Icelandic MP visits US to raise awareness of Bradley Manning

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Icelandic official who helped reveal Collateral Murder, nominate Bradley for Nobel Peace Prize, visits US Icelandic parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir, who helped WikiLeaks produce Collateral Murder and nominated Bradley Manning for the Nobel Peace Prize, is visiting the U.S. this weekend to help raise awareness ahead of Bradley's court martial. April 5 is the third anniversary of the release of the Collateral Murder video that exposed the murder of innocent civilians and two Reuters journalists. April 5, 2013, is the third anniversary of the release of Collateral Murder, the world-famous video that documented the murder of innocent civilians and journalists by a US Apache gunship in Iraq. On this day, Icelandic parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir will visit the United States to raise awareness about Bradley Manning and rally support ahead of his June 3 trial. Jonsdottir helped WikiLeaks edit the video, and now sits on the Bradley Manning Support Network’s Advisory Board. Despite fears that the U.S. government will try to silence WikiLeaks collaborators, she is visiting New York City this month, and plans to return for more events around the country in June. On Friday, April 5, beginning at 5:30 PM ET at Judson Memorial Church (55 Washington Square South), Birgitta will display stills from Collateral Murder, and she’ll project the video, as well as a five-minute documentary, “Providence”, featuring Bradley’s voice. Then at 8:00 PM ET, she’ll join a panel discussion with FDL journalist Kevin Gosztola, WikiLeaks researcher Alexa O’Brien, and media critic Peter Hart, moderated by Sam Seder. The event will be live-streamed at BradleyManning.org. Funds raised at the event will go toward Bradley Manning’s defense. In a powerful statement last month, Bradley said he was appalled by U.S. Apache gunners in the video, particularly by how they begged for the wounded to pick up weapons to justify shooting them. He compared the gunmen to children “torturing ants with a magnifying glass.” He also explained why he released the video to WikiLeaks: I hoped that the public would be as alarmed as me about the conduct of the aerial weapons team crewmembers. I wanted the American public to know that not everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan were targets that needed to be neutralized, but rather people who were struggling to live in the pressure cooker environment of what we call asymmetric warfare. After the release I was encouraged by the response in the media and general public who observed the aerial weapons team video. As I hoped, others were just as troubled—if not more troubled—than me by what they saw. The release of the video in 2010 allowed the American public to engage in widespread debates concerning U.S. conduct in Iraq, and how U.S. gunners violated international law by killing innocent journalists, civilians and rescue workers. Its release turned international attention to some of the ugliest realities of the Iraq war, and began an important discussion about how to hold the U.S. military accountable. Read more ...