|
|
|
Appeal to support Bradley Manning
The following statement was written by Carl Mirra, the author of
/Soldiers and Citizens: An Oral History of Operation Iraqi Freedom
from the Battlefield to the Pentagon /(Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).
*Appeal to Support Bradley Manning:*
Bradley Manning, a 22 year old U.S. Army Private, allegedly
released a video of a U.S. helicopter assault in Iraq that killed
some seven Iraqi civilians and two Reuters reporters. Manning is
also accused of leaking the “Afghan War Diaries.” These military
reports reveal widespread civilian deaths, corruption, Special
Forces engaged in targeted killings and a generally dismal picture
of the US/ISAF occupation of Afghanistan.
Too many wars in US history were propelled by lies and
misinformation, from the USS Maine explosion in the
Spanish-American War in 1898 to the Gulf of Tonkin incident in
1964 to the more recent deceptions about Iraq’s weapons of mass
destruction. The Afghan War dairies reveal similar misinformation
and misconduct, and the US government wishes to deflect our
attention from the content of these documents.
It is precisely this type of information that can turn public
opinion against the war and revitalize the antiwar movement.
While Manning has not been convicted of a crime, he is being held
in solitary confinement under conditions that have been described
as cruel and unusual.(See Glenn Greenwald, “The Inhumane
Conditions of Bradley Manning,” Salon.com. December 15, 2010,
www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/14/
manning/index.html)
Some actions you may take to support Bradley Manning and
transparency in government:
1. Sign a petition in support of Bradley at
www.standwithbradley.org
2. The Bradley Manning Support Fund and Courage to Resist are
raising funds for Bradley’s defense. Information on donations is
available at:
www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/858/1/
3. Letters and postcards to Bradley Manning can be sent to:
Bradley Manning
c/o Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave #41
Oakland CA 94610
USA
|
|
[View the list]
|
