Is this really the land of freedom & liberty
The American soldier accused of providing more than 700,000 secret documents to the WikiLeaks website goes on trial in Maryland on Monday charged with the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history.
Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, faces a possible life sentence without parole if convicted for the 2010 leak that outraged the U.S. government.
Manning faces 21 counts, including the most serious one of aiding the enemy, as well as prosecution under the Espionage Act of 1917.
Manning pleaded guilty in court in February to 10 lesser charges that he was the source of the WikiLeaks release. He said he had released the files to spark a domestic debate on the military and on foreign policy in general.
WikiLeaks began exposing the secrets the same year, stunning diplomats and U.S. officials who said the leaks endangered lives.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has taken refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden and then to the USA
Civil liberties groups have argued that the court is restricting access to the case by withholding court documents and other information about proceedings from the public.
Uncle Sam and his cronies accuses Manning of having endangered national security by releasing the war logs, which included reports of torture and civilian casualties, and the embassy cables, which detailed candid and often embarrassing remarks by world leaders and US officials.
The soldier’s supporters argue his actions shone a light in the darkest corners of the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as exposing the reasoning behind American foreign policy decisions. Manning admitted in February to leaking the documents, saying he hoped to start a public debate, but denied knowingly aiding Al Qaeda or other US foes
Have you ever talked to Fox News watchers or Sun readers ?
Hahahahah..Brit...do you really think people generally believe that about governments?
I seriously doubt that !
What Bradley Manning has done is open the eyes of may, who still believed that governments and politicans are squeecky clean and "our" government only acts ethically.
The americans did not want the world to know that while they were helping the goverment in afghanistan they were also providing Viagara and other goodies to the warlords and the taliban to keep them happy and in good spirits among their women and their mistresses. They were actually playing both sides against each other and finally got their fingers burnt themselves
I applaud him for bringing to light many communications and the workings of the politicians. He believed he was doing the right thing , but in the eyes of the law, he is a traitor.
Assange is an idiot.
and that soldier too who made the leaks. But heroes dies, and then they become famous.
Landlover, I don't think too many people care really.
Anyway, what he did or does won't change the big picture.
we never know what was his intention.. anyway all eyes on him now..
Even if he did not take payment for it, it is a serious crime. Maybe he believed he was acting for some higher purpose but he would have known the consequences.
Landlover, if he really had ONLY the good of the people in mind it would have worked out for him. He sought the limelight and he went bust. As simple as that.
RIP r u sure he sold it or just sent it voluntarily?
And that too treason, and treason carries serious penalties in many if not all nations around the world.He being punished is no surprise, but hopefully so would all those wrongdoers exposed with evidences in his reports. Hope they all get their just dues.
This man sold state secrets to a third party non-American national. That is called treason. It is not the same as freedom of speech or liberty.
Landlover...and you think you REALLY do ?
Wikileaks had a huge impact on US globally.. I think it is great to find out how china REALLY feels about North Korea. How the Middle East REALLY feels about Iran and to be able to see what's really going on in backstage of international diplomacy.
landlover, the truth is always relative, it depends on who tells it....everybody has an agenda/ particular view one way or another.
Nomi today in Al Jazeerah I was listening that rate of suicide in soldiers is higher than the deaths on war. If truths are hidden by the politicians , bringing it out by putting their life at risk is heroic. After wikileaks , many understood the real face of american politics..
You know my friend is a UK journalist.. he was in Iraq during Invasion..after war they pulled Saddam statue down and some people were dancing.. he told everybody was hired to do that just to make media coverage that Iraqis are happy after Saddam..
They own media, they own banks and they keep truths away from a huge population..
Here is the thing..people like Assange are either stupid or they are exceptionally vein and craving for fame...otherwise would they not try to keep secret who they are..as they must realize they are violating the law and will be caught.
and the funny and most stupid thing is that the so called democracies in the world like the UK, Sweeden and others are trying to get hold of Julian Assange of wiki leaks and trying to hand him over to the USA and the worst are the australians who dont even want to stand up for their own citizen. Bradley manning and Julian Assange should be nominated for the Nobel prize and not some nutcases like leaders of big nations
He breaks the law by providing more than 700,000 secret documents to the WikiLeaks website
but also the people whom have been exposed are also guilty and should face the same punishment or maybe more !
exposing secret documents is against the law but keeping social secrets from their own people just to protect their goodness is also against law..as Americans chant the word Democracy & Freedom.
Obeying your superior in military is your job but if he violate the laws , shooting him is also a part of job description..
Punish the soldiers based on the leaked actual report for the crimes they committed.
Damn the US and their soldiers who remote control kill innocent civillians (Using drones).
But they expect nothing but a big natural disaster washing away the americans.
in our twisted world lairs and thieves get a Nobel Prize for their crookedness,
People who tell the truth get a life sentence.
If leaking and stealing secret documents is considered a crime how come the americans are the ones who are top on the list doing this types of crimes even in so called friendly countries
In my opinion this man is a hero, a silver lining in dark America, and I hope the free citizens of the world will rally for his freedom.
Now who I believe should face trial and have their dead bodies dumped in the open ocean?
Gorge W Bush, Tony Blair, DICK Cheney! Rice! NATO and its members for the use of torture and mass destruction weapons on civilians!
not ONLY to military or government documents...even at your company it is considered against the rules!
Well yes. Leaking secret government documents is considered treason in every country in the world.
Well the americans were not so much afraid of the exposure of their military secrets but of the way they were exposed taking other leaders, other nations and other people for fools until they got exposed about their dirty tricks by wiki leaks and company
Well, exposing secret documents is against the law.
So it has nothing to do with freedom or liberty.