This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager
Chelsea Manning's NY Times OpEd: How military hid
truth in Iraq
Last
Sunday, June 15th, Chelsea Manning responded to the possibility of
another US intervention in Iraq with a powerful NY Times
Op-Ed.
Chelsea explains that the concerns that motivated her to disclose
classified information in 2010, “have not been resolved”. She calls
attention to the specific ways in which the military controlled US media in
Iraq, resulting in coverage which exaggerated the success of its operations and
downplayed the likelihood of civil war.
Manning's article, which reached an audience of nearly 2.5 million
readers, was published with the assistance of the Chelsea
Manning Support Network. Excepts:
Chelsea Manning, New York Times OpEd. June 15, 2014 As Iraq erupts in civil war and America again contemplates intervention,
that unfinished business should give new urgency to the question of how the
United States military controlled the media coverage of its long involvement
there and in Afghanistan. I believe that the current limits on press freedom and
excessive government secrecy make it impossible for Americans to grasp fully
what is happening in the wars we finance. If you were following the news during the March 2010 elections in Iraq,
you might remember that the American press was flooded with stories declaring
the elections a success... The subtext was that United States military
operations had succeeded in creating a stable and democratic Iraq. Those
of us stationed there were acutely aware of a more complicated reality. Military and diplomatic reports coming across my desk detailed a brutal
crackdown against political dissidents by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior and
federal police, on behalf of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. Detainees were
often tortured, or even killed... I was shocked by our military’s complicity in the corruption of that
election. Yet these deeply troubling details flew under the American media’s
radar...All [embedded] reporters are carefully vetted by military public affairs
officials. This system is far from unbiased...
Thanks to the work of the Chelsea Manning Support Network, Manning’s
article received coverage by CNN, Time, and many other media
outlets.
Chelsea can continue to be a powerful voice for reform, but we need
your help to make that happen. To support Chelsea in prison, maximize
her voice in the media, continue public education, fund her legal appeals team,
and build a powerful movement for presidential pardon we must raise
another $120,000 this year.
Please help us fight the legal and political battle to free Chelsea—not only
for her sake, but for all those she’s helped, and for all whistle-blowers
endangered by her unjust
conviction.
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