A large public outcry of support for convicted criminal and former soldier Bradley Manning is in full gear this week, as various celebrities have gotten together to lend their talents to a video in support of the Army whistleblower.
Manning is at the center of the WikiLeaks scandal made famous after he leaked sensitive government information to Australian journalist Julian Assange. He has been held in prison for three years now, and will likely be in U.S. custody for many more years. There are plenty of people who endorse his actions, however.
"If you saw incredible things, awful things, things that belonged in the public domain and not in some server stored in a dark room in Washington," each advocate says in the campaign trailer, "What would you do?"
Russell Brand, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Oliver Stone, and Tom Morello are some of the big names that lent their time to the efforts to help Manning. Manning has already plead guilty on ten different charges and stands to be in jail for 20 years. Now he is being charged with aiding and abetting the enemy, a sentence that could hand him a lifetime in prison.
The video comes at a very important time for Manning. He will stand trial at Fort Meade military base this week, and many are descending upon the complex to show their support. One such person is former Air Force member Michael Thurman, who says he knows first hand why Manning would want to expose the government and military.
"When I was in the military, I was able to see it for what it was. I came to the conclusion during my enlistment that it wasn't an organization benefiting anyone, it was a business venture that benefited a few very elite people," Thurman continued. "I saw the corporate collusion and found out about the civilian casualties, the racism, the seizure of resources, and basically the nature of US policies. I thought it was wrong, and I became opposed to it, and that's why I'm supporting Bradley Manning, who exposed all those things."
There were many very condemning pieces of information brought to light by Manning's handing over the WikiLeaks cables. Perhaps most compelling were the videos of U.S soldiers firing on known Iraqi civilians. Such wartime atrocities have generated a strong outpouring of support for Manning.
"I cannot remember a situation where there was such a high degree of civilian interest, people not affiliated with the military, having intense and passionate interest in the outcome of the case," said David J.R. Frakt, a military law expert at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a former military prosecutor and defense lawyer.
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