A military judge has acquitted Bradley Manning of US army for aiding the enemy but has convicted him of violations of the Espionage Act for turning over a large amount of classified data to the website WikiLeaks, in a case where the soldier has been portrayed as a traitor and at the same time as only a whistle-blower by some others.
Those who call him a whistle–blower, hailed him as an American hero and insist that he must be pardoned if the US is to have any moral standing in the world. His disclosure of deplorable acts perpetrated by the US military clearly informed everyone of what the US government was actually doing. It is argued that he did this in the hope that the behavior of the US military would improve and thereby his county’s reputation as a civilized nation. Manning very well knew the risk he was taking by blowing the whistle.
The video of pilots killing innocent journalists, rescuers and children allowed us to see what others, on the receiving end, face every day in the fog of war and understand why such bitterness is created against the sole super power. Even after a decade since this incident took place during the invasion of Iraq, we see the prevailing antagonism against the US.
This was amply proved by Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent statement alerting all US embassies to be prepared of any terrorist attack. Bradley Manning did not aid the enemy by his exposure but he alerted the American public in particular and the world community in general of why some people hated the US administration. We wish that President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry will do all what is needed to change the current image of their country. We don’t want to see any country under threat of the super power and likewise the same super power or its friendly people being under the threat of any extremist or terrorist elements. — S.H. Moulana, Riyadh
Can Manning bring a change?
