OUTRAGE: The following are parts of an article by Chris Hedges dealing with the trial of Bradley Manning who released classified documents to Wikileaks. These documents reveal the multitude of crimes committed by the U.S. military in the middle east. It is important to note that no charges have been brought against those who committed the crimes, only against the person who saw crimes being committed against humanity and felt obligated to reveal tthese crimes. THE JUDICIAL LYNCHING OF BRADLEY MANNING by Chris Hedges The military trial of Bradley Manning is a judicial lynching. The government has effectively muzzled the defense team. The Army private first class is not permitted to argue that he had a moral and legal obligation under international law to make public the war crimes he uncovered. The documents that detail the crimes, torture and killing Manning revealed, because they are classified, have been barred from discussion in court, effectively removing the fundamental issue of war crimes from the trial. Manning showed us through the documents he released that Iraqis have endured hundreds of rapes and murders, along with systematic torture by the military and police of the puppet government we installed. He let us know that none of these atrocities were investigated. He provided the data that showed us that between 2004 and 2009 there were at least 109,032 “violent deaths” in Iraq, including those of 66,081 civilians, and that coalition troops were responsible for at least 195 civilian deaths in unreported events. He allowed us to see in the video “Collateral Murder” the helicopter attack on unarmed civilians in Baghdad. It was because of Manning that we could listen to the callous banter between pilots as the Americans nonchalantly fired on civilian rescuers. Manning let us see a U.S. Army tank crush one of the wounded lying on the street after the helicopter attack. Yet, none of those implicated in the above crimes has been charged and put on trial. It is only the man who revealed these crimes who is on trial and fighting for his life. DAVE
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:07:14 +0000