We're All Bradley Manning
On June 3, trial proceedings began. They'll last well into summer. What's ongoing reflects much more than Manning alone. We're all in this together. Freedom in America is on trial. Post-9/11, it's been on the chopping block for elimination. Convicting Manning of anything compromises what too important to lose. He deserves praise, not prosecution. His fate is ours. That's what's fundamentally at stake. Everyone stands to win or lose with him.
In his February plea statement, he said
[he wanted to] "spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan." [Americans have a right to know the] "true costs of war," he stressed. He called war logs given WikiLeaks "some of the most important documents of our time." [He chose ones he believed] "wouldn't cause harm to the United States." [Washington's] "obsessed with capturing and killing people," [he said.]
He was sickened by the "Collateral Murder" video he saw. US helicopter pilots gunned down innocent civilians. They murdered anyone trying to help them. Manning called doing so "bloodlust." He exposed lawlessness. He reflects justifiable resistance.