Massive leak of classified Afghan war docs.

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Rat Patrol
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Re: Massive leak of classified Afghan war docs.

Post by Rat Patrol »

Chuck Mangione wrote:Ugh. This thread.
Right. It's nor unicorns and Tiger Beat like our current Preznit's thread. :rolleyes:

Flex
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Re: Massive leak of classified Afghan war docs.

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matedog wrote:Given the law, I think that was probably the best or one of the better possible outcomes.
That should really be part of the outrage, really. We used to have pretty decent safeguards for whistleblowers (at least theoretically), but that bulwark has been almost totally obliterated (an analysis of the current state of affairs which is endorsed by such radicals as Chuck Todd).

That shouldn't sound argumentative with you, since I agree this is probably about the best outcome possible, and at least we're not executing someone who legitimately deserves to be called a hero. But knowing whistleblowing will get you locked in a dungeon for 100+ years doesn't exactly create a climate that fosters transparency.
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Re: Massive leak of classified Afghan war docs.

Post by Flex »

IOZ hits it out of the park with his reaction to the Manning verdict: http://jacobbacharach.wordpress.com/201 ... n-manning/
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Re: Massive leak of classified Afghan war docs.

Post by tepista »

Rat Patrol wrote:
Chuck Mangione wrote:Ugh. This thread.
Right. It's nor unicorns and Tiger Beat like our current Preznit's thread. :rolleyes:
Like the Afghan War or not, Massive Leaks are Cool as Fuck.
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Re: Massive leak of classified Afghan war docs.

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Flex wrote:IOZ hits it out of the park with his reaction to the Manning verdict: http://jacobbacharach.wordpress.com/201 ... n-manning/
Very strong final paragraph. Given the context of the dominant American idea that the nation exists for a higher purpose, it's a fine response and accusation.
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Re: Massive leak of classified Afghan war docs.

Post by drowninghere »

This was a great interview/performance from Greenwald from start to finish. Some really strong points.

[youtube][/youtube]

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Re: Massive leak of classified Afghan war docs.

Post by Flex »

Awesome video, thanks dh.
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Re: Massive leak of classified Afghan war docs.

Post by Flex »

Bradley Manning's statement after being sentenced to 35 years in prison:
The decisions that I made in 2010 were made out of a concern for my country and the world that we live in. Since the tragic events of 9/11, our country has been at war. We’ve been at war with an enemy that chooses not to meet us on any traditional battlefield, and due to this fact we’ve had to alter our methods of combating the risks posed to us and our way of life.

I initially agreed with these methods and chose to volunteer to help defend my country. It was not until I was in Iraq and reading secret military reports on a daily basis that I started to question the morality of what we were doing. It was at this time I realized in our efforts to meet this risk posed to us by the enemy, we have forgotten our humanity. We consciously elected to devalue human life both in Iraq and Afghanistan. When we engaged those that we perceived were the enemy, we sometimes killed innocent civilians. Whenever we killed innocent civilians, instead of accepting responsibility for our conduct, we elected to hide behind the veil of national security and classified information in order to avoid any public accountability.

In our zeal to kill the enemy, we internally debated the definition of torture. We held individuals at Guantanamo for years without due process. We inexplicably turned a blind eye to torture and executions by the Iraqi government. And we stomached countless other acts in the name of our war on terror.

Patriotism is often the cry extolled when morally questionable acts are advocated by those in power. When these cries of patriotism drown our any logically based intentions [unclear], it is usually an American soldier that is ordered to carry out some ill-conceived mission.

Our nation has had similar dark moments for the virtues of democracy—the Trail of Tears, the Dred Scott decision, McCarthyism, the Japanese-American internment camps—to name a few. I am confident that many of our actions since 9/11 will one day be viewed in a similar light.

As the late Howard Zinn once said, "There is not a flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people."

I understand that my actions violated the law, and I regret if my actions hurt anyone or harmed the United States. It was never my intention to hurt anyone. I only wanted to help people. When I chose to disclose classified information, I did so out of a love for my country and a sense of duty to others.

If you deny my request for a pardon, I will serve my time knowing that sometimes you have to pay a heavy price to live in a free society. I will gladly pay that price if it means we could have country that is truly conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all women and men are created equal.
Source:
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