Reaction to WikiLeaks: no sources killed due to war log releases: trial report, day 24

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The sentencing portion of the trial began today after yesterday’s verdicts. It is expected to last up to a month.

By Nathan Fuller, Bradley Manning Support Network. July 31, 2013.
Retired Brigadier General Robert Carr, the first witness in the sentencing phase of PFC Bradley Manning’s court martial at Ft. Meade, MD, testified that no individuals in Iraq or Afghanistan were killed as a result of WikiLeaks’ releasing the Afghan War Diary and Iraq War Logs.
Carr led the Information Review Task Force (IRTF), a coalition of Department of Defense, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Defense Intelligence Agency officials established just days after the release of the Afghan war files in late July 2010.
The IRTF spent 10 months reviewing WikiLeaks’ releases and seeking potential vulnerabilities to U.S. troops and local nationals. Defense Secretary Robert Gates directed the IRTF to:

• identify any sources, methods, or other intelligence activities that might be at risk
• protect troops on the battlefield, as well as Iraqis and Afghans who might be viewed as collaborators with U.S. forces and therefore at risk of attack
• identify any “insensitivities” to any religion
• identify potential for “fractures” between various countries or coalition forces
• recommend mitigation strategy
• provide advance warning on any additional releases subsequent to Afghan war log releases

While reliable and certain sources were housed in the HUMINT section of the Iraq and Afghanistan databases (which Manning did not release), the Significant Activities (SigActs) Manning revealed had some names of individuals whom U.S. forces spoke with casually, informally, or to get first-hand reports of attacks or other incidents. These individuals’ names were transliterated into English and weren’t confirmed as U.S. sources.
Carr testified that he found about 900 names of such individuals in Afghanistan, and couldn’t recall how many from Iraq. He said that IRTF could identify no deaths as a result from WikiLeaks’ disclosures. He testified that the Taliban killed one person and later tied him to the releases, but he characterized this as a “terrorist” attack. The person was not actually named in any of WikiLeaks’ releases, so the Taliban was merely capitalizing on the opportunity to scare locals so they wouldn’t collaborate with U.S. troops. Military judge Col. Denise Lind made a point of clarifying that she would disregard testimony about this killing, as it had no connection to Manning’s releases.
Carr also testified that the war logs divulged Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs), though the defense established that America’s adversaries could identify much of this information by simply viewing incidents first hand in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, Carr confirmed that TTPs change frequently, so TTPs from past events (which SigActs documented) weren’t necessarily used currently or would be in the future.
Discussing the Guantanamo Bay Detainee Assessment Briefs (DABs), Carr suggested that the release of these documents was detrimental to the United States’ efforts to close the detention center, though he explained on cross-examination that the DABs could reveal that what the U.S. says publicly to some countries regarding transferring detainees back to their home countries and what we say to them privately could differ, obstructing that process. He testified, though, that he couldn’t speak to whether transferring the detainees was an administration priority.
John Kirchhofer testifying in a closed session
Kirchhofer was Deputy Chief of the IRFT, just below Carr, and he’s testifying largely in a classified session, closed off to the press and public. Tomorrow’s session, in open court, will begin at 10:oo AM.

An Open Letter To President Obama -Hands Off Syria!!

President Obama Pardon Bradley Manning Now!

Remember Sacco and Vanzetti

Remember Sacco and Vanzetti!

From The Bradley Manning Support Group Archives

President Obama Pardon Bradley Manning Now

 

 

 

 

In The Meantime-

Call (202) 685-2900

The military is pulling out all the stops to chill efforts to increase transparency in our government. Now, we’re asking you to join us to ensure we’re doing all we can to secure Bradley’s freedom as well as protection for future whistleblowers.

Major General Jeffery S. Buchanan is the Convening Authority for Bradley’s court martial, which means that he has the authority to decrease Bradley’s sentence, no matter what the judge decides. As hundreds of activists join us in DC today to demonstrate at Maj. Gen. Buchanan’s base, Ft. McNair, we’re asking you to join our action demanding he do the right thing by calling, faxing, and e-mailing his Public Affairs Office.

The convening authority can reduce the sentence after the Judge makes her ruling.

Let’s Remind Maj. General Buchanan:

• that Bradley was held for nearly a year in abusive solitary confinement, which the UN torture chief called “cruel, inhuman, and degrading”
• that President Obama has unlawfully influenced the trial with his declaration of Bradley Manning’s guilt.
• that the media has been continually blocked from transcripts and documents related to the trial and that it has only been through the efforts of Bradley Manning’s supporters that any transcripts exist.
• that under the UCMJ a soldier has the right to a speedy trial and that it was unconscionable to wait 3 years before starting the court martial.
• that absolutely no one was harmed by the release of documents that exposed war crimes, unnecessary secrecy and disturbing foreign policy.
• that Bradley Manning is a hero who did the right thing when he revealed truth about wars that had been based on lies.

Remind General Buchanan that Bradley Manning’s rights have been trampled – Enough is enough!

Please help us reach all these important contacts:

Adrienne Combs, Deputy Officer Public Affairs (202) 685-2900 adrienne.m.combs.civ@mail.mil

Col. Michelle Martin-Hing, Public Affairs Officer (202) 685-4899 michelle.l.martinhing.mil@mail.mil

The Public Affairs Office fax #: 202-685-0706

Try e-mailing Maj. Gen. Buchanan at jeffrey.s.buchanan@us.army.mil

The Public Affairs Office is required to report up the chain of command the number of calls they receive on a particular issue, so please help us flood the office with support for whistleblower Bradley Manning today!

Chants from July 26, 2013 rally at Fort McNair

 

 

 

***From The Pen Of Joshua Lawrence Breslin-Take Two

 

CD Review

Sentimental Journey, Pop Vocal Classics, Volume 2: 1947-1950, Rhino Records, 1993

Scene: Brought to mind by the sepia-toned family album-style photograph from back in the 1940s, the time of the 1930s Great Depression survivors and of those who fought World War II, or waited at home for the other shoe to drop, that graced the cover of this CD. And by the song Far Away Places, Bing Crosby’s version especially that was something of an anthem for the hopes and fears of that generation.

This photograph, showing some worthy smiles, is a minute in the life of the parents of the generation of ’68 and one can sense  the expectations for great things to come,  or at least that the hump had been crossed in life’s struggles, life’s struggles for most people in America anyway. In a few years there will not be scrimping for new dresses and shoes for Mom to replace that work-a-day wardrobe that got her through the war or a better pair of work boots for Dad and maybe even a new suit to replace that 1930s one that had now long outlasted its threadbare existence. One had hopes anyway. 

****
“Prescott James Breslin get your dirty hands off that wall this minute," yelled Delores Breslin (nee Leclerc), Mother Breslin to some, including the yelled at Prescott, honey, to Prescott Breslin, Senior, Father Breslin to the junior one being yelled at just this minute. Just as Mother Breslin, hell, let’s call her Delores, was getting ready for cascade rant number two aimed in Prescott, Junior’s direction wafting through the air, the radio WJDA air, came the melodious voice of Bing Crosby singing in that bubbly sweet, nuanced voice of his, Far Away Places. The air went out of her vengeance lungs for a moment. Ah, their song, Prescott, Senior and Delores' song. Their forever memory song.

Delores flashed back to the night in 1943 over at the Stardust Ballroom on East Grand in Old Orchard Beach that she, then a hard-working typist for the State Insurance Company right here in Olde Saco (and making good money for a single, no high maintenance girl, living at home to cut expenses even more) and Marine PFC Prescott Breslin stationed, after serious service in the Pacific wars (Guadalcanal, etc. which he like many men of his generation remained silent about, kept quiet and inside about, unto the grave. It was only when old war buddies who came to eulogize him at funeral time mentioned certain heroic exploits that the family even knew of such bravery although he whole downtrodden life spoke of a different, less definable bravery) at the Portsmouth Naval Base met while they were playing that song on the side bar jukebox between sets. Sets being performed by the Be-Bop Sextet, a hot, well, be-bop band that was making a national tour to boost civilian morale while the boys were off fighting.

They hit it off right away, made Far Away Places their song, and prepared for a future, a joint future, once the war was over, and they could get their dream, shared dream, little white house, with or without picket fence, maybe a dog, and definitely kids, a few although they never specified a number. The perfect dream to chase the old Great Depression no dough blues and World War II fighting dust away, far away. And to be able to breath a decent breathe, a not from hunger breathe.

Just then Delores snapped back into the reality, the two by four three small rooms and a kitchen reality, of their made due, temporary veterans’ housing set up by the Olde Saco Housing Authority (at the request of and funded by the War Department) to house the housing-hungry returning vets and give them a leg up. Add on to that humiliation (her family, although not his down South Appalachia family, had had a private single family home all though the Great Depression) the further reality that Prescott’s job at the Macadam’s Textile Mill was none too sure now that rumors were circulating around town that the mill-owners were thinking of relocating to North Carolina. Prescott, son of a coalminer and a coalminer himself before he jumped at a chance to join the Marines, was glad, glad as hell, to have that unskilled work in coal-mine-less Maine.

And the biggest reality of all: well, Prescott, Junior, Kendrick, and, most recently, still in the cradle Joshua all quickly in succession once the separation of war allow for a resumption of normal (Catholic normal) intimacy. And three was enough, more than enough thank you she mused. But as that terrific tenor of Dick Haymes singing Little White Lies was making its way into her air space she fell back to thinking about that now old dream of the little white house, with or without picket fence, a dog and a few (exactly three, thank you) that was coming just around next corner. Somebody’s corner. And just as she was winding up to blast young Prescott, his dirty hands, and that wall, maybe a little less furiously that she intended before, her thoughts returned again to her Prince Charming, the Starlight Ballroom1943, and their song. Their forever memory song. Yes, she would get by.

President Obama Pardon Bradley Manning Now!

Bradley Manning-WikiLeaks case turns to sentencing

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DAVID DISHNEAU, AP
5 hours ago

FILE - In this July 30, 2013 file photo, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escor...

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Acquitted of the most serious charge against him, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning still faces up to 136 years in prison for leaking government secrets to the website WikiLeaks, and his fate rests with a judge who will begin hearing arguments Wednesday in the sentencing phase of the soldier's court-martial.

The former intelligence analyst was convicted of 20 of 22 charges for sending hundreds of thousands of government and diplomatic secrets to WikiLeaks, but he was found not guilty of aiding the enemy, which alone could have meant life in prison without parole.

"We're not celebrating," defense attorney David Coombs said. "Ultimately, his sentence is all that really matters."

The judge prohibited both sides from presenting evidence during trial about any actual damage the leaks caused to national security and troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, but lawyers will be allowed to bring that up at sentencing.

The release of diplomatic cables, warzone logs and videos embarrassed the U.S. and its allies. U.S. officials warned of dire consequences in the days immediately after the first disclosures in July 2010, but a Pentagon review later suggested those fears might have been overblown.

The judge also restricted evidence about Manning's motives. Manning testified during a pre-trial hearing he leaked the material to expose U.S military "bloodlust" and diplomatic deceitfulness, but did not believe his actions would harm the country. He didn't testify during the trial, but he could take the stand during the sentencing phase.

Lisa Windsor, a retired Army colonel and former judge advocate, said the punishment phase would focus on Manning's motive and the harm that was done by the leak.

"You're balancing that to determine what would be an appropriate sentence. I think it's likely that he's going to be in jail for a very long time," said Windsor, now in private practice in Washington.

The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, deliberated three days before reaching her verdict in a case involving the largest leak of documents in U.S. history. The case drew worldwide attention as supporters hailed Manning as a whistleblower and the U.S. government called him an anarchist computer hacker and attention-seeking traitor.

The verdict denied the government a precedent that freedom of press advocates had warned could have broad implications for leak cases and investigative journalism about national security issues.

Whistleblower advocates and legal experts had mixed opinions on the implications for the future of leak cases in the Internet age.

The advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said the verdict was a chilling warning to whistleblowers, "against whom the Obama administration has been waging an unprecedented offensive," and threatens the future of investigative journalism because intimidated sources might fall quiet.

However, another advocate of less government secrecy, Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, questioned whether the implications will be so dire, given the extraordinary nature of the Manning case.

"This was a massive hemorrhage of government records, and it's not too surprising that it elicited a strong reaction from the government," Aftergood said.

"Most journalists are not in the business of publishing classified documents, they're in the business of reporting the news, which is not the same thing," he said. "This is not good news for journalism, but it's not the end of the world, either."

Glenn Greenwald, the journalist, commentator and former civil rights lawyer who first reported Edward Snowden's leaks of National Security Agency surveillance programs, said Manning's acquittal on the charge of aiding the enemy represented a "tiny sliver of justice."

But WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whose website exposed Manning's spilled U.S. secrets to the world, saw nothing to cheer in the mixed verdict.

"It is a dangerous precedent and an example of national security extremism," he told reporters at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, which is sheltering him. "This has never been a fair trial."

Federal authorities are looking into whether Assange can be prosecuted. He has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex-crimes allegations.

The material WikiLeaks began publishing in 2010 documented complaints of abuses against Iraqi detainees, a U.S. tally of civilian deaths in Iraq, and America's weak support for the government of Tunisia — a disclosure Manning supporters said helped trigger the Middle Eastern pro-democracy uprisings known as the Arab Spring.

To prove aiding the enemy, prosecutors had to show Manning had "actual knowledge" the material he leaked would be seen by al-Qaida and that he had "general evil intent." They presented evidence the material fell into the hands of the terrorist group and its former leader, Osama bin Laden, but struggled to prove their assertion that Manning was an anarchist computer hacker and attention-seeking traitor.

Associated Press

Out In The Chiller-Thriller 1940s Film Night- Vincent Price’sShock

From The Pen Of Frank Jackman

DVD Review

Shock, starring Vincent Price, 20th Century- Fox, 1946

It is hard to believe that Vincent Price the star of so many really, 1950s really, scary horror movies where as the evil genius behind some scheme he scared the bejesus out of many members of the generation of ’68 could actually portray in this film nothing more than a skirt –addled shrink. That is the hard reality behind this B-film thriller,Shock, from 1946. Here the evil genius, if that is the correct term, is Vincent’s paramour, another in a line of cinematic nurses from hell.

Here is the skinny on why old Vincent is nothing but a skirt-addled guy. Naturally a successful psychiatrist who ran a high-end sanatorium would be away from home quite a bit and that was our boy’s undoing. He, in his lonely hours, began an affair with his main nurse and wanted to divorce his wife. Problem was the wife wanted to drag his name through the mud in revenge. So Vincent solved the problem pronto he killed her in a hotel room and later disposed of the body up at the couple’s lodge. But once you start down the murder row you never know what will happen. And what happened was something that old Vincent certainly would not like and that was that a young war bride waiting for her returning POW husband at that very hotel heard the scuffle that led to the murder. In reaction she froze and that mental freezing led her to come under old Vincent’s care as the nearest shrink. Perfect.

Well, almost perfect. Well, not really perfect at all because despite about seven different therapeutic strategies pursued by Vincent with his nurse- lover egging him on that war bride would not fall down on her abiding conviction that Vincent had murdered, murdered most foul, his dear wife. In the end her distraught returning warrior husband began to believe her and put a stop to Vincent’s dastardly campaign. Oh yah, Vincent in the end decided he had to draw the line somewhere, somewhere deep in his medical training and could not finish the war bride off. He could however finish off that evil genius of a nurse who had him skirt-addled, skirt-addled big time. Hey come to think of it you should wait until the 1950s and watch Vincent at work, let’s say in something like The House Of Wax. This one is just so-so.

Bradley Manning acquitted of “Aiding the Enemy” charge, month-long sentencing phase now determines fate

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Bradley Manning being escorted out of the courthouse.

By the Bradley Manning Support Network. July 30, 2013
“We won the battle, now we need to go win the war,” shared defense attorney David Coombs following today’s verdict. “Today is a good day, but Bradley is by no means out of the fire,” he said to dozens of emotional supporters outside of the Fort Meade, Maryland military courtroom. Coombs expressed subdued optimism going into the expected month-long sentencing phase of the court martial that will determine how long Bradley Manning will remain in confinement.
Bradley Manning had previously accepted responsibility for providing classified information to WikiLeaks, actions covered by ten of the 22 charges. Military judge Colonel Denise Lind found him guilty of 20 of those 22 charges, so PFC Manning still faces the possibility of over 100 years behind bars.
Five of the more serious charges PFC Manning was convicted of today are ripe for appeal as Judge Lind altered the charges only a week ago in order to match up with Government’s evidence presented, long after the defense closed its case.
Amnesty International criticized the verdict, and the government’s refusal to investigate exposed crimes:

The government’s priorities are upside down. The US government has refused to investigate credible allegations of torture and other crimes under international law despite overwhelming evidence. Yet they decided to prosecute Manning who it seems was trying to do the right thing – reveal credible evidence of unlawful behaviour by the government.

Following sentencing, supporters will appeal to Major General Jeffery Buchanan to use his ability as Convening Authority of these proceedings to reduce any sentence handed down by Judge Lind.
Additionally, a campaign to urge President Barack Obama to pardon Bradley Manning will follow. Last week, a full page ad in The New York Times, noted, “Bradley Manning believed you, Mr. President, when you came into office promising the most transparent administration in history, and that you would protect whistle-blowers. Now would be a good time to start upholding that pledged transparency, beginning with PFC Manning.”
Bradley Manning’s family released the following reaction this afternoon:

While we are obviously disappointed in today’s verdicts, we are happy that Judge Lind agreed with us that Brad never intended to help America’s enemies in any way. Brad loves his country and was proud to wear its uniform.

We want to express our deep thanks to David Coombs, who has dedicated three years of his life to serving as lead counsel in Brad’s case. We also want to thank Brad’s Army defense team, Major Thomas Hurley and Captain Joshua Tooman, for their tireless efforts on Brad’s behalf, and Brad’s first defense counsel, Captain Paul Bouchard, who was so helpful to all of us in those early confusing days and first suggested David Coombs as Brad’s counsel.

Most of all, we would like to thank the thousands of people who rallied to Brad’s cause, providing financial and emotional support throughout this long and difficult time, especially Jeff Paterson and Courage to Resist and the Bradley Manning Support Network. Their support has allowed a young army private to defend himself against the full might of not only the US army but also the US government.

See also: “JULIAN ASSANGE ON VERDICT”, and the EFF statement “The Bradley Manning Verdict and the Dangerous “Hacker Madness” Prosecution Strategy.”

President Obama Pardon Bradley Manning Now!

US pursuit of leakers aided by Manning verdict

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MARK SHERMAN, AP
3 hours ago

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted out of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The successful prosecution of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning gives a boost to the Obama administration's aggressive pursuit of people it believes have leaked national security secrets to the media.

Manning was acquitted Tuesday of the most serious charge he faced, aiding the enemy, but he was found guilty by a military judge of enough charges to send him to prison for many years, and perhaps the rest of his life.

Legal scholars said they expect the government's case against National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden to be similar to the Manning prosecution, although it would take place in a federal trial court, not a military court-martial.

"I don't think Edward Snowden is doing a jig in his airport lounge in Russia," said Elizabeth Goiten, co-director of the liberty and national security program at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice.

Prosecutors were able to convince Army Col. Denise Lind that the reams of documents Manning gave to WikiLeaks constituted violations of the Espionage Act, despite the arguments of Manning's lawyers that he chose to hand over information that he believed would not harm the United States.

Goiten said Lind determined that Manning's intent was irrelevant, although his motives come into play when the judge considers his sentence.

"He could be convicted even if he had the purest of motives," Goiten said. "What that says is that the Espionage Act will not distinguish between traitors and whistle-blowers."

Before Lind announced her verdict, Manning supporters and advocates of press freedoms worried that a conviction for aiding the enemy would have a chilling effect on leakers who want to expose government wrongdoing because the charge carries the potential for the death penalty. Manning's prosecutors said they were seeking life in prison for the Army private, not death.

But in the end, Manning's convictions under the Espionage Act and the prospect of many years behind bars could have much the same effect.

Charles "Cully" Stimson, manager of the national security law program at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said the verdict appropriately reinforced the potential cost to those who want to expose government secrets.

"I think what this sends loud and clear to anyone like Snowden or anyone contemplating being the next Snowden is, if you have given over documents, unauthorized, to anyone, you're looking at serious time in jail," said Stimson, a former Bush administration defense official who still serves as a military judge.

The Obama administration has pursued unauthorized disclosures of secret information much more aggressively than any of its predecessors. It has pressed charges under the Espionage Act in seven criminal cases.

In addition, a federal appeals court ruled on July 19 that New York Times reporter James Risen cannot shield his source when he testifies at the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who is charged with leaking information about a secret CIA operation.

The court ruling combined with Manning's conviction will make people think twice before talking to reporters, Boston College law professor Mary-Rose Papandrea said. "It sends a really strong message to would-be leakers that they are facing the potential of prosecution," Papandrea said.

Like Manning, Snowden has acknowledged leaking classified information. The former NSA systems analyst provided information showing that the agency has gathered millions of telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.

The Justice Department is not discussing how it would prosecute Snowden, who is holed up at a Moscow airport, although Attorney General Eric Holder has said the U.S. had no plans to seek the death penalty against him. It is unknown at this point whether the administration will get Snowden to return to the U.S., either voluntarily or through extradition. But if that happens, "at the end of the day, the charges are going to look very similar" to those against Manning, American University law professor Stephen Vladeck said.

One difference may be greater transparency if Snowden is put on trial in civilian court, where Vladeck said a judge would be less likely to close large portions to the public.

Manning also opted to be tried by a judge instead of a jury. Except in death penalty cases, military juries do not have to be unanimous.

Jurors in civilian criminal trials must all agree in order to reach a verdict.

Stimson said Snowden may benefit from "a little more sympathy for a civilian disgorging himself of information he believes the public needs to know, than a military person."

Once Upon A Time In Mexico- Barbara Stanwyck’s Jeopardy

 

From The Pen Of Frank Jackman

DVD Review

Jeopardy, starting Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, MGM, 1953

Okay, take your normal average all-American 1950s family of three (mother, father, and junior), a nice convertible, maybe a Ford with a big engine, and let them take a little trip down Mexico way, actually Baja California but close enough. Nothing is going to happen to them except maybe some excess sun rays, bad water and bug bites, right?  No way is your normal average all-American family of three (mother, father, and junior), with a nice convertible, maybe a Ford with a big engine, going to have to test the outer limits of marital fidelity. No way, right? Except that is exactly the crisis the wife (and mother), played by Barbara Stanwyck confronts, and by implication every serious wife, in this taut little B-film black and white drama, Jeopardy. And it wasn’t pretty confronting that limit. Not one bit.             

So here is the scoop that got to that home truth moment. Our little family set off with great expectations for a nice little camping and fishing trip so that junior could learn about the great outdoors and the clan could get away from stuffy civilization for a couple of weeks. And things went fine until they got to an old pier and junior, as most juniors will, decided to explore its ramparts. His foot got caught in one of the rotting boards and Dad, Barry Sullivan, had to go rescue him. That part was fine except on return a plank gave loose and Dad had his foot stuck under a falling timber. Several futile attempts were attempted to free him but it is not use so Mom has to go back to a ranch gas station that had passed to get some rope and maybe some help. Oh yah, that place where dad landed, well, the tide was coming in, coming in fast so Mom had better be quick.    

And she was, almost. Almost except she ran into a freaky American convict on the run at the ranchero who has other ideas. He wanted to get away, and use Mom as a hostage, stooge. What he doesn’t give a damn about was Dad and his rising tide water problem. Well, he didn’t until desperate Mom, ah, offered herself up to him in exchange for saving hubby. A tough, tough choice but she loved her man that much (although don’t tell him that he might not see it exactly the same, the 1950s same way, high water riding or not). After the fiery con saved Dad the Federales came and our con is off.  And Mom had time, plenty of time to think, about what she did for her man. Yah, that is what happened one time, one sunny, explosive time in Mexico.    

 

President Obama Pardon Bradley Manning !

WikiLeaks on Manning verdict: 'Extremism'

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CALVIN WOODWARD, AP
2 hours ago

Supporters of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning flash peace signs outside of a cour...

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange branded Pfc. Bradley Manning's espionage conviction Tuesday an episode of "national security extremism" while other supporters expressed relief that he was acquitted of the most serious charge. Among Manning's critics, House intelligence officials said justice was served.

From the courtroom to world capitals, people absorbed the meaning of a verdict that cleared the soldier of a charge of aiding the enemy, which would have carried a potential life sentence, but convicted him on other counts that, together, could also mean a life behind bars. Manning faces up to 136 years in prison if given maximum penalties in a sentencing hearing that starts Wednesday.

In Washington, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Intelligence Committee joined in a statement declaring "justice has been served today."

"Manning harmed our national security, violated the public's trust, and now stands convicted of multiple serious crimes," said Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, chairman of the House Intelligence committee, and Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the panel's top Democrat.

Assange, whose website served as the conduit for exposing Manning's spilled U.S. secrets to the world, saw nothing to cheer in the mixed verdict.

"It is a dangerous precedent and an example of national security extremism," he told reporters at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, which is sheltering him. "This has never been a fair trial."

Glenn Greenwald, the journalist, commentator and former civil rights lawyer who first reported Edward Snowden's leaks of National Security Agency surveillance programs, said Manning's acquittal on the charge of aiding the enemy represented a "tiny sliver of justice."

And Christian Stroebele, a German lawmaker for the opposition Green Party, tweeted: "Manning has won respect by uncovering the U.S.'s murderous warfare in Iraq."

But the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said the verdict is a warning to whistleblowers, "against whom the Obama administration has been waging an unprecedented offensive," and threatens the future of investigative journalism because intimidated sources might fall quiet.

Another advocate of less government secrecy, Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, questioned whether the implications will be so dire, given the extraordinary nature of the Manning case.

"This was a massive hemorrhage of government records, and it's not too surprising that it elicited a strong reaction from the government," Aftergood said.

"Does that mean that every leak from every journalist is likely to do the same?" he asked. "No it doesn't. Most journalists are not in the business of publishing classified documents, they're in the business of reporting the news, which is not the same thing. This is not good news for journalism, but it's not the end of the world, either."

Daniel Ellsberg, whose sensational leak of the Pentagon papers in the early 1970s exposed U.S. government lies about the Vietnam War, said Manning's acquittal on aiding the enemy limits the chilling consequences of the WikiLeaks case on press freedoms.

"American democracy just dodged a bullet, a possibly fatal bullet," Ellsberg said. "I'm talking about the free press that I think is the life's blood of the democracy."

Outside the courtroom, Manning supporters gave his lawyer, David Coombs, a round of applause and shouted "thank you." But they also pressed him on what the verdict meant for the soldier's fate.

"Today is a good day," Coombs said, "but Bradley is by no means out of the fire."

Manning acknowledged giving WikiLeaks more than 700,000 battlefield reports and diplomatic cables, and video of a 2007 U.S. helicopter attack that killed civilians in Iraq, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. He said during a pretrial hearing he leaked the material to expose U.S military "bloodlust" and diplomatic deceitfulness but did not believe his actions would harm the country.

His defense portrayed him as a naive but well-intentioned figure. Prosecutors branded him an anarchist and traitor.

Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, welcomed the outcome.

"Bradley Manning endangered the security of the United States and the lives of his own comrades in uniform when he intentionally disclosed vast amounts of classified data," he said. "His conviction should stand as an example to those who are tempted to violate a sacred public trust in pursuit of notoriety, fame, or their own political agenda."

Many supporters in and outside the courtroom wore black T-shirts with "truth" on them to show they consider him a whistleblower just trying to expose government misconduct.

"The government's priorities are upside down," Widney Brown, senior director of international law and policy for Amnesty International, said at the scene.

Officials have "refused to investigate credible allegations of torture and other crimes under international law despite overwhelming evidence," Brown said, but "decided to prosecute Manning, who it seems was trying to do the right thing — reveal credible evidence of unlawful behavior by the government."

"It seems clear that the government was seeking to intimidate anyone who might consider revealing valuable information in the future," said Ben Wizner of the ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project.

Overseas, Anatoly Kucherena, the Russian lawyer who's been working with Snowden, merely said: "All cases are individual. We shouldn't take the Manning case and compare it to Snowden."

———

Associated Press writers Raphael Satter in London, Donna Cassata in Washington, and David Dishneau and Pauline Jelinek at Fort Meade, Md., contributed to this report.

***Out In The Be-Bop 1950s Night-

From The Pen Of Joshua Lawrence Breslin

Wildwood Flower, June Carter Cash, produced by John Carter Cash, Dualtone Music, 2003

Scene: Brought to mind by the song Storms Are On The Ocean performed by June Carter Cash on her Wildwood Flower album.

Prescott Breslin was beside himself on that snowy December day just before the Christmas of 1953. He had just heard, no more than heard, he had been told directly by Mr. John MacAdams, the owner’s son, that the James MacAdams & Son Textile Mill was closing its Maine operations in Olde Saco and moving to Lansing, North Carolina right across the border from his old boyhood hometown down in Harlan, Harlan, Kentucky, bloody Harlan of labor legend, song, and story right after the first of the new year. And the reason that the usually steady Prescott was beside himself at hearing that news was that he knew that Lansing back country, knew that the matter of a state border meant little down there as far as backwater ways went, knew it deep in his bones, and knew that come hell or high-water that he could not go back, not to that kind of defeat.

Prescott (not Pres, Scottie, or any such nickname, by the way, just dignified Prescott, one of his few vanities), left the mill at the closing of his shift, went across the street to Millie’s Diner, sat at the stooled-counter for singles, ordered a cup of coffee and a piece of Millie’s homemade pumpkin pie, and put a nickel in the counter jukebox, selecting the Carter Family’s Storms Are On The Ocean that Millie had ordered the jukebox man to insert just for Prescott and the other country boys (and occasionally girls), mainly boys, or rather men who worked the mills in town and sometimes needed a reminder of home, or something with their coffee and pie.

Hearing the sounds of southern home brought a semi-tear to Prescott's eye until he realized that he was in public, was at hang-out Millie’s where he had friends, and that Millie, thirty-something, but motherly-kind Millie was looking directly at him and he held it back with might and main. In a flash he thought, tear turning to grim smirk, how he had told his second son, Kendrick, just last year when he asked about the Marine Corps uniform hanging in a back closet in the two by four apartment that they still rented from the Olde Saco Housing Authority and naively asked him why he went to war. He had answered that he preferred, much preferred, taking his chances in some forsaken battlefield that finish his young life out in the hard-bitten coal mines of eastern Kentucky. And then, as the last words of Storms echoed in the half-empty diner, he thought, thought hard against the day that he could not turn back, never.

And just then came creeping in that one second of self-doubt, that flash of why the hell had he fallen for, and married, a Northern mill town girl (the sweet, reliable Delores, nee LeBlanc, met at the Starlight Ballroom over in Old Orchard Beach when he had been short-time stationed at the Portsmouth Naval Base down in New Hampshire), stayed up North after the war when he knew the mills were only a shade bit better that the mines, faced every kind of insult for being southern from the insular Mainiacs (they actually call themselves that with pride, the hicks, and it wasn’t really because he was from the south although that made him an easy target but because he was not born in Maine and could never be a Mainiac even if he lived there one hundred years), and had had three growing, incredibly fast growing boys, with Delores. He reached, suddenly, into his pocket, found a stray nickel, put it in the counter jukebox, and played the flip side of Storms, Anchored In Love. Yes, times will be tough since the MacAdams Mill was one of the few mills still around as they all headed south for cheaper labor, didn’t he know all about that from the mine struggles, jesus, but Delores, the three boys, and he would eke it out somehow. There was no going back, no way.

***Out In The Be-Bop 1940s Night-I’ll Get By As Long As I Have You-For Prescott And Delores Breslin

A YouTube film clip Bing Crosby performing Far Away Places to give a little flavor to this sketch.

From The Pen Of Joshua Lawrence Breslin

CD Review

Sentimental Journey, Pop Vocal Classics, Volume 2: 1947-1950, Rhino Records, 1993

Scene: Brought to mind by the sepia-toned family album-style photograph from back in the 1940s, the time of the 1930s Great Depression survivors and of who fought World War II, or waited at home for the other shoe to drop, that graced the cover of this CD and by the song Far Away Places.

“Prescott James Breslin get your dirty hands off that wall this minute," yelled Delores Breslin (nee LeClerc), Mother Breslin to some, including the yelled at Prescott, honey, to Prescott Breslin, Senior, Father Breslin to the junior one being yelled at just this minute. Just as Mother Breslin, hell, let’s call her Delores, was getting ready for cascade rant number two aimed in Prescott, Junior’s direction wafting through the air, the radio WJDA air, came the melodious voice of Bing Crosby singing in that sweet, nuanced voice of his, Far Away Places. Their song, Prescott, Senior and Delores' song . Their forever memory song.

Delores flashed back to the night in 1943 over at the Stardust Ballroom on East Grand in Old Orchard Beach that she, then a typist for the State Insurance Company right here in Olde Saco (and making good money for a single, no high maintenance girl) and Marine PFC Prescott Breslin, stationed after serious service in the Pacific wars (Guadalcanal, etc.) at the Portsmouth Naval Base met while they were playing that song on the jukebox between sets. Sets being performed by the Be-Bop Sextet, a hot, well, be-bop band that was making a national tour to boost civilian morale while the boys were off fighting.

They hit it off right away, made Far Away Places their song, and prepared for a future, a joint future, once the war was over, and they could get their dream, shared dream, little white house, with or without picket fence, maybe a dog, and definitely kids, a few although they never specified a number. The perfect dream to chase the old Great Depression no dough blues and World War II fighting dust away, far away. And to be to breath a decent breathe, a not from hunger breathe.

Just then Delores snapped back into the reality, the two by four reality, of their made due, temporary veterans’ housing set up by the Olde Saco Housing Authority (at the request of and funded by the War Department) to house the housing-hungry returning vets and give them a leg up. Add on the further reality that Prescott’s job at the Macadam’s Textile Mill was none too sure now that rumors were circulating around town that the mill-owners were thinking of relocating to North Carolina. And the biggest reality of all: well, Prescott, Junior, Kendrick, and most recently still in the cradle Joshua. And three is enough, more than enough thank you. But as that terrific tenor of Dick Haymes singing Little White Lies was making its way into her air space she fell back to thinking about that now old dream of the little white house, with or without picket fence, a dog and a few (exactly three, thank you) that was coming just around next corner. And just as she was winding up to blast young Prescott, his dirty hands, and that wall, maybe a little less furiously that she intended before, her thoughts returned to her Prince Charming, Starlight Ballroom1943, and their song. Their forever memory song. Yes, she would get by.