By Jacob Richards
What a strange world we live in! Who would have thought that someone who sheds light on the most heinous of war crimes would face 35 years in prison while those responsible should face no justice at all? Yet that is exactly the situation the United States Government has allowed come to pass.
As you will be all too aware Bradley Manning was sentenced today and now faces the next 35 years of his life in a prison cell. His crime was to give the world access to information it deserved to know. Can the United States government really suggest that releasing documents showing its own military casually murdering civilians is not in the public interest? Well of course it can, and what’s more it will make an example of you should you be the one sharing that information.
Today’s sentencing is an attempt to do just that. The hope here is that it will strike fear in the hearts of those who wish to share the truth for the public good whether they be journalists or whistle-blowers. It may succeed but only if we let it. It is clear from the cases of Manning, Snowden and others that war is being waged upon those who dare to speak out. The US government will see today as a minor victory towards winning that war but it is up to us to keep up the fight. Events such as today and the recent detention of Glenn Greenwald’s partner David Miranda remind us of this.
If there is perhaps a single positive to be taken from today’s events it is that President Obama and the United States government are quickly revealing their true nature and character. It is one of which holds contempt for all that may stand in the way of US interests whatever they may be. And so Obama can peddle as much bullshit as he wants about freedom, democracy and human rights but given what happened today there should be no doubt about the falsehoods he proclaims. His administration’s treatment of Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden and other whistle-blowers is an absolute disgrace. We cannot afford to lie idle while such treatment continues. Heroes like Bradley Manning depend on us. Let the fight continue…