ifg 發表於 2013-8-22 10:23:19

Bradley Manning trial: six things we learned

As the army private awaits news of his sentencing, here's a look at the intriguing nuggets which emerged from his court martial

[*]Paul Lewis in Fort Meade[*]The Guardian, Wednesday 21 August 2013 18.01 BSThttp://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/8/16/1376670280949/Bradley-Manning-008.jpg
Government lawyers have asked for a 60-year sentence, saying Manning's punishment would serve as warning to future leakers. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP

1. Bradley Manning made history
Shortly before Manning's trial closed, a US government lawyer said there "may not be a soldier in the history of the United States army who displayed such extreme disregard" for the orders of the commander-in-chief. Manning's supporters may beg to differ. But it is now beyond that – Manning's leaks were unprecedented. The magnitude of documents he released dwarfed any previous disclosures. He passed 250,000 State Department cables, and 470,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield logs to WikiLeaks, as well as files pertaining to detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, and video of a 2007 attack by a US helicopter gunship in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters journalists. He was the first government leaker to download and then transfer a large trove of classified digital information into the public domain.

2. Journalism is no longer monopolised by traditional media
One of the more intriguing nuggets to emerge from Manning's court martial process was his admission that he first attempted to contact the Washington Post and New York Times with his leaks. The Times didn't return his call, and an employee of the Post didn't take him seriously. The young soldier then turned to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, which he had already researched, believing it was "the best medium for publishing this information to the world" within his reach. His trial might have looked rather different had more established media outlets followed up his calls. Although WikiLeaks disclosures were widely reported in the mainstream media, including the Guardian, they were disseminated via Julian Assange, who was portrayed by prosecutors as an "information anarchist". The case revealed the changing shape of journalism in the internet era.

3. The US government may never have found Wikileaks' source
Bradley Manning was arrested in May 2010after Adrian Lamo, a computer hacker he had confessed to, informed the FBI. The transcripts of chat logs between Manning and Lamo were central to the trial, and legal hearings that preceded it, but there was no evidence presented in open session to suggest US investigators could have independently identified Manning without the tip-off. It is possible that the National Security Agency did crack the encrypted submission system that Wikileaks used, and kept the breakthrough secret, but that seems unlikely. While future government employees contemplating leaking information might be dissuaded by the length of sentence Manning received, they could also be emboldened at the thought that, if Manning had not spoken to Lamo, he might still be free today.

4. Wikileaks embarrassed the US government, but nobody died
In recent weeks, during the sentencing phase of Manning's trial, the US government tried to argue that the 25-year-old soldier risked the lives of government workers, caused extensive damage to the military and disrupted diplomatic missions. But there was only so far government witnesses would go. Brigadier general Robert Carr, a senior counter-intelligence officer who headed the information review task force that investigated the impact of the Wikileaks disclosures, said they had discovered no specific examples of anyone who lost his or her life in reprisals following publication of documents on the internet.

5. The US military is no place for gay men questioning their gender
Seeking a lower sentence, Manning's defence team argued his senior officers missed a number of "red flags" that should have led them to revoking the young soldier's security clearance. Much of his psychological instability stemmed from the military's harsh treatment of those who do not conform to the mainstream. As a gay man, who additionally was struggling with gender identity disorder, Manning felt ostracised. The evidence presented in court made it seem at least plausible that, with proper support and care, he might never have turned against the army.

6. The war on US leakers is here to stay
The prosecution against Manning could have ended in February, without the need for a trial, after he pleaded guilty to a number of the charges. At that stage, Manning faced a maximum possible sentence of 20-plus years. Instead, the US government pushed on, seeking a controversial charge of "aiding and abetting the enemy" – the most serious count of which he was eventually acquitted. Right to the very end, military prosecutors were urging the judge to throw the rule book at the soldier. At the last hearing, on Monday, government lawyers asked for a 60-year sentence, saying Manning "deserves to spend the majority of his remaining life" in a punishment that would serve as a warning to any future potential leakers.


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