At Fort Meade in Maryland, a pretrial hearing is underway in the government's case against Private Bradley Manning, the soldier who allegedly turned over hundreds of thousands of secret reports and cables to Wikileaks. This month, an important new book on the 24-year-old has been published. In The Passion of Bradley Manning: The Story of the Suspect Behind the Largest Security Breach in U.S. History, Chase Madar says that Manning deserves the Presidential medal of Freedom for opening up our secretive foreign policy to public discussion. I talked to the author this morning.
Tell us what's happening in the case:
Chase Madar: It’s absolutely a given that Manning is going to be convicted and sentenced to at least 50 years. It’s inexorable. That said, I don’t think the case itself is one of the major injustices that’s colliding here. There’s some unfairness in the way the prosecution is taking liberties, but the real and major injustices are laws that encourage extreme secrecy and punish transparency and everything that goes long with that, like the Iraq war.
One good development-- in yesterday’s pretrial hearing, the judge did require the prosecution to provide all the internal damage reports-- what damage was done or really not done by these leaks. I think what you're going to see is that even by the government’s own estimates, these disclosures did not harm national security or national interests, broadly defined.
In your book you show that our national interest is actually in having these things openly discussed, and Bradley Manning struck a blow for our right to discuss the policy over there.
Yes. People are so eager to talk about the national security costs of transparency, but we’ve seen the heavy costs and risks of government secrecy. Government secrecy, distortions and lies are a big factor that got us into Iraq and that 50 years ago got us into Vietnam. Both of these wars did immense damage to foreign peoples-- though we hardly dare to count those bodies-- and killed thousands of Americans. The Iraq war cost $3 trillion at least, and these are the wages of government secrecy.
And instead of opening up and ending this pathological habit of government secrecy, we have the Obama administration punishing whistleblowers, punishing the messenger. Which is exactly the wrong response.
Didn't we win battles on transparency after Vietnam?
It’s true that in the early 70s there was a backlash against Watergate and the Vietnam war, annd you had a real thaw, and the national security state was reined in by the Senate restrictions on the CIA and FBI. There was some discipline imposed on the government. Many of us hoped for a similar reaction to the Bush and Cheney national security state, but it is not happening. Instead you have Obama normalizing and solidifying Bush-Cheney national security policies.
Could that climate change?
It’s possible that by focusing attention and organizing around Bradley Manning’s case, we could still get the kind of rollback of government secrecy and spying we should have had long ago, but it’s certainly not a sure thing. We really have our work cut out for us.
The title of your book is The Passion of Bradley Manning. I of course think of Jesus.
Well, a strong meaning here is his sense of self sacrifice.
You have the told the story of a truly inspiring American, a kid from Oklahoma who has a moral understanding of what he's involved in and decides not to be part of it. Tell us about him.
If you read the chatlogs between Manning and the government informant Adrian Lamo, they read like a heartbreaking novella. And they tell most of Manning’s life story right there. It’s important to note that Bradley Manning was a true believer in democracy, truth and really patriotic duty. And he allegedly did what he allegedly did not out of vandalism or cynicism, but just out of the very-- it’s an almost boring American sentiment-- that people should know what their government is doing. It's a sentiment that has been expressed by so many politicians, and it’s so uncontroversial.
And most whistleblowers, like Manning, are true believers in the system. Thomas Drake in the NSA, who was recently persecuted by the Obama administration, and Peter van Buren of the State Department who just got fired by the State Dep't for being too critical of the Iraq war and how it was conducted-- these people are true believers. Bradley Manning truly thought that Iraqi freedom would be about Iraqi freedom.
But he was never ideological, never religious for that war.
No. He was very young when it all started. He was never a neocon or neolib. But he is someone who believes in patriotic service, that you should help your country… And he also wanted a university education. He also wanted the GI bill.
Your book shows how he changed on a dime when he discovered that he was helping the Iraqi government detain civilians for distributing "anti-Iraqi literature," when they were passing around an investigative report called, "Where Does the Money Go?" about financial corruption in Iraq. And they were subjected to torture. He didn't need to think it over; that did it for him.
Yes. And when he raised this issue up the chain of command, he was told, shut up, get back to work rounding up authorities for the Iraqi authority.
Reading your book, I feel real pity for Manning because of loneliness. Is the government going to kill him?
No. Aiding the enemy is a capital crime, and he’s accused of that. But the Obama administration has made it clear they will not seek the death penalty.
Could Bradley Manning become a Daniel Ellsberg figure in our lives in years to come?
I hope so. The only reason why Ellsberg was not convicted of a crime-- and Ellsberg has never been shy about saying that he broke the law-- is that there was a favorable political climate in the early 70s. There was a critical mass in the liberal establishment, in law, in academia, in media that supported him. Manning’s had some support from a few really great lawyers and journalists, but not that much.
There are a few reasons why it’s so different. First, because the Vietnam war and the existence of a draft really spread the pain of the war much more evenly than the pain of our last decade’s wars. I'm not saying it was spread perfectly. But this brought a sense of urgency and crisis to middle class households and middle class intellectuals, and this time, by contrast, our intellectuals have been completely insulated from the burdens and the costs of our foreign policy.
That plus having a Democrat in the White House instead of Richard Nixon really defangs a lot of the liberal and intellectual criticism.
Other factors. Manning is easier to marginalize than Ellsberg. Manning is just a private, Manning is gay. Ellsberg had been a model marine who graduated first in his class at officer training school. He had a great career as a defense consultant. It was very hard to write off Daniel Ellsberg as a weirdo. Whereas our media has been happy to write off Bradley Manning as a headcase or a weirdo. Whistleblowers are always pathologized and so this is nothing new.
At the very end of the book, you tell readers how they can communicate to Bradley Manning, and you say he's said to appreciate letters. (Pfc. Bradley Manning, #89289, JRCF, 830 Sabalu Road, Fort Leavenworth KS 66027-2315). When you write him, what do you say to him?
I hope he’s doing all right. I tell him about the people who I talk to in my research who really love the leaks--whether it’s a Haitian American activist or a Tunisian academic, who see Bradley Manning as a champion of freedom.
He hasn’t written back. He’s not communicating, which kind of makes sense.
“Other factors. Manning is easier to marginalize than Ellsberg. Manning is just a private, Manning is gay. Ellsberg had been a model marine who graduated first in his class at officer training school. He had a great career as a defense consultant. It was very hard to write off Daniel Ellsberg as a weirdo. Whereas our media has been happy to write off Bradley Manning as a headcase or a weirdo. Whistleblowers are always pathologized and so this is nothing new. ”
Ellsberg talking about Bradley Manning
link to youtube.com
whistleblowers are always pathologized . . .
speaking of which, what about manning’s state of mind? is he even fit to stand trial? and what happened to lamo? i thought much of this case rested on alleged communications between manning and lamo? is lamo available to testify at the trial? this case really stinks to high heaven.
marc b., Manning is from all accounts able to stand trial, and has been from the beginning. The government has gone at length to pathologize this whistleblower as a nutcase; for the first 9 months of Manning’s imprisonment at the Quantico brig, he was held in solitary, drugged to the gills, and for some of the time, deprived of his clothing and glasses, all, of course, “for his own good.”
But it turns out that this purely punitive treatment went against the brig psychiatrist’s own advice, who in 15 assessments over this period made it clear that Manning was mentally fine, NOT a suicide risk, and not in need of “prevention of harm” watch. A second psychiatrist brought in by Manning’s defense attorney also found the young private to be in decent mental health, DESPITE the brig’s punitive isolation.
Whistleblowers are frequently treated like crazy people; the Soviet Union used to lock up political dissidents in “psikuschkas,” psychiatric prisons where the inmates were confined and drugged up, all of course “for their own good.” Our government’s treatment of Manning has not been markedly different. And it also bears comparison to our government’s treatment of 70-100,000 other American prisoners in some form of long-term solitary for less exotic crimes.
che, i don’t doubt that he was competent, probably mentally tougher than most, but as you point out, i also don’t doubt that they are trying to break him. prolonged solitary is torture, and the authorities know it because they designed the psychological models for torture back in the 50s.
Yes, without a doubt: they were certainly trying to break him, both as an object lesson to other would-be whistleblowers, and probably to force him to implicate Assange. And yes, it’s high time we recognized long-term solitary as a form of torture.
Phil: The only reason why Ellsberg was not convicted of a crime– and Ellsberg has never been shy about saying that he broke the law– is that there was a favorable political climate in the early 70s. . . . Kathleen: It was very hard to write off Daniel Ellsberg as a weirdo.
Now that you mention it, the US District Court dismissed the charges against Ellsberg and Russo with prejudice, because the government had destroyed evidence of its secret wiretaps and logs related to its investigation and the break-in at Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office. That had been the very first task given to the White House Plumber’s Unit. It ushered-in the Watergate era. That seminal event was undertaken in hopes of finding material that the government could use to discredit Ellsberg as a weirdo, but the whole operation backfired when Judge Byrne got word of it. W. Mark Felt, the deputy director of the FBI (Deep Throat), leaked reports about the cover-up to the press.
Hi, Chase Madar here.
There is excellent day-to-day coverage of the Manning pretrial hearings by Kevin Gosztola at his FireDogLake blog, the dissenter: link to dissenter.firedoglake.com which I highly recommend. Though courtroom procedure is not the major injustice in this case there is plenty to be learned from following the hearings and Gosztola brings a wealth of knowledge and a sharp critical perspective. (Kevin’s own book on this case, coauthored with Greg Mitchell, is well worth reading.)
Che-Chase, Congratulations on your book. What a worthy subject. I look forward to reading it. How appalling that this hero may rot for decades in prison while mass killers who despise exposure not only walk around free but remain powerful.
Thank you so much David, that’s praise from Caesar as I love your posts & comments. Btw, my handle on this blog does not derive from Che but from this guy!: http://www.chespirito.com
“He hasn’t written back. He’s not communicating, which kind of makes sense.”
If he hasn’t written back, how can you be sure he is receiving any mail sent?
Jane Hamsher and Glenn Greenwald have done amazing jobs writing about Bradley Manning and keeping consistent attention on his situation
link to huffingtonpost.com
And Marcy Wheeler at emptywheel.
link to emptywheel.net
One of the most interesting, perhaps saddening things about Bradley Manning, is that the so-called lefty blogs that are backing Obama to the hilt are really uncomfortable with any discussion about Manning. The same goes with people at organizational meetings in the Democratic Party.
I’ve been bringing Manning up at sites and meetings like that since early last year. When I wrote to Sen. Mark Begich about the absurdly repressive treatment Manning was getting at Quantico Brig early last year, Begich claimed to have looked into it and assured me that the military authorities had told him Manning was only being looked after the way he was because he was a high suicide risk. That was untrue, and I sought to meet with Mark. I even got former Sen. Mike Gravel (one of Mark’s predecessors in the US Senate from Alaska) to make a short video appeal to Mark to look more fully into Manning’s treatment. When I tried to get to meet Mark at his office or at fundraisers, I was kept – even by long-time friends – from being able to deliver the message.
Here’s the video appeal Sen. Gravel made – just over a year ago:
link to my.firedoglake.com
Thanks for bringing up Marcy. She is one of the most brilliant bloggers out there. Not only has she stayed on the Bradley Manning story. She has applied her keen intellect to so many issues including the Plame outing, wiretapping, torture, health care, foreclosure fraud etc etc. Dr. Marcy Wheeler is one of my heroes.
The MSM should have her on as a regular guest. Think they must be intimidated by her no nonsense brilliance!
He’s no Elsberg. Elsberg revealed specific, targeted information. Manning just blabbed every secret he could get his hands on, whether it was something that the public needed to know or not, whether it would help the enemies of America or not. They should give him the maximum possible sentence.
Daniel Ellsberg doesn’t agree with you. CNN: Pentagon Papers leaker: ‘I was Bradley Manning’“:
Then I may have been wrong about Ellsberg. Maybe he was just spilling everything he could get his hands on too. Perhaps he was just a traitor who just got lucky that all he had access to was stuff that the public and Congress should have been told.
One thing you have gotten right “I may have been wrong on Ellsberg” Let Ellsberg speak for Ellsberg. Ellsbery completely supports what Manning had the balls to do.
link to youtube.com
A traitor that saved myriad more American lives?Some traitor.sheesh.
And for what?did all those people die for?
Absolutely nothing.
Say it again!
Absolutely nothing!
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. I thought Ellsberg was acting because of the nature of the material that he released. If he was just trying to release all the secrets he had access to, then he was like the stopped clock. Just happened to be right, by chance, not by design.
If you want to understand Ellsberg’s motivation, just read his book Secrets.
Fred that was stupider than anything yonira or DBG could have done, but equally as lazy. Nice work, fact checker. Keep up the entertainment and try not to shoot from the hip.
Welcome to another episode of
Mondoweiss Theater of the Absurd
…and I don’t even have to paraphrase that to emphasize the zaniness. You know that’s part of the reason I don’t comment so much anymore.
Chu — yonira and DBG were the same person. So who do you suppose Fred is?
try to contain your pathlogical bloodlust fred. there hasn’t even been a trial and you already have the needle in manning’s arm. ‘enemies of America’. jesus christ but you watch too much TV. your mental state is an ‘enemy of america’.
We know what he has done. The only issues at trial are the extent of the damage and the sentence. There is no question of guilt or innocence on the table. I happen to think that what he did warrants the death penalty regardless of the extent of the actual damage. It’s obvious from the fact that he wasn’t deterred by Pollard’s example that a life sentence isn’t a deterrent to some traitors. Maybe a death sentence will make the next traitor think twice.
And what damage has Manning done? The people who said he endangered individuals have been unable to come up with any names or to document any actual harm that occurred to anyone.
Gates said the damage he has done to the U.S. is minor.
Or was the damage that really bothers you the Arab Spring, because — I imagine you think — we can’t have democracy in Arab countries?
We know what he has done.
no, we don’t. and we likely never will know exactly what happened. i thought that one of the important parts of america, whose enemies so worry you, was adherence to the rule of law. but you’ve convicted him after reading, what, maybe ten news stories, or watching a couple of news broadcasts, most of which are regurgitating information spoon fed to them by the justice department. you concern me fred.
Fredblogs: “They should give him the maximum possible sentence.”
Fred, would I be right to assume you take a similar hardline with Jonathan Pollard?
Damn right. He got a life sentence, which he had coming. Let him rot in there.
I’m sure you’re in luck, they’ll probably kill him, but he didn’t “blab”. He turned the documents over to Wikileaks. Manning is no journalist. He trusted Wikileaks with that task.
But you;re right, had we not gone into Iraq, we wouldn’t need to worry about “helping the enemy”.
Is wikileaks an authorized agent of the government with the appropriate security clearance to receive the information Manning gave them? No? Then he blabbed it.
As for Iraq, I’m against the Iraq war, but as 9/11 proved, America does have enemies. And Manning helped them.
Fred :
America has only enemies which she has created by itself. In fact, miracle is that they are so few after all.
“Elsberg revealed specific, targeted information. ”
LMAO. You never actually read them, have you. It’s a 7,000 page report.
“whether it was something that the public needed to know or not”
In a republic at war, the public needs to know everything.
“whether it would help the enemies of America or not.”
You don’t think that the yahoos who were your equivalent in 1971 weren’t crowing about it helping “the enemies of America”??
“They should give him the maximum possible sentence.”
They should give him a metal and put everyone responsible from 2003 to today for instigating and running those wars behind bars.
Elsberg revealed specific, targeted information.
No he didn’t. The “Pentagon Papers” included 3,000 pages of historical analysis on the Vietnam war and 4,000 pages of original government documents in 47 volumes. Ellsberg and a friend, Anthony Russo, photocopied the whole thing with the intent of disclosing it all – and 43 of the volumes were initially turned over to the NYT. Senator Mike Gravel selected 4,100 pages of documents and placed them on the record during hearings of his Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds – just for the sake of disclosure.
Ah Hostage good going.
“-whether it’s a Haitian American activist or a Tunisian academic” or an al-Qaeda terrorist.
Couldn’t sleep last night and happened to catch “Wars, Lies, and Videotape” on Current TV about Wikileaks and Bradley Manning.
It was uncomfortable to see the Reich Wing spewing heads calling for Manning’s head. At issue weren’t the war crimes, but Manning revealing them.
Is he still being tortured (i.e. solitary confinement, bare cell, cold exposure, etc.)?
Bradley Manning is NOT a man. Bradley Manning is transgendered. Her name is Breanna. It’s sad to see that people who support Breanna still won’t 1) give her the respect she deserves as a transgendered woman or 2) are ignorant to her whole story.
See here: link to globalcomment.com
I’ve never heard any of this before. Thanks so much for bringing it up.
Is the name “Breanna,” a name of choice for Manning?
Yes, Breanna is the name she chose. For more information you can see here: link to abcnews.go.com, and here: link to transfemmergence.wordpress.com.
Breanna was planning on physically transitioning from male to female, had sought medical advice on the subject, and had been known online as a woman.
As an aside, the fact that those in the MSM who wish to acknowledge Breanna’s identity at all do so by calling it an “alter ego” is just as messed up.
i don’t know much about this maggie, but does the information in your link constitute unequivocal evidence of manning’s wishes? you’re definitely right though, it is an important and glossed over part of this story for a variety of reasons.
Do you here that?
Isn’t MSM’s silence [about this case] adorable?
We are constantly told that this is “a free society” and “an open society”. But when a whistleblower exposes the crimes of the system, the whistleblower faces life in prison.
Some liberals and ex-leftists are eager to prove their Establishment credentials, and are attacking Bradley Manning and Julian Assange. See, for example, former 60′s leftists in the pages of The New Republic or Dissent magazine.
“(if the media would just stop marginalizing him)” Tough for money hungry week kneed MSM pukes to recognize a hero even when a hero like Ellsberg gives his seal of approval and support to what Manning did.
The media has become a very different animal than it was during Ellsberg’s time… Vietnam. We have an MSM that was generally complicit with the Bush administration war in Iraq based on a “pack of lies” In fact people like Judy “I was fucking right” Miller helped create the WMD lies and the editors of the New York bloody Times allowed all the lies to be printed and then some. We have a media that repeats the unsubstantiated claims about Iran, never digs into how many people have died been injured and displaced in Iraq due to the invasion in any substantive way. Most journalist, pundits, host of MSM shows are concerned about is funding, ratings and paychecks. Oh yeah and some of those media folks are committed to Israel no matter what Israel does more than they are to US national security. Way different times
Let’s cut to the chase;The Vietnam war had nothing to do with Israel,while the WOT is all about Israel,its expansion and its security,justice and human rights be damned.
The media that informs its people and limits government idiocy has subjugated itself for that purpose,US be damned.
The easiest call since the world was started,but denied by the perps.
sheesh;we sheeple are not all morons.
bleat.
A journalist in Poland who comments on American affairs had a very perceptive observation. Manning’s crime was worse than treason. Leaked documents made US government look ridiculous, THAT is never forgiven.
As if the US government really needed any help to make themselves look ridiculous.