Bradley Manning Hearing Concludes

As Bradley Manning Hearing Concludes, Military Prosecutors Say WikiLeaks Disclosures Aided al-Qaeda.

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Lawyers made their closing arguments Thursday in the military pretrial hearing for accused Army whistle blower Bradley Manning, which will determine whether he should face a court-martial for allegedly leaking classified video and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks.

The defense suggested that the original classification authorities for this classified information that Bradley Manning is accused of releasing actually take the stand and be put under oath next time, because they keep saying that there is a risk to national security, and he would like to see them go under oath, and they would probably perjure themselves if they did, says Firedoglake blogger Kevin Gosztola, who was present at Manning’s hearing.

He notes that the prosecution "linked Bradley Manning to aiding al-Qaeda..." That essentially is criminalizing national security journalism... What they’re saying is anybody who puts this information on the internet, (e.g., if you do a report on a drone strike, or if you do a report on anything related to military operations), and al-Qaeda reads it you could be accused of aiding the enemy."

Editor’s Remarks: The accusation by Military prosecutors that the information disclosed by Bradley Manning and given to WikiLeaks “aided Al-Qaeda” sounds like a bold-faced lie. They are exaggerating and deliberately using buzz words to frighten the American people. How can Military prosecutors make such a dramatic statement when, in fact, any such information is so easily obtainable?
    They had better be prepared to demonstrate a solid body of proof before making such inflammatory accusations.
    There appear to be too many injustices prevailing simply because the Military got embarrassed, resulting in torture and exposure to extreme conditions of the accused without benefit of counsel.