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16 March: Report from US Embassy Vigil for Bradley Manning, London

WISE Up for Bradley Manning | 18.03.2012 14:35 | Anti-militarism | Repression | Terror War

On Friday March 16th, twenty-five people gathered around the demands of "Free Bradley Manning! Drop the Charges" at the U.S. embassy. Friday was the second day of a pre-trial hearing at a military tribunal held at Ft. Meade, Maryland U.S.A. Manning faces 23 charges in relation to cables exposing U.S. war crimes published by WikiLeaks and other major news outlets including the Guardian and New York Times. One charge carries the death penalty, others could mean life imprisonment.












All photos courtesy of D. Viesnik. More photos here:
 https://picasaweb.google.com/vd2012.pics/BradleyManningSolidarityVigilAtUSEmbassyInLondon02

Manning was kept in solitary in Iraq, Kuwait and Quantico, Virginia following his arrest in Iraq in 2010. During his incarceration in Quantico U.S. Marine Base he was tortured. He is presently held at a military facility in Virginia.

The gathering in London included Australian, Canadian, English, Irish, Italian, Scottish, U.S. and Welsh supporters of Bradley Manning. Organisations represented included Global Women's Strike, the Jesuits, London Catholic Worker, Payday men's network, Veterans for Peace UK.

Speakers included a wife of a serving British soldier, an American citizen, a British veteran of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a Gay Rights advocate, a playwright, and a military resister solidarity activist who briefed those gathered on developments at Bradley's pre-trial in Ft. Meade.

Speakers also reflected on the recent slaughter of nine children and seven adult civilians by U.S. military in Afghanistan. the moral bankruptcy of Obama and Cameron in prosecuting these wars and their pursuit of whistleblowers exposing the war crimes under their and past British and U.S. administrations.

WISE Up for Bradley Manning
- Homepage: http://wiseupforbradleymanning.wordpress.com

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Day 1 Court Report from Ft. Meade & David House interview on MSNBC

18.03.2012 16:45

Day 1 Court Report from Ft. Meade
Defense Files Motion to Dismiss Charges Against Bradley Manning
 http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/03/15/defense-files-motion-to-dismiss-charges-against-bradley-manning/

David House interview on MSNBC to discuss
Brad's appearance in court and talk about the larger issues at play.
VID - Extracted a clip here:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdTXLxhkx2c


Updates


An appeal from Ethan McCord for Bradley Manning’s defense

18.03.2012 22:17

From Ethan McCord. March 15, 2012

Serving with my unit 2nd battalion 16th infantry in New Baghdad, Iraq, I vividly remember the moment in 2007, when our Battalion Commander walked into the room and announced our new rules of engagement:

“Listen up, new battalion SOP (standing operating procedure) from now on: Anytime your convoy gets hit by an IED, I want 360 degree rotational fire. You kill every [expletive] in the street!”

We weren’t trained extensively to recognize an unlawful order, or how to report one. But many of us could not believe what we had just been told to do. Those of us who knew it was morally wrong struggled to figure out a way to avoid shooting innocent civilians, while also dodging repercussions from the non-commissioned officers who enforced the policy. In such situations, many of us fired our weapons into rooftops or abandoned vehicles, giving the impression that we were following procedure.
ARTICLE CONTINUED....
 http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/an-appeal-from-ethan-mccord-for-bradley-mannings-defense

From Ethan McCord
- Homepage: http://www.bradleymanning.org/