Welcome one and all and I am
glad you could be here for this important struggle. The Smedley Butler Brigade
of Veterans for Peace proudly stands in solidarity with, and defense of,
Private Bradley Manning and his fight for freedom from his jailers, the
American military.
Now usually when I get before
a mic or am on a march I am shouting to high heaven about some injustice.
Recently I was called strident by someone and when it comes to the struggle
against this country’s wars, the struggle for social and economic equality, and
for freedom for our political prisoners I am indeed strident. But I am looking
for something today something personally important to me, and so I will try to
lower my temperature a bit- I want, like you, for recently re-elected President
Obama to pardon Bradley Manning so I will be nice, or try to be.
Bradley Manning is in a sense
the poster person for all of us who have struggled against the wars of the last
decade. He stands charged with allegedly leaking information about American war
crimes and other matters of public concern to Wikileaks. We, and we are not alone on this, do not see whistleblowing
on such activities as a crime but as an elemental humanitarian act and public
service. Private Manning has paid the price for his alleged acts with over 900
days of pre-trial confinement and is now facing life imprisonment for simple
acts of humanity. For letting the American people know what they perhaps did
not want to know but must know- when soldiers, American soldiers, go to war
some awful things can happen and do. He has also suffered torture at the hands
of the American government for his brave stand. We have become somewhat inured
to foreign national being tortured by the American government at places like
Guantanamo and other black hole locales. We have even become somewhat inured to
American citizens being tortured and killed by the American government by
drones and other methods. But we know, or should know, that when the American
government stands accused of torturing an American soldier for not toeing the
war line then we private citizens are in serious trouble.
Why does Private Manning need
a pardon? Did he give away the order of battle or the table of organization for
American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan? No. Did he give away the
design for drones and such weapons? No. He allegedly simply blew the whistle on
something that is a hard fact of war- war crimes by American soldiers through
release of the Collateral Murder tape
and what have become known as the Iraq and Afghan War logs. This is what the
American government had tried with might and main to cover up. And what needed
to be exposed. All talk of bringing democracy, or nation- building, or having a
war to end all wars, and the million other lame excuses for war pale before the
hard fact that in the heat of war the real strategy is to kill and burn and let
god sort out the innocent from the guilty.
That is what Private Manning
exposed. I, and I am sure many other veterans from previous wars who saw or
knew of such things and did nothing about it, are glad that such things were
exposed. If for no other reason Private First Class Bradley Manning deserves
presidential pardon for his service. To insure that event we urge everybody to
ramp up their efforts in behalf of Bradley by signing here or online at the
Bradley Manning Support Network site the petition to the Secretary of the Army
for his release and to call/e-mail or write a letter to the White House and
demand that President Obama pardon Private Manning.
We have been holding weekly
stand-outs in Davis Square in Somerville outside the MBTA Red Line stop
Wednesdays from 4:00to 5:00 PM and urge you to join us. Or better yet start a
Free Bradley Manning stand-out in your own town square. Thank you.
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