No New War On Iraq

Chelsea Manning speaks out in NY Times OpEd! Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 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... Click here to read the complete op-ed 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 donate today! < < < 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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