Posts
Senator Demands Federal Pot Plan, Norquist Makes Insane Prediction, and More
Court: CIA Tortured Wrongly Detained Terror Suspect
The Trials of Bradley Manning
The Answer Is Blowing in the WindHomeownership Support Shouldn’t Be a Mansion Subsidy
Wonderland on a Cliff
Scrooge
By Robert Scheer
Wonderland on a CliffBy Eugene Robinson
Homeownership Support Shouldn’t Be a Mansion SubsidyBy David Sirota
Why the Fed’s Jobs Program Will FailBy Robert Reich
Court: CIA Tortured Wrongly Detained Terror Suspect Senator Demands Federal Pot Plan, Norquist Makes Insane Prediction, and More Susan Rice Withdraws From Secretary of State Consideration Death Star Petition Meets White House Goal A Growing Water Deficit in the West The Internet Turf War
NASA Announces World Won’t End Dec. 21, 2012 Sarah Silverman Pro-Choice Video Tells ‘Bros’ to Stand Up for the Ladies Watch: Fox News Contributor Gets Punched in Face During Union Protest The Revolution Continues in Challenge to Morsi
Regulate Dissent in Hong Kong, Jackie Chan SaysFighting Manifest Destiny
By Jonathan Yardley Glenn Greenwald Condemns ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Torture Porn
Psy Shames Himself With Unqualified Apology (Video)
By Alexander Reed Kelly
The Questions Education Reformers Aren’t AskingDig led by Mike Rose Gore Vidal: His Life and Legacy
Dig led by Truthdig Staff
advertisement-->
Branding Obamessiah: The Rise of an American IdolBy Mark Edward Taylor
$22.00
advertisement
-->
Roll Over Che Guevara: Travels of a Radical ReporterBy Marc Cooper
advertisement
-->
White T-Shirt$18
Robert Scheer's Columns 
Email 
Print 
ShareTweet
Posted on Dec 14, 2012 
AP/Patrick Semansky By Robert Scheer
Keep an American soldier locked up naked in a cage and driven half mad while deprived of all basic rights, and you will be instantly condemned as a barbaric terrorist. Unless the jailer is an authorized agent of the U.S. government, in which case even treatment approaching torture will go largely unnoticed. Certainly if a likable constitutional law professor happens to be president, all such assaults on human dignity will easily pass muster.
After being interned like some wild animal in that cage in Kuwait, Pfc. Bradley Manning was transferred to the Quantico, Va., Marine base and further subjected to conditions that his lawyer termed “criminal.” Not all that far from the White House, and yet our ever-enlightened president seems not to have noticed that this soldier, whose alleged criminal offense is that he attempted to inform the public of crimes committed in its name, has been held in an environment clearly designed to destroy his very sense of self.
As Manning’s lawyer, David Coombs, a lieutenant colonel in the Army reserves and a veteran of 12 years of active duty, put it: “Brad’s treatment at Quantico will forever be etched into our nation’s history as a disgraceful moment in time.” Coombs warned that the most serious charge facing his client, “aiding the enemy,” is a “scary proposition” designed to “silence a lot of critics of our government.”
Who is that “enemy” other than the public that came to be informed about the true nature of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by news reports based on a trove of documents allegedly made available to the WikiLeaks website by Manning? The documents were labeled secret, but as the many important news reports based on them revealed, they contained information that an enlightened public had a need and right to know.
Yet for too many in the mainstream media, led by the example of the editors of The New York Times, the recent military courtroom proceedings where Manning’s lawyer finally got to document the government’s attempt to destroy his client was largely a nonevent. Conveniently so, given that the Times and other major news outlets that were thrilled to exploit the information that Manning uncovered are deeply afraid of being associated with the brave whistle-blower himself.
Advertisement
While the Times is to be applauded for running Sullivan’s devastating critique, the replies from individual editors responsible were lame. Asked why the paper didn’t send a reporter to cover this rare opportunity to learn Manning’s side of the story, Times Washington bureau chief David Leonhardt said, “We’ve covered him and will continue to do so. But as with any other legal case, we won’t cover every single proceeding.”
Really? This is hardly just another legal case, for it goes to the heart of the First Amendment freedoms on which the Times has relied so heavily during its storied history.
If the public had a right to know the information that Manning allegedly revealed, as the Times demonstrated by publishing important stories featuring it, then the source should be honored rather than scorned. As Sullivan wrote: “To its credit, The Times published article after article based on the very information that Private Manning provided to WikiLeaks, just as it had published the Pentagon Papers that Mr. [Daniel] Ellsberg leaked during the Vietnam War.”
Manning is in the same position as was Ellsberg, who four decades ago leaked to The New York Times details of government lies and crimes in Vietnam. Both men had access to material classified as secret, but both believed they had an obligation to puncture the veil of government secrecy when it was employed to deceive the public.
What is protected in the First Amendment is not the right of commercial enterprises to exploit the news for profit, but rather of citizens to become informed. That requires the courage of heroic sources, including Bradley Manning.
Click here to check out Robert Scheer’s new book,“The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street.”
Keep up with Robert Scheer’s latest columns, interviews, tour dates and more at www.truthdig.com/robert_scheer.
TAGS: afghanistan barack obama bradley manning daniel ellsberg government history iraq law media military new york times pentagon pentagon papers robert scheer the guardian torture war whistle-blower white house wikileaks
Related Entries
Wonderland on a Cliff
Senator Demands Federal Pot Plan, Norquist Makes Insane Prediction, and More
Susan Rice Withdraws From Secretary of State Consideration
Death Star Petition Meets White House Goal 
Email to a friend Get truth delivered to
your inbox every week.
New and Improved Comments
If you have trouble leaving a comment, review this help page. Still having problems? Let us know. If you find yourself moderated, take a moment to review our comment policy.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Get Truthdig in your inbox
Newsletter
Become a Fan
Follow Us
Subscribe
CloseGive the gift of independent journalism.
Support Truthdig by making a donation of at least $25 in someone's name, and we'll send him or her a signed letter of appreciation from our publisher.
With your support, we've been able to pay writers such as Chris Hedges, Col. Ann Wright, Mr. Fish and Nomi Prins.
We've sent reporters around the world, from Afghanistan to Cairo to Cuba.
Thanks to you, our mission to find and publish a range of insightful opinion and analysis from a progressive point of view continues.
Support Truthdig
HOME|Digs|Reports|Arts & Culture|Uncovered|Ear to the Ground|A/V Booth|CartoonsTags|Bazaar|Podcast|About Us|Contact Us|User Agreement|Privacy Policy|FAQ: Comments and Moderation | Google+ Google+
A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.© 2012 Truthdig, LLC. All rights reserved. Web site development by Hop Studios
View the Original article
0 comments:
Post a Comment