PFT - Bradley Manning Guilty Plea And The War On Whistleblowers

Discussion in 'Freedom and Liberty' started by Mindgrinder, Mar 1, 2013.


  1. Mindgrinder

    Mindgrinder Karma Pirate Ninja|RIP 12-25-2017



    I find it kinda disturbing that when I do a SM forum search for "Bradley Manning" I get nothing previous to this post. WTH guys? Are you asleep?

    G
     
  2. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    No, I just do NOT like, Treasonous Traitors.... who pose as Whistleblowers....
     
  3. Mindgrinder

    Mindgrinder Karma Pirate Ninja|RIP 12-25-2017

    Your leaders are treasonous traitors....
    WTF is wrong with you man? Give your head a shake.
    Exposing them should be a DUTY.....not a crime.
     
    AmericanRedoubt1776 likes this.
  4. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Just because One is a Treasonous Traitor, doesn't mean, that another can't also be a Treasonous Traitor, by his OWN Actions.... Your Logic is _____________. (fill in your own put down) Plain and simple....

    The man signed an Oath of Secrecy, and then BROKE that Oath... If he was a Man, he would Keep His Oaths, and Word.... That is the measure of a Man.... Anything else shows a GLARING lack of Integrity.... .......
     
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  5. Mindgrinder

    Mindgrinder Karma Pirate Ninja|RIP 12-25-2017

    What this guy and wikileaks did was slow down a whole lot of tyranny and corruption in high places.
     
    AmericanRedoubt1776 likes this.
  6. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    and he will pay for his Lack of Integrity, when Convicted, with whatever sentence the Court Marshal decides... which is JUSTICE Served....
     
    tulianr likes this.
  7. Mindgrinder

    Mindgrinder Karma Pirate Ninja|RIP 12-25-2017

    Ya with that "logic" you should jail everyone who has ever said "End The Fed".
     
  8. bfayer

    bfayer Keeper Of The Faith

    100%. But its worse than that. We had men and women in harms way and he made the unilateral decision to release classified information that might cause them harm based on the experience and knowledge of a junior E4 with nothing but what he learned in AIT to back it up. He was in no position to know the consequence of his actions to his brothers in arms.

    The information he released was not classified by the Whitehouse or the pentagon, it was classified by people in theater who did have knowledge and experience.

    We will never know the damage that was done because Intel does not always have a direct cause and effect relationship, and because the true fallout from what he did is classified.

    The guy is scum. To make him out as anything else is disrespectful to everyone that wears a uniform.

    BT
    NNNN
     
  9. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    What business is it of yours, a non-citizen of the USA, how we choose OPERATE our BANKING SYSTEM.... Inquiring Minds, Want to know......
     
  10. jasonl6

    jasonl6 Monkey+++

    Glad to see him get time. hopefully it will be a lifetime. If he put one soldier at rest the price was too high. As for the wiki leaks tool he should get it as well or more.
     
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  11. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    When soldiers swear the oath, they also promise to uphold the Constitution and protect it from all enemies, foreign and domestic. If the domestic enemies just happen to be wearing stars and uniform, all the better for a campaign against tyranny --however, placing the lives of other soldiers at risk in any attempt to do so is unacceptable. It's a nasty situation Manning created, opening the door to a plethora of problems which are deep-rooted in the structure of today's military. He did the crime, he knew very well this would land him in prison, and the charges are fitting under the circumstances. Now, if he had uncovered a clear plot to undermine the republic, that's a slightly different story, but according to military justice, he would STILL be charged and convicted, no matter how righteous his cause. The military simply cannot permit actions such as this to transpire.

    Of course the military is corrupt --the politicians are corrupt. And high ranking officers are exactly the same as politicians.
     
  12. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    What makes you think so? There are so many corrupt politicians and crooks in high places that catching one away from the herd won't even be noticed.
     
  13. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    He performed treason to his fellow brothers-in-arms and that is enough in my book to lock him up for life. Back in the day he would have been dealt with by a long rope and a tree, or a 45 at close range. I am good with all three terms if he is found quilty in a proper court. A message has to be sent out that nothing has changed about our oath to our country, you keep it or else. People die in combat all the time from the enemy, the last thing that you want is to be stabbed in the back by your brother!!

    It is one thing to call for a change to the fed or the current way our country is being run into the ground. We all agree we need to yell long and loud for things to change from the current crap being pulled on the American people by our government. But to name names, sources and method's as he did, is treason bottom line!!
     
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  14. Mindgrinder

    Mindgrinder Karma Pirate Ninja|RIP 12-25-2017

    You guys clearly don't know shit aboot this other than what you've been spoon fed by MSN.

    » What did WikiLeaks reveal? Bradley Manning Support Network

    In no case shall information be classified… in order to: conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error; prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency… or prevent or delay the release of information that does not require protection in the interest of the national security.”
    —Executive Order 13526, Sec. 1.7. Classification Prohibitions and Limitations
    “Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is this awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest.”
    —Robert Gates, Unites States Secretary of Defense
    PFC Bradley Manning is a US Army intelligence specialist who is accused of releasing classified information to WikiLeaks, an organization that he allegedly understood would release portions of the information to news organizations and ultimately to the public.

    Was the information that PFC Manning is accused of leaking classified for our protection and national security, as government officials contend? Or do the revelations provide the American public with information that we should have had access to in the first place? Just what are these revelations? Below are some key facts that PFC Manning is accused of making public.
    There is an official policy to ignore torture in Iraq.
    terror_tortureIraq7-225x300.
    The “Iraq War Logs” published by WikiLeaks revealed that thousands of reports of prisoner abuse and torture had been filed against the Iraqi Security Forces. Medical evidence detailed how prisoners had been whipped with heavy cables across the feet, hung from ceiling hooks, suffered holes being bored into their legs with electric drills, urinated upon, and sexually assaulted. These logs also revealed the existence of “Frago 242,” an order implemented in 2004 not to investigate allegations of abuse against the Iraqi government. This order is a direct violation of the UN Convention Against Torture, which was ratified by the United States in 1994. The Convention prohibits the Armed Forces from transferring a detainee to other countries “where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.” According to the State Department’s own reports, the U.S. government was already aware that the Iraqi Security Forces engaged in torture (1).

    U.S. officials were told to cover up evidence of child abuse by contractors in Afghanistan.
    bacha1-300x168.
    U.S. defense contractors were brought under much tighter supervision after leaked diplomatic cables revealed that they had been complicit in child trafficking activities. DynCorp — a powerful defense contracting firm that claims almost $2 billion per year in revenue from U.S. tax dollars — threw a party for Afghan security recruits featuring boys purchased from child traffickers for entertainment. DynCorp had already faced human trafficking charges before this incident took place. According to the cables, Afghan Interior minister Hanif Atmar urged the assistant US ambassador to “quash” the story. These revelations have been a driving factor behind recent calls for the removal of all U.S. defense contractors from Afghanistan (2).

    Guantanamo prison has held mostly innocent people and low-level operatives.
    guantanamo_1490303c-300x187.
    The Guantanamo Files describe how detainees were arrested based on what the New York Times referred to as highly subjective evidence. For example, some poor farmers were captured after they were found wearing a common watch or a jacket that was the same as those also worn by Al Queda operatives. How quickly innocent prisoners were released was heavily dependent on their country of origin. Because the evidence collected against Guantanamo prisoners is not permissible in U.S. courts, the U.S. State Department has offered millions of dollars to other countries to take and try our prisoners. According to a U.S. diplomatic cable written on April 17, 2009, the Association for the Dignity of Spanish Prisoners requested that the National Court indict six former U.S. officials for creating a legal framework that allegedly permitted torture against five Spanish prisoners at Guantanamo. However, “Senator Mel Martinez… met Acting FM [Foreign Minister] Angel Lossada… on April 15. Martinez… underscored that the prosecutions would not be understood or accepted in the U.S. and would have an enormous impact on the bilateral relationship” (3).

    There is an official tally of civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    kabul-child-390x285-300x219.
    Even though the Bush and Obama Administrations maintained publicly that there was no official count of civilian casualties, the Iraq and Afghanistan War Logs showed that this claim was false. Between 2004 and 2009, the U.S. government counted a total of 109,000 deaths in Iraq, with 66,081 classified as non-combatants. This means that for every Iraqi death that is classified as a combatant, two innocent men, women or children are also killed (4).




    U.S. Military officials withheld information about the indiscriminate killing of Reuters journalists and innocent Iraqi civilians.

    20100406163220a-300x215.
    The “Collateral Murder” video released by Wikileaks depicted the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad, including two journalists working for Reuters. The Reuters news organization has repeatedly been denied in its attempts to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-sight, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters photographer and his rescuers. Two young children who were present in the attempted rescue were also seriously wounded. Ethan McCord, a U.S. army soldier who can be seen in the video carrying wounded children to safety, has said that whoever revealed this video is a “hero.” An internal U.S. military investigation concluded that the incident was consistent with the military’s “Rules of Engagement.” (5)

    The State Department backed corporate opposition to a Haitian minimum wage law.
    we_want_a-300x182.
    Leaked diplomatic cables show that in 2009, the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince pushed then-Haitian President Rene Preval to come out in support of powerful textile manufacturers who sought to block a popular minimum wage increase. These factory owners, who produce apparel for large brands like Nike and Nautica, had benefitted from recent free trade agreements that had severely lowered wages and working conditions in Haiti. A series of cables show that the US Embassy closely monitored the movements and activities of student protestors supporting the $5/day minimum wage bill. The bill’s supporters had argued that the increase was justified in light of rising inflation and food costs that had led to widespread starvation. According to the leaked cables, the U.S. delegation dismissed the proposed minimum wage increase as nothing more than a populist measure aimed at appeasing “the unemployed and underpaid masses.” Ultimately, the U.S. delegation succeeded in their efforts when President Preval agreed to block the increase (6).

    The U.S. Government had long been faking its public support for Tunisian President Ben Ali.
    tunisia-protest-video-nationalturk-01-300x208.
    The Tunisian people were already well aware of the corruption plaguing the autocratic ruling family, which for decades had abused their rights. However, the United States government had long presented a public image of strong support for the Ben Ali regime. The U.S. campaign of unwavering public support for President Ali led to a widespread belief among the Tunisian people that it would be very difficult to dislodge the autocratic regime from power. This view was shattered when leaked cables exposed the U.S. government’s private assessment: that the U.S. would not support the regime in the event of a popular uprising. While extreme economic hardship and popular discontent with rights abuses had already set the stage for an uprising, this new information played a critical role in transforming the landscape of political possibilities in Tunisia. The Tunisian people finally realized that, contrary to the U.S. government’s public relations efforts, they weren’t really up against the full force of the world’s superpower. Within one month, Ben Ali became the first Arab leader to be swept from power in the ongoing democratic movements in the region (7).

    Known Egyptian torturers received training from the FBI in Quantico, Virginia.
    44035_Egypt_torture.
    According to a leaked diplomatic cable from Cairo, the head of Egypt’s notorious State Security Investigative Service (SSIS) thanked FBI Deputy Director John Pistole for the “excellent and strong” cooperation between the two agencies. In particular, the FBI’s training sessions in Quantico, Virginia were of “great benefit” to his interrogators. Another cable documented what the US embassy considered “credible” allegations of human rights violations by the SSIS, including torturing prisoners with “electric shocks and sleep deprivation to reduce them to a ‘zombie state’” (8). After the autocratic Mubarak regime was driven from power in the recent Egyptian Revolution, protestors stormed the “Amn Dawla” headquarters of the SSIS to uncover further evidence of torture and abuse. They posted these documents on their own site, known as “Amn Dawla Leaks.”

    The State Department authorized the theft of the UN Secretary General’s DNA.
    According to the “National Humint Collection Directive,” a secret document that was signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and published by WikiLeaks, US diplomats were authorized to collect “biometric” and other sensitive information from top UN officials as well as UN representatives from other nations. The leaked documents show that “biometric data” specifically included samples of the officials’ DNA, among other forms of personally identifying information. They also ordered diplomats to collect credit card information and secure passwords. These activities contravene the 1946 UN Convention (9).
    The Japanese and U.S. Governments had been warned about the seismic threat at Fukushima.
    Fukushima-meltdown-prevailing-winds1-300x167.
    A cable from December 2008 showed that officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency had warned the government about the danger posed by potential seismic activity in the area. The official stated that Japan’s “safety guides for seismic safety have only been revised three times in the last 35 years.” He also noted that the government had fought against a court order to close down another nuclear facility that was not adequately prepared for an earthquake. After being ignored by the Japanese government, the IAEA official also warned the U.S. ambassador to Japan about the looming threat from possible earthquake damage. These warnings went unheeded. The International Atomic Energy Agency has now ranked the Fukushima disaster as severe as Chernobyl (10).

    The Obama Administration allowed Yemen’s President to cover up a secret U.S. drone bombing campaign.
    civilian-casualties-300x200.
    Since December 2009, President Obama has authorized a secret drone bombing campaign in Yemen. A year later, WikiLeaks revealed that Yemen’s President Saleh had agreed that his regime would “continue saying the bombs are ours, not yours.” These drone strikes have killed large numbers of civilians. One of the strikes that occurred shortly before the cable in question was written had killed 55 people, 41 of whom were classified as civilians (21 of these were children) according to a report by Amnesty International (11). This US military operation in Yemen, which persists to this day, has not been officially acknowledged by our government.

    “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.”
    – United States founding father Patrick Henry (1775)


    FOOTNOTES:
    (1) Alex Spillius, “Wikileaks: Iraq War Logs show US ignored torture allegations,” Telegraph, October 22, 2010.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/8082223/Wikileaks-Iraq-War-Logs-show-US-ignored-torture-allegations.html
    (2) Foreign contractors hired Afghan ‘dancing boys’, WikiLeaks cable reveals,” guardian.co.uk, December 2, 2010,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/02/foreign-contractors-hired-dancing-boys
    (3) Scott Shane and Benjamin Weiser, “The Guatanamo Files: Judging Detainees’ Risk, Often With Flawed Evidence,” New York Times, April 24, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/world/guantanamo-files-flawed-evidence-for-assessing-risk.html; “US embassy cables: Don’t pursue Guantánamo criminal case, says Spanish attorney general,” guardian.co.uk, December 1, 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/202776
    (4) Iraq War Logs Reveal 15,000 Previously Unlisted Civilian Deaths,” guardian.co.uk, October 22, 2010,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/22/true-civilian-body-count-iraq
    (5) Steven Clarke and Joseph Bamat, “Leaked video shows US military killing of civilians, Reuters staff,” France 24, July 27, 2010, http://www.france24.com/en/20100406-leaked-video-shows-us-military-killing-civilians-reuters-staff
    (6) Robert Johnson, “WIKILEAKS: U.S. Fought to Lower Minimum Wage in Haiti So Hanes and Levis Would Stay Cheap,” Business Insider, June 3, 2011, http://www.businessinsider.com/wikileaks-haiti-minimum-wage-the-nation-2011-6
    (7) Gregory White, “This is the Wikileak That Sparked The Tunisian Crisis, Business Insider, January 14, 2011,http://www.businessinsider.com/tunisia-wikileaks-2011-1
    (8) Daniel Tencer, “Cables: FBI trained Egypt’s state security ‘torturers,” The Raw Story, February 9, 2011,http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/09/cables-fbi-trained-egypt-torturers/
    (9) Gerri Peev, “Hillary Clinton ordered U.S. diplomats to spy on UN leaders,” The Daily Mail, November 29, 2010,http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1333920/WikiLeaks-Hillary-Clinton-ordered-U-S-diplomats-spy-UN-leaders.html
    (10) “Japan Earthquake 2011: WikiLeaks Reveals Government Warned About Nuclear Plant Safety in 2008,” Huffington Post, March 16, 2011, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/16/japan-earthquake-nuclear-warning-wikileaks_n_836529.html
    (11) “Cable reveals US behind airstrike that killed 21 children in Yemen,” The Raw Story, December 2, 2010,http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/02/cable-reveals-airstrike-killed-21-children-yemen
     
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  15. Mindgrinder

    Mindgrinder Karma Pirate Ninja|RIP 12-25-2017

    He exposed MURDER and other CRIMES that your oh so glorious military and diplomats are committing abroad. Swore an oath to secrecy? Sure did, right along side an oath to protect American citizens and uphold the Constitution. Your "oath of secrecy" includes covering up MURDER? REALLY? REALLY????

    He didn't leak any imminent battle plans that put anyone in danger...
    What a truly PATHETIC mindset you have to convict a man for exposing crime...
    You think you can get away with MURDER, TORTURE, RAPE, LOOTING, on and on...
    **** YOU AMERICAN EMPIRE!
     
  16. Mindgrinder

    Mindgrinder Karma Pirate Ninja|RIP 12-25-2017

    When you go aboot wrecking other countries I think it's everyones business....and also the main reason the whole world will turn their back on you when you need them most.
     
  17. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    While you seem to worship Manning's actions, I do not. There were valid things of concern posted by him, but the method of his actions can not be upheld as a whistle-blower.
     
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  18. Mindgrinder

    Mindgrinder Karma Pirate Ninja|RIP 12-25-2017

    Worship? Hardly. He was a queer and an idiot.
    What he did was righteous though.
    Isn't there some code of conduct rule that soldiers are supposed to disobey unlawful orders and report crimes they witness?
     
  19. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    There's a world of difference between disobeying an order and treasonous actions such as violating your oath.
     
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  20. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    He will receive righteous persecution!!
    MG I understand your disdain for the actions you posted, that he was part of releasing to the light of day. But he was malicious and treasonous in his action against his country and fellow soldier in many, many other of the documents released. A couple of valid issues that you showed- due not absolve him of his oath he violated- that we as soldiers have sworn to defend. You portray him as a patriot- he is not.
     
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