Updates to this story
A US Congressman has called for the bloke who leaked secret documents to Wikileaks to be executed.
Congressman Mike Rogers says he supports execution for the soldier involved if he is ultimately found guilty.
This splendid example of humanity is a Republican who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, which must shorely be some mishtake.
Rogers said that Private Bradley Manning appears to be guilty of treason in time of war, which is a capital crime.
He hit out what he called a "culture of disclosure" for encouraging someone like Manning into thinking that the release of such sensitive information was a good thing.
Rogers told his local radio station that Mannings' actions must have condemned to death many Afghans who assisted the United States. It is hard to see how the leaked docuuments could have done that as US collaborators were not mentioned. So far the only people to make the claim that anyone is at risk is the US government.
The number of collaborators at risk is nothing compared to the numbers of people that were accidentally killed by US assassination squad cock-ups which Rogers wants to execute a young bloke for telling the world about. Death is too good for the bloke who revealed that Pakistan "allies" had built safe havens for the terrorists who were killing Americans.
Manning is currently being held in solitary confinement in Virginia where he may face a court martial or federal prosecution as the investigation continues.
Photo of Bradley Manning credit to Bradley Manning Defence Fund
Actually, War is a Crime!
Maybe Congressman Rogers is right in his intentions. But, knowing how congress has been behaving these days.... I am inclined to doubt it. The soldier did break Army regulations, but treason? I am not too sure. I am worried that all this is just the first shot in closing down the internet.
Hang them first.
Did I miss the trial!!! And this guy is up there in DC with the rest of the idoits, Dems and Reps alike, "PROTECTING OUR CONSTITUTION!!!" I say get rid of all of them.
ROBERT GATES – SEC. OF DEFENSE ALSO LEAKS JUST LIKE BRADLEY MANNING/WIKILEAKS
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/world/03pentagon.html
The memo by Mr. Gates, a former C.I.A. director, also demanded greater adherence to secrecy standards, issuing a stern warning against the release of classified information: “Leaking of classified information is against the law, cannot be tolerated and will, when proven, lead to the prosecution of those found to be engaged in such activity.”
A copy of the unclassified memo by Mr. Gates was provided to The New York Times by an official who was not authorized to release it. Douglas B. Wilson, the new assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, and Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, verified its content.
=======================
KARL EIKENBERRY LEAKS JUST LIKE BRADLEY MANNING/WIKILEAKS
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e7523906-7eef-11df-8398-00144feabdc0.html
http://documents.nytimes.com/eikenberry-s-memos-on-the-strategy-in-afghanistan
Meanwhile, Mr Eikenberry’s doubts about US strategy and its reliance on Hamid Karzai, Afghan president, were aired in a leaked memo that left Gen McChrystal feeling, in his own words, “betrayed”.
But it is Gen McChrystal who has been most at odds with his colleagues – as is seen by the swipes by him and his aides in this week’s Rolling Stone article against everyone from Joe Biden, US vice-president, to Senator John McCain.
=================
FORMER GENERAL MCCHRYSTAL LEAKS LIKE BRADLEY MANNING/WIKILEAKS
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e7523906-7eef-11df-8398-00144feabdc0.html
His position was particularly exposed, precisely because Mr Obama’s strategy, unveiled at a speech at West Point military academy, was ultimately so influenced by the plans Gen McChrystal drew up, which had been leaked in an apparent – and seemingly successful – effort to put pressure on the administration.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-carmichael/memo-to-obama-dismiss-mcc_b_310578.html
In his new command, General McChrystal assumed responsibility for a military plan for Afghanistan. In late August, General McChrystal submitted his 66-page confidential report to your Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. Three weeks later, General McChrystal’s confidential report leaked to The Washington Post in what some have described as the most egregious leakage of national security documents since the Pentagon Papers.
=====================
We didn’t vote for or elect any of the above individuals but they all engage/engaged in leaking documents to achieve their own political/institutional agendas.
Why is Bradley Manning in trouble if the leadership has failed to demonstrate any adequate judgement relating to confidential documents.
At least we got the beef with the Afghan War Logs…
The military leadership has lost all discipline and the lack of discipline is stirring up the infantry.
Why doesn’t MSM criticize the receivers of the above mentioned leaks?
Where were those operational/safety concerns of our soldiers? Where were those concerns about our relationships with allies and enemies?
Not true. The files published were not fully expunged of HUMINT sources' names, and in some cases locations were also revealed. This has been widely reported and tacitly admitted by Assange.
If this young man broke U.S. military regulations, he should be preferred before a courts martial and if convicted, should be subjected to the requisite punishment. Soldiers have been executed in the past for major infractions.
This is not a matter for U.S. Congress, they cannot intervene, they cannot pass a retroactive law.
This matter should be handled by the U.S. military justice system and civilian authorities should let the U.S. military justice system operate uninfluenced.
A military without discipline is just an armed mob and dangerous to all.
Please show me where it says that in the U.S. Code of Laws, or in the laws of ANY country on this planet. No, the planet of your birth doesn't count. You libtards take your own warped sense of morality and try to turn it into something universal. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
War itself has never been a crime, anywhere. Acts committed during a war may, depending on the victors, be considered extra-legal crimes, i.e., post-WW2 Nuremberg trials. What the accused were charged with were NOT crimes in the nation in which they were citizens, the victors decided, post-facto, to indict those people based on some vague sense of extra-legal revenge.
Liquidating millions of people by gassing was NOT a crime in Nazi Germany. It was deemed a "crime against humanity" after hostilities by the victors intent on ensuring that Nazi leaders were punished for causing WW2 to occur. The 'holocaust' was one of the victors' excuses to convict and execute the 'guilty'.
If Germany had defeated USSR, no doubt Joe Stalin and his Bolshevik criminal henchmen would have been convicted and executed by the Germans as having committed 'crimes against humanity'. Or probably just executed, as Germans tend to be rather efficient and wouldn't want to waste time on show trials.
Please reread your history books. They invented showtrials to remove unwanted elements of society. Most of the trials during the nazi years where showtrials with propaganda in mind.
The congressman is afraid he will be tarbrushed a war criminal. He is doing what other cornered, wounded animals do.
Heaven help those who try to defend his actions.
No wait, can't do that. Bush issued Rove a presidential pardon.
Shorry - my mishtake.
Rogers must have plenty to hide.
We the people have a right to know the truth.
The whistleblower is the HERO.
While the US might be fighting a "war" in Iraq/Afghanistan, there has been no formal declaration of war by Congress. And thus, Private Manning would not be guilty of "treason in time of war". Congressman Rogers needs to get his facts straight, and at NO time should a whistleblower EVER be executed. Imprisoned perhaps, but never executed.
Whoever, OWING ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES, levies war against them or ADHERES TO THEIR ENEMIES, giving them aid and comfort within the United States, or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000 and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
It's clear that Congressman Rogers is quite correct!
You may be considered to be a traitor to the U.S. Government, but you are not a traitor to our Constitution, in exposing the crimes and wrongdoings that are being done “in the name of Americans”. It took great courage at your own personal risk to expose to the world all the wrong that is being perpetrated and being kept in secrecy from us. It is one thing to defend our country from those who do, or plan to do us harm, but it is quite another to perpetrate crimes and killings in order to control the oil and riches of the world on behalf of the very rich. It is wrong to lie to start wars and to manipulate the American people via the media.
I hope and pray that no harm will come to you and that Americans who know the difference between right and wrong will continue to rally behind you and help you to regain your freedom. We deserve and want to know the truth, and you, sir, did just that. Something that our corporate media and apparently our own government will NOT do. I hope that out of all this, we will somehow be able to get our government to the right thing. You are a true hero and a great humanitarian.
Whether you like it or not you and I are nothing more than a puppet to the master. If any of you do not believe what I saying, then please do your research because it has all been documented, and if you search you shall find, and when you have done your research then you decide what sort of person you want to be in this world and what sort of legacy you want to leave for your children. Because if we continue down the same path there will be nothing for any of us in the future.If you open your eyes you will find so much information out there and you will realize that even what you were taught in school was a falsehood, not all but much of it. You will never get a government or any world leaders to admit to any of this, the most they will ever say "Oh we got it wrong"! We do not even hold them accountable for their deeds.No instead they go on to write memoirs and make more money from a dumbed down public. This is an outrage, but do I see people in the streets protesting.......No