The Bradley Manning Support Network is calling on supporters to sign a public declaration of support for accused  WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning. Whistleblowers who speak out against injustice and tyranny make incredible personal sacrifices. Sign this petition and our partner, Courage to Resist, will mail your statement of support to Secretary of the Army John McHugh and Chief of Staff of the Army General George Casey.

Tell the US Army that you stand with Bradley Manning!

To sign, click: http://standwithbrad.org/

A 22-year-old Army intelligence analyst, Pfc. Bradley Manning, faces decades in prison for allegedly leaking a video of a US helicopter attack that killed at least eleven Iraqi civilians to the website Wikileaks. Two employees of the Reuters news agency were among the dead, and two children were also severely wounded in the attack.

In addition to this “Collateral Murder” video, Pfc. Manning is suspected of leaking the “Afghan War Diaries”, tens of thousands of battlefield reports that explicitly describe civilian deaths and cover-ups, corrupt officials, collusion with native warlords and foreign powers as well as a failing US/NATO war effort.

“We only know these crimes took place because insiders blew the whistle at great personal risk … Government whistleblowers are part of a healthy democracy and must be protected from reprisal,” noted Barack Obama while campaigning in 2008. While the President was referring to the Bush administration’s exploitation of telecommunications operators to illegally spy on Americans, Pfc. Manning’s alleged actions are just as noteworthy. If the military charges against him are accurate, he had a reasonable belief that war crimes were being covered up and took action based on a crisis of conscience.

After nearly a decade of war and occupation waged in our name, it is odd that it apparently fell on a young Army private to answer the question, “What have we purchased with well over a trillion tax dollars and the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan?” However, history abounds with unlikely heroes.

If Bradley Manning is indeed the source of these materials, the world owes him its gratitude. We ask Secretary of the Army, the Honorable John M. McHugh, and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General George W. Casey, Jr., to release Pfc. Manning and drop the charges against him.

Sincerely,

To sign, click: http://standwithbrad.org/

The Bradley Manning Support Network extends its heartfelt thanks to our partner, Courage to Resist, whose staff and volunteers have dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to the campaign to ensure Brad’s freedom.