Everybody has heard of Julian Assange and Wikileaks by now. They’ve read about his extradition to Sweden and the US desire to prosecute him. The federal government contends it’s because Mr. Assange has compromised the security of the nation by releasing a massive quantity of US diplomatic cables. The argument for prosecuting a fresh faced US Soldier, Bradley Manning, implicated by convicted hacker Adrian Lamo of providing the material, for a capital offense follows the same rationale. But a closer examination reveals the true reason private Manning is being used as an example to other potential whistle blowers and facing a life sentence, if convicted. That motivation is contained in the following embarrassing videos displaying the US military acting in as callous a manner as what BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE documented. The vicious disregard of human values contained in the videos puts our military in an extremely bad light, but a candid one. The audible remarks made by the soldiers at the scene reveal a shocking indifference to life, even children. The perpetrators of this kind of collateral murder are returning home to our neighborhoods and workplaces. We have created a monster! Julian Assange and Bradley Manning have warned us of this monster in the manner of Daniel Ellsberg’s THE PENTAGON PAPERS. They should not be punished for having done so. They ought to be congratulated.
Full Video of Collateral Murder
Unedited Video of Collateral Murder
US Soldier Ethan McCord speaks out as to what he witnessed:
TWO Soldiers apologize for their part in the Collateral Murder
2 former US Army soldiers have written an open letter to the people of Iraq. In it Josh Stieber and Ethan McCord apologize for the attack on the van and more broadly for the war in Iraq and what they call the destructive policies of the US Government.
“The Wikileaks video only begins to depict the suffering we have created.”
We are both soldiers who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months. Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. Josh Stieber was in the same company but was not there that day, though he contributed to your pain, and the pain of your community on many other occasions.
Amy Goodman Reports
The Plan: Citizens rise up–fight The Power, Corruption
A Matter of RESPECT: Citizens Demonstrate Creative Non-Violent Resistance
