That was one of hundreds, or thousands, of similar events in both wars that Americans have known little or nothing about. Now, Bradley Manning, a 22-year-old intelligence analyst deployed to eastern Baghdad, who reportedly leaked the video of the event to Wikileaks and may have been involved in leaking those 92,000 documents as well, is preparing to face a court-martial and on a suicide watch, branded a "traitor" by a U.S. senator, his future execution endorsed by the ranking minority member of the House of Representatives' subcommittee on terrorism, and almost certain to find himself behind bars for years or decades to come.
As for the men who oversaw the endless wars that produced that video (and, without doubt, many similar ones similarly cloaked in the secrecy of "national security"), their fates are no less sure. When Admiral Mullen relinquishes his post and retires, he will undoubtedly have the choice of lucrative corporate boards to sit on, and, if he cares to, lucrative consulting to do for the Pentagon or eager defense contractors, as well as an impressive pension to take home with him. Secretary of Defense Gates will undoubtedly leave his post with a wide range of job offers to consider, and if he wishes, he will probably get a million-dollar contract to write his memoirs. Both will be praised, no matter what happens in or to their wars. Neither will be considered in any way responsible for those tens of thousands of dead civilians in distant lands."Moral culpability? It doesn't apply. Not to Americans -- not unless they leak military secrets. None of the men responsible will ever look at their hands and experience an "out, damned spot!" moment. That's a guarantee. However, a young man who, it seems, saw the blood and didn't want it on his hands, who found himself "actively involved in something that I was completely against," who had an urge to try to end two terrible wars, hoping his act would cause "worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms," will pay the price for them. He will be another body not to count in the collateral damage their wars have caused. He will also be collateral damage to the Afghan antiwar movement that wasn't.
"
This statement points out the hypocrisy many Americans have when it comes to civilian deaths (i.e. collateral damage)
His i]Saddam[/iwas a brutal regime; his killing fields were a moral nightmare; and in the period leading up to the war (and after), they were also a central fact of American life. On the other hand, however many Iraqis died in those killing fields, more would undoubtedly die in the years that followed, thanks to the events loosed by the Bush administration's invasion. That dying has yet to end, and seems once again to be on the rise. Yet those deaths have never been a central fact of American life, nor an acceptable argument for getting out of Iraq, nor an acknowledged responsibility of Washington, nor of Admiral Mullen, Secretary of Defense Gates, or any of their predecessors. They were just collateral damage. Some of their survivors got, at best, tiny "solatia" payments from the U.S. military, and often enough the dead were buried in unmarked graves or no graves at all.
but hey - you hate america therefore you are the lowest of the low ... that's the general attitude of most americans ... :(
Yeah, unfortunately, when in actuality I really like America; there are just certain interests, attitudes, and people IN America that I don't prefer because they are contradictory to what America used to stand for.
I imagine Mr. Assange is a little nervous today. So much for his word to carefully release information and protect people who are mentioned in the cables.
I hope he has a clean conscious when he is out clubbing and some farmer is getting dragged from his home and executed by the Taliban because he was a U.S. informant.
I imagine Mr. Assange is a little nervous today. So much for his word to carefully release information and protect people who are mentioned in the cables.
I hope he has a clean conscious when he is out clubbing and some farmer is getting dragged from his home and executed by the Taliban because he was a U.S. informant.
So much for a secret password..............Anyhow, I be his conscience is as clean as Bush, Hitler, Khan, Chaney, Stalin, the pilot of the Enola Gay at the time of the mission, Truman, the list goes on, and I bet you know why. Because they all think, thought, that they were doing some kind of justice and had a higher moral than others. I don't think that there is any arguement about that fact.
The poison from the poison stream caught up to you ELEVEN years ago and you floated out of here. Sept. 14, 08
Comments
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
but hey - you hate america therefore you are the lowest of the low ... that's the general attitude of most americans ... :(
Yeah, unfortunately, when in actuality I really like America; there are just certain interests, attitudes, and people IN America that I don't prefer because they are contradictory to what America used to stand for.
http://news.yahoo.com/exposed-uncensored-wikileaks-cables-posted-111735438.html
I imagine Mr. Assange is a little nervous today. So much for his word to carefully release information and protect people who are mentioned in the cables.
I hope he has a clean conscious when he is out clubbing and some farmer is getting dragged from his home and executed by the Taliban because he was a U.S. informant.
So much for a secret password..............Anyhow, I be his conscience is as clean as Bush, Hitler, Khan, Chaney, Stalin, the pilot of the Enola Gay at the time of the mission, Truman, the list goes on, and I bet you know why. Because they all think, thought, that they were doing some kind of justice and had a higher moral than others. I don't think that there is any arguement about that fact.
The poison from the poison stream caught up to you ELEVEN years ago and you floated out of here. Sept. 14, 08