A Misplaced Outrage Over WikiLeaks – Letter to the Editor
(From the Gainseville Sun)
This is in response to Col
in M. Jones letter “Respect for Law and Order Breaking Down” (Sun, August 5):
Jones’ outrage at the breaking of laws is somewhat selective. He is upset that classified documents are leaked, but blatant war crimes revealed by the leaks don’t seem to bother him. Nor does he seem to be troubled that such monumental laws as the Geneva convention, the Nuremberg laws, and the centuries-old Just War Doctrine, were broken by two administrations in starting and escalating these wars.
Moreover, keeping this information classified is immoral, if not criminal. The government’s whining about “national security” and “troop endangerment” is ludicrous and hypocritical. National security is always invoked against those who reveal the crimes of our leaders. And if the government gave a damn about our troops, it would not start these senseless wars and then leave our soldiers to rot when they return home maimed and/or psychologically damaged. Unjust laws are meant to be broken, it’s called civil disobedience, and it’s a great American tradition. Without it, we would still have slavery, segregation, and child labor, to name just a few things. In fact, without it, we would still be living under the British crown.
James Cerveny,
Gainesville
What a wonderful article! Every word rings true and I agree with it all. Well said. These kinds of articles need to be written and spoken to blast the false reasonings that parade as justice and are meant to further a hidden agenda unrevealed to the public. Let light shine in the darkness.
exactly, Mr. Cerveny! (and Ms Disbrow)
Could somebody please outline the war crimes exposed by Pvt. Manning? As of right now, I am unaware of any. Maybe if there was a clearer picture of the good he did, he could garner more support.
Despite the fact that, surprise, surprise, the US military and the goons hired by Baby Bush stuffed up in Iraq in a way that only the Yanks seem to be able to do, I supported outside military intervention against Saddam not because of the mythical WMDs but because of Saddam’s continuous breach of the terms of the conditions to which he had agreed, and because of Saddam’s brutal chemical attacks that had wiped out whole villages of the Iraqi Kurds.
I still say that outside military intervention in Iraq was the right thing in principle. Similarly, military intervention in Afghanistan was and is the right thing because nothing else will free the women of that country from the tyranny of the Taliban and of crushing tribal traditions – irrespective of any links between the Taliban and Al Qaida.
We must expose and then fight tyranny wherever we find it – whatever the cost. Along the way, it is inevitable that we will encounter, and then must also expose and fight, the breath-taking incompetence, arrogance and lies of those charged with fighting tyranny on our behalf.
And that is exactly what it is alleged that Pfc Manning has done. It is alleged that while in Iraq Pfc Manning downloaded thousands of files that he copied onto CDs and sent to WikiLeaks. These thousands of files document the lies, the endless deceptions but most of all the endless, continuous, mind-blowing incompetence of the Pentagon and all the over-paid stuffed shirts who couldn’t navigate themselves from one end of Fifth Avenue to the other without getting lost in the maze. These halfwits are supposed to be prosecuting the so-called War on Terror on our behalf? God help us!
Some people join the group or the gang so that they won’t have to think for themselves. This is why so many attend the churches, mosques and temples: cowards and bullies, almost all. Others stand silently on the sidelines, not wanting to be seen to join in with the bullies, but too timorous, too cowardly, too feeble or too stupid to speak out on behalf of the dispossessed and the victims of tyranny. Contrary to the jingo spouting flag-wavers, this describes the vast majority of Yanks and of course most human beings.
A tiny few individuals have the guts to try, even if just once in their lives, to make a difference to this ghastly world in which we all of us must live. Pfc Manning is clearly one of those few.
Pfc Manning, Private First Class Bradley E. Manning, I for one salute you.
Brent said:
Could somebody please outline the war crimes exposed by Pvt. Manning? As of right now, I am unaware of any. Maybe if there was a clearer picture of the good he did, he could garner more support.
Response:
How about the blatant murder and cover up of reuters journalists and 100′s 1000′s 10,000′s 100,000′s 1,000,000′s of innocent civilians
colenso:
Who do you think put the bastard in power? we did! Same with Osama, and manual Noriega(I think that’s How it’s spelled).Oh We and Russia, And Britain, And Possibly China are the one ‘s who armed AND trained them. Also a little bit of surface history on the middle east, they have been fighting amongst themselves long before the Americas were found!
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