From Socialist Worker: http://socialistworker.org/2013/07/31/stealing-bradley-mannings-life
July 31, 2013
MILITARY JUDGE Col. Denise Lind found Pfc. Bradley Manning guilty of almost every charge leveled against him for his role as a military whistle-blower–but not guilty of the most serious charge of “aiding the enemy.”
While the outcome on the “aiding the enemy” charge is seen by supporters as a victory, Manning, who released classified documents and video to the muckraking WikiLeaks website, still faces as many as 136 years in prison on 19 other charges, including six counts of violating the Espionage Act and five counts of stealing government property.
The sentencing phase of the trial will begin on July 31 and is expected to take at least a month before Lind rules. But Manning will almost certainly spend most of the rest of his life behind bars–unless pressure is brought to bear on the military to relent.
The not guilty verdict on the most serious charge against Manning–of aiding the enemy–is important. The failure of the government to make this charge stick is an indication of its overreach.
Prosecutors tried a desperate eleventh-hour move to win a guilty verdict on this charge, too. Toward the end of the case, they recalled former Army Specialist Jihrleah Showman–a one-time supervisor of Manning’s–who suddenly claimed that Manning had expressed “anti-American” sentiments, and that she had at one time suspected Manning of being a spy. Showman had never documented any of these alleged concerns.
The wild accusations were in keeping with the prosecution’s attitude throughout the trial. Manning was portrayed as a traitor and “anarchist,” maliciously bent on harming American interests–rather than what he is: someone who believed the American people have the right to know about the crimes being committed by their government in their name.
The outcome on the “aiding the enemy” charge is important for another reason–it represents a small pushback against the Obama administration’s all-out war on whistle-blowers. If Manning had been convicted on this charge, it would have opened the door to accusing anyone responsible for publishing classified information, including journalists working for mainstream publications, of treason.
Continue reading at: http://socialistworker.org/2013/07/31/stealing-bradley-mannings-life
