Bradley Manning is the 24 year old US military intelligence analyst with Welsh roots whose alleged actions have led to him being nominated for the second year running for the Nobel Peace Prize as well as being held by the US without trial for two years, tortured and denied his constitutional rights.

Bradley Manning is accused of leaking the Collateral Murder footage, the Iraq War Logs, the Afghan War Diary, the Guantanamo Files and hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables.7 Together, these documents evidence the grim truth about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the so-called 'war on terror' that is being fought right across the Empire and the US quest for 'full spectrum domination'. The leaks reveal evidence of war crimes, illegal practices, dodgy deals and many other truths previously concealed from the public.

President Obama has pre-judged Bradley's case by declaring that he has committed a crime even before he has been tried. As Obama is Commander-in-Chief of the US military and Bradley faces a military court martial, a fair trial is now impossible. If convicted as charged, Bradley Manning is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars without parole.

Despite the huge public importance of and interest in this case, the US government is attempting to conduct much of the business of the court martial in secret, by denying public access to even unclassified evidence in its case against Bradley. This has recently been challenged by the US Center for Constitutional Rights and others.  http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/05/25/why-im-challenging-secrecy-in-bradley-mannings-court-martial/ Kevin Gosztola comments on the predictable government response here:  http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/06/13/9507/