Sunday, August 15, 2010

Pfc. Bradley Manning, Atheist Gay Loner, Hailed as Antiwar Hero in Criminal WikiLeaks Case

The antiwar left embraces misfits when it needs them, uses them up, spits them out, then moves on to the next target of destruction. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is the next Cindy Sheehan. He's an atheist gay loner who never fit in. He's being used now by the anti-American crowd, including Code Pink and International ANSWER, and they'll suck him dry and flatten him — he'll be dead to them like a honey bee after stinging. NYT posted a sorry essay previously, "Early Struggles of Soldier Charged in Leak Case." It notes there that classmates in Oklahoma "made fun of him for being gay." Poor guy. I guess that makes it okay then to criminally leak classified information that puts American and allied lives at risk. Radical leftists don't care, of course. He's the new big guy of the movement. See WaPo, "Army Analyst Linked to WikiLeaks Hailed as Antiwar Hero" (via Memeorandum):

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For antiwar campaigners from Seattle to Iceland, a new name has become a byword for anti-establishment heroism: Army Pfc. Bradley E. Manning.

Manning, a 22-year-old intelligence analyst, is suspected of leaking thousands of classified documents about the Afghanistan war to the Web site WikiLeaks.

The breach has elicited a furious reaction from national security officials, who say it has compromised the safety of U.S.-led forces and their Afghan allies.

Yet, since his arrest in the spring, Manning has become an instant folk hero to thousands of grass-roots activists around the world, some of whom are likening the disclosure to the unauthorized release of the Pentagon Papers or the anonymous tips that helped uncover the Watergate scandal.

Neither Manning nor his attorney have commented on the WikiLeaks dump -- and WikiLeaks has not identified Manning as its source. But chat logs released by an online confidant suggest that the intelligence analyst was as disturbed by U.S. foreign policy as many of the strangers now supporting him.

In the logs, Manning said he had seen "incredible things, awful things" in classified government files. It's "important that it gets out . . . I feel, for some bizarre reason," he said.

The Pentagon has played down the significance of the files disclosed by WikiLeaks. But that has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of Manning's supporters.
And according to the article, one of his antiwar support groups, Courage to Resist ...
... developed a line of Manning memorabilia, replete with images of the boyish-looking private. There are "Save Bradley Manning!" badges, posters and T-shirts. The products' tagline: "Blowing the whistle on war crimes is not a crime."
Yep, using him up. That's sick.

5 comments:

Bartender Cabbie said...

No quarter for treason. Hero of the left or not, he has committed treason.

Rusty Walker said...

Even in the military a person is innocent until proven guilty. Pfc Manning, is a private in the military with a clearance. In order to get a clearance one must undergo extensive background investigation much more rigorous for top secret. Being a loner, atheist doesn’t disallow a clearance. It always seems ironic that sexual preference is not supposed to be an issue, yet it is brought up again and again when it is useful. None of this matters.

Manning has been formally charged by the U.S. military with at least one violation of the Espionage Act and multiple other criminal violations of diclosing classified documents and videos. It is my undersatnding, that as part of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he will undergo an Article 32 Hearing. An investigating officer is appointed, investigates, and the findings presented to a convening court martial board. The base or division commander will consider whether there is enough evidence or not enough evidence to proceed to a court-martial. He could get up to 32 years (this is serious, but not a violation punishable by death).

JBW said...

Of course it matters, Rusty: being a gay atheist makes one a bad person and thus must be emphasized whenever Don disagrees with them. Are you new here, my friend?

Dave said...

Manning should be hung from the Washington Monument and left to rot until the buzzards have consumed the last of his flesh.

Wikkileaks plug should be pulled, and everyone associated with that site should be hunted like dogs and shot on sight.

No, not arrested, not tried, not given ACLU lawyer goons, nor treated like honored guests, but shot DRT.*

Many who are aiding us in the GWOT are being killed right now because of what these traitors and spies have done.

These people need to be made a hideous example of, to the point where anyone in the future will be too afraid to do similarly.

-Dave

*Dead Right There

Anonymous said...

Bradley Manning is a young idealist. It makes no diff if he is gay or not. He saw things he considered immoral and he revealed them. A lot of immoral things and some noble things have been done in past times of war but the difference is that the general public only got to know about the bits chosen by those in control. Years later, the truth emerges and history that you were taught has to have a new slant on it to incorporate the truths that were conveniently left out. Mr Manning has only shortened the process by a few years.

The blustering and hooha eminating from various quarters of the power elite and media and the developing smear campaigns of those said to be involved is a tiresome reminder of how frightened these people are of the truth. If their power structure was built on genuine principles, then they would have nothing to fear.