From the War Resisters League (WRL [2]), Aug. 25:
Blowing the whistle on war crimes is not a crime!
Bradley Manning, a 22-year-old intelligence analyst stationed in Iraq, stands accused of disclosing a classified video [3], published by WikiLeaks on April 5, 2010, depicting American troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in 2007.
Eleven adults are killed in the video, including two Reuters employees, and two children are critically injured. No charges have been filed against the soldiers in the video, but please read the letter to the Iraqi people [4] written by Ethan McCord and Josh Stieber, two members of the unit featured in the video, in which they say that the acts depicted in this video are everyday occurrences of this war. Bradley Manning faces up to 52 years in prison if convicted of the charges against him.
The Bradley Manning Support Network [5], including members of War Resisters League, is calling on individuals and organizations around the world to take action in support of Bradley Manning September 16-18. With dozens of local actions taking place during the same time frame, we hope to take the next step in building an international movement to free Bradley. Events will include public events, film screenings, discussion meetings, house party fundraisers, vigils and rallies.
The Bradley Manning Support Network via Courage to Resist [6] is collecting donations for Manning's legal defense fund [7].
See our last posts on Iraq [8], US atrocities [9] and the WikiLeaks controversy [10].
