding, denied sleep during the day and repeatedly woken by guards throughout the night.”

As experts have pointed out, the harsh treatment Manning has been subjected to is “certainly a breach of the Geneva Conventions,” although the Geneva Conventions do not technically apply to Manning since he is not regarded as a prisoner of war.

In a blog post, four days after the new charges were filed, David Coombs, Manning’s lawyer, described the treatment Manning is currently receiving.

“The Brig has stripped Pfc. Manning of all of his clothing for the past three nights, and they intend to continue this practice indefinitely.” 

Each night, Brig guards force Pfc. Manning to relinquish all of his clothing. He then lies in a cold jail cell naked until the following morning, when he is required to endure the humiliation of standing naked at attention for the morning roll call.

Marine spokesperson, First Lieutenant Brian Villiard said the decision to strip him naked every night is for Pfc. Manning’s own protection. Villiard stated that it would be “inappropriate” to explain what prompted these actions “because to discuss the details would be a violation of PFC Manning’s privacy.”

As Eugene Debs, another individual charged with violating the Espionage Act of 1917, just as Manning has, sardonically pointed out during an anti-war speech delivered in Canton, Ohio, on June 16, 1918, that eventually lead to his arrest and imprisonment, many U.S. citizens have begun to realize that “it is extremely dangerous to exercise the constitutional right of free speech in a country fighting to make democracy safe in the world.”

The only thing Bradley Manning has been found guilty of is exposing the crimes of U.S. foreign policy to the citizens of the world. For that, no trial seems necessary.

     
E-mail: mardunba@indiana.edu