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View Full Version : FULL TEXT: Bradley Manning’s Letter To President Obama Requesting Pardon




tangent4ronpaul
08-24-2013, 02:56 AM
FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — The text of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning’s statement that will be sent to the president, as read by defense attorney David Coombs following Manning’s sentencing Wednesday:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/full-text-bradley-mannings-letter-obama-pardon.php

The decisions that I made in 2010 were made out of a concern for my country and the world that we live in. Since the tragic events of 9/11, our country has been at war. We’ve been at war with an enemy that chooses not to meet us on any traditional battlefield, and due to this fact we’ve had to alter our methods of combating the risks posed to us and our way of life.
I initially agreed with these methods and chose to volunteer to help defend my country. It was not until I was in Iraq and reading secret military reports on a daily basis that I started to question the morality of what we were doing. It was at this time I realized that (in) our efforts to meet the risk posed to us by the enemy, we have forgotten our humanity. We consciously elected to devalue human life both in Iraq and Afghanistan. When we engaged those that we perceived were the enemy, we sometimes killed innocent civilians. Whenever we killed innocent civilians, instead of accepting responsibility for our conduct, we elected to hide behind the veil of national security and classified information in order to avoid any public accountability.

In our zeal to kill the enemy, we internally debated the definition of torture. We held individuals at Guantanamo for years without due process. We inexplicably turned a blind eye to torture and executions by the Iraqi government. And we stomached countless other acts in the name of our war on terror.

Patriotism is often the cry extolled when morally questionable acts are advocated by those in power. When these cries of patriotism drown out any logically based dissension, it is usually the American soldier that is given the order to carry out some ill-conceived mission.

Our nation has had similar dark moments for the virtues of democracy — the Trail of Tears, the Dred Scott decision, McCarthyism, and the Japanese-American internment camps — to mention a few. I am confident that many of the actions since 9/11 will one day be viewed in a similar light.

As the late Howard Zinn once said, “There is not a flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.”

I understand that my actions violated the law; I regret if my actions hurt anyone or harmed the United States. It was never my intent to hurt anyone. I only wanted to help people. When I chose to disclose classified information, I did so out of a love for my country and a sense of duty to others.

If you deny my request for a pardon, I will serve my time knowing that sometimes you have to pay a heavy price to live in a free society. I will gladly pay that price if it means we could have a country that is truly conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all women and men are created equal.

-t

twomp
08-24-2013, 03:41 AM
I don't care what evils the media says he does. Manning is a hero and a patriot. History will clear his name just as it will with Snowden.

kcchiefs6465
08-24-2013, 11:47 AM
Now let's hope this gets the 27 pages other threads have.

enhanced_deficit
08-24-2013, 12:01 PM
As the late Howard Zinn once said, “There is not a flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.”

Hard to argue with that.

Snew
08-24-2013, 12:09 PM
chills.

What a hero.

Christian Liberty
08-24-2013, 12:14 PM
Good luck.

Thor
08-24-2013, 12:43 PM
Great letter.... Manning basically says he was still serving his country after enlightenment....

However, I don't think the Commander in Chief of the Enemy Within will do anything about the letter. To do so would be an admission of guilt to everything Manning outlined.

ClydeCoulter
08-24-2013, 12:46 PM
Great letter.... Manning basically says he was still serving his country after enlightenment....

However, I don't think the Commander in Chief of the Enemy Within will do anything about the letter. To do so would be an admission of guilt to everything Manning outlined.

But it could be seen a way to curry favor with the people. A bite of cake, so to speak.

WhistlinDave
08-24-2013, 12:53 PM
Great letter! I don't think Obama will do jack shit though. He has already demonstrated himself to be a loyal puppet to the war machine and big bankers, and they had to make an example of Manning. If Obama were to actually pardon him, I think we would soon see in the news how Obama was assassinated by a crazy right wing racist, a disturbed individual driven by hatred for blacks, who acted alone.... Either that or Obama would be the victim of a terrorist attack carried out by Muslim extremists. (Whichever one the puppet masters would find most useful and lucrative at that given moment.)

bolil
08-24-2013, 01:20 PM
They really tortured them didn't they. You know what I like about that letter? Manning didn't apologize. I think he knows that Obama couldn't care less, and the 'pardon' letter auspice is to get people to read it. An excellent letter.

I think he will be pardoned. What do they have to lose? They already made their point, and gave everyone a lesson in the nature of their power. The example has already been made, and pardoning Manning will give Obama a nice morsel for his conscience and be a further proof of the power of the Federal Government (We can put you in a place where only we can get you out of, a powerful statement with some truth to it). His supporters are not against manning because they think it is right, that he is a criminal, they are against him because they've been told to be against him. They will simply forget how they argued it just to torture this man, and point too the pardon as proof the government really means well.

Nixon got pardoned immediately because he had insurance policies, Manning will be pardoned because they gain, not lose by doing it.

AZJoe
01-14-2017, 09:57 PM
Dr. Paul and Dennis Kucinich sent letter to Obama requesting clemency for Manning: http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/media/120979/letter-from-congressman-paul-and-congressman-kucinich-re-clemency-for-chelsea-manning.pdf

http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2017/january/12/ron-paul-and-dennis-kucinich-ask-president-obama-to-free-chelsea-manning/

kcchiefs6465
01-14-2017, 10:00 PM
Now let's hope this gets the 27 pages other threads have.
One page.

timosman
01-14-2017, 10:03 PM
Nixon got pardoned immediately because he had insurance policies, Manning will be pardoned because they gain, not lose by doing it.

You can take this to a bank!