Were All Bradley ManningStephen Lendman Post-9/11, its been on the chopping block for elimination. Convicting Manning of anything compromises what is too important to lose. He deserves praise, not prosecution. His fate is ours. Thats whats fundamentally at stake. Everyone stands to win or lose with him. In his February plea statement, he said he wanted to spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan. Americans have a right to know the true costs of war, he stressed. He called war logs given WikiLeaks some of the most important documents of our time. He chose ones he believed wouldnt cause harm to the United States. Washingtons obsessed with capturing and killing people, he said. He was sickened by the Collateral Murder video he saw. US helicopter pilots gunned down innocent civilians. They murdered anyone trying to help them. Manning called doing so bloodlust. He exposed lawlessness. He reflects justifiable resistance. Francis Boyle calls it our Nuremberg moment US government officials are the outlaws, he says. Marjorie Cohn calls Mannings heroism uncommon courage. He fulfilled his legal duty to report war crimes, she said. Enshrined in the US Army Subject Schedule No. 27-1 is the obligation to report all violations of the law of war. FMs paragraph 498 says any person, military or civilian, who commits a crime under international law is responsible for it and may be punished. Paragraph 499 defines a war crime. Every violation of the law of war is a war crime, it states. Paragraph 500 refers to a conspiracy, attempts to commit it, and complicity with respect to international crimes. Paragraph 509 denies the defense of superior orders in the commission of a crime. Paragraph 510 denies the defense of an act of state to absolve them. These provisions apply to all US military and civilian personnel. No ones exempt throughout the military and civilian chain of command up to where the buck stops. Under the Constitutions Supremacy Clause (Article VI, paragraph 2), all international laws and treaties are the supreme Law of the Land. Failure to uphold it defines lawlessness. Howard Zinn called dissent the highest form of patriotism. So is exposing crimes too grave to ignore. Crimes of war, against humanity and genocide demand disclosure. Manning was legally obligated to reveal them. He acted legally and responsibly. Prosecuting him for doing so mocks rule of law justice. It makes it a four-letter word. Manning faces 22 charges. He pleaded guilty to 10 lesser ones. He denied 12 greater ones. Most serious is aiding the enemy. Doing so is treason. Its a capital offense. Its separate from the main accusation against him. Hes charged with leaking classified information to people unauthorized to receive it. The ACLU says doing so raises enormous problems. Convicting him under these circumstances would be unconstitutional. At issue is posting alleged intelligence information online. Prosecutors say doing so aids Al Qaeda. They dont claim Manning did so intentionally or intended to. They claim he indirectly did because documents he supplied appeared on WikiLeaks web site. Anyone can access it. So can Al Qaeda. Manning, they say, knew that. They charged him with violating Article 104 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). It states that any person who gives intelligence to or communicates or corresponds with or holds any intercourse with the enemy, either directly or indirectly; shall suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial or military commission may direct. Article 104 isnt limited to sensitive or classified information. It prohibits all unauthorized communications or contacts with the enemy direct or indirect. The implications of the governments argument are breathtaking, says ACLU. Everyone is potentially vulnerable. Included are whistleblowers, journalists doing their job, sources they use, editors they report to, lawyers they consult, others advising them, anti-war activists, bloggers, and anyone challenging government policies. Free expression, the press and other fundamental freedoms are threatened. At perhaps the most perilous time in world history, exposing vital truths becomes more urgent than ever. Suppressing them by intimidation and prosecutions prevents doing so. Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Fundamental freedoms are threatened. Post-9/11, theyve been gravely compromised. Mannings trial reflects Washingtons attempt to eviscerate them further. Free expression is fundamental. Without it all other rights are endangered. Obamas waging war to destroy it. Hes targeted more whistleblowers than all his predecessors combined. Hes done so throughout his tenure. He acts without justification. He governs lawlessly, repressively and secretly. Openness and transparency are verboten. Secrecy defines his administration. It reflects Mannings trial. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) challenged it. On April 17, it headlined Press and Public Denied Access to Documents in Bradley Manning Case, saying: Today, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) rejected claims in a lawsuit by the Center for Constitutional Rights challenging government secrecy around Mannings court martial. CCR sued on behalf of journalists. At issue is the publics right to know. They challenged the fact that important legal matters in the pre-trial proceedings have been argued and decided in secret. The court rejected the claims on the grounds that military appellate courts lack jurisdiction to address the scope of public access until a trial is over and the sentence has been issued. The decision was 3-to-2, issued over two vigorous dissents. CCR senior attorney Shayana Kadidal argued the case. Todays decision flies in the face of decades of First Amendment rulings in the federal courts that hold that openness affects outcome that the accuracy of court proceedings depends on their being open, she said. Bradley Mannings trial will now take place under conditions where journalists and the public will be unable as a practical matter to follow what is going on in the courtroom. That ensures that any verdict will be fundamentally unfair, and will generate needless appeals afterwards if he is convicted. Dissenting judges said this decision leaves collateral appeal to (civilian) courts as the sole mechanism to vindicate the right to a public trial beyond the initial good judgment of the military judge. This is unworkable and cannot reflect congressional design or presidential intent. On May 22, CCR headlined Constitutional Rights Attorneys, Media Challenge Secrecy of Manning Court Martial in Civilian Court. CCR filed a complaint and motion for preliminary injunction. It did so in Baltimore federal district court. It challenged government secrecy. Maintaining it spurns the publics right to know. CCRs Kadidal called civilian courts the last option. If this lawsuit fails, she said, secrecy will triumph over openness. Journalists and others wont have access they deserve. On Mannings trial day one (June 3), CCR reported Still no meaningful access. Denying it makes proceedings farcical. Unsurprisingly, the court has refused to set aside two dedicated seats for the crowd-sourced stenographers the public and press have raised the funds to pay. Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) campaigned for permission. FPF said trial judge Colonel Denise Lind granted the right to stenographically transcribe the trial from the media room. However, no press passes were issued. The military media desk stonewalled FPFs request. On June 3, one FPF stenographer got access. A borrowed press pass was used. Transcribing proceedings requires full access. Two stenographers are needed. The process is too grueling for one. All the opinions that had been released via FOIA a few weeks ago have now inexplicably been taken down from the site. The publics right to full disclosure is seriously compromised. Obama wants proceedings as opaque and inaccessible as possible. The Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press will be filing an amicus brief this week in the new Center for Constitutional Rights federal case challenging the publics lack of meaningful access to the trial and trial documents. Oral argument in that case will be in two weeks, on June 17. From the day Manning was arrested, the entire process against him has been fundamentally flawed and illegitimate. It reflects the worst of police state justice. Mannings fate is sealed. Obamas crush(ing) him. At issue is intimidating and terrorizing anyone daring to reveal information that Washington wants kept secret. CCR president emeritus Michael Ratner believes Mannings trial will last 12 16 weeks. Much will go on secretly. Prosecutors plan on about 150 witnesses. Twenty-eight will give secret testimony 24 partly, four completely. Doing so is outrageous. According to Ratner, theyll discuss uploaded WikiLeaks documents. Theyll include information Manning provided. Theyre available online. Anyone can access them. Washington considers them classified and secret. They wont be openly discussed or shown in court. Its part of prosecutorial secrecy. It mocks judicial fairness. Ratner calls Mannings trial one of the most punitive in US history. Its one of the most secret. Its one of the most unfair. Its unconscionable. Imagine, said Ratner, war criminals remain unaccountable. Truth-telling is on trial. Manning should be honored, not prosecuted. Justice is egregiously denied. Convicting him will be used against Julian Assange. Washington wants him extradited to America. Reports suggest a sealed indictment awaits him. If hes brought here, hell be imprisoned and never heard from again, said Ratner. Secrecy prevents judicial fairness. It flouts democratic principles. America never was beautiful. Its never been a democracy. For sure its not one now. Mannings trial represents the worst of police state justice. It reflects deplorable deplorable judicial unfairness. It reveals tyranny up close and personal. It shows what everyones up against. Theres no place to hide. A Final Comment His opening statement stressed Mannings humanism. Hes not your typical soldier, he said. He wore customized dog tags that read humanist. He strove to help his unit, wanting everyone to come safely every day, but he wanted the locals to go home safely every day too. He wanted to make a difference and tried. He believed information too important to conceal should be made public. He felt obligated to do so. Exposing wrongdoing is fundamental. Doing the right thing is its own reward. Testimonies began after lunch. Many more trial days remain. Pre-trial, Obama pronounced Manning guilty by accusation. He said so publicly. He sealed Mannings fate. What military or civilian judge would dare overrule the president and commander in chief? Whod have the chutzpah to do so? How harsh the verdict will be remains to be seen. Prosecutors ruled out the death penalty. Decades in prison or life seems likely. By August or September well know. America reaches for new depths. Responsible officials deserve eternal hell. They deserve a lower level Dante forgot. Nations that punish their best lose all legitimacy. Doing so shows what were all up against. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.His new book is titled How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War.Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/ linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 