Obama’s Openness

Today marks the start of preliminary hearings in the trial of whistleblower Bradley Manning in a military court convened at Ft. Meade, Md., not far from Washington, D.C. According to the Pentagon, ex-Private First Class Manning, formerly a U.S. Army intelligence analyst, passed thousands of internal confidential memos concerning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the WikiLeaks disclosure platform. Among the material was a video of targeted killings carried out by a U.S. Army helicopter when it opened fire on a group of civilians in Baghdad on July 12, 2007. WikiLeaks published the video in April 2010, under the title “Collateral Murder.” The video forced the U.S. government to hastily explain its actions, and Manning was arrested shortly thereafter.

By passing these dispatches along, the ex-Pfc. is charged with committing breach of secrecy and supporting the enemy. Manning’s supporters, on the other hand, say he is being prosecuted for telling the truth about war crimes. The circumstances of his pretrial detention alone indicate prejudice. He was held incommunicado for nine months. Those severe conditions were not lessened until more leniency was brought about by international protests, intervention by Amnesty International and also by Juan Méndez, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The judicial hearing is scheduled to take five days. It will be open to the public as long as no classified material is made public. The hearing will determine whether the charges brought against Manning merit a court martial proceeding. According to prosecution sources, if found guilty, Manning could be sentenced to life in prison, reduction in rank and dishonorable discharge.

Last week, Manning’s chief counsel David Coombs presented a list of 48 witnesses he intends to call, in addition to two medical officers who will testify about the torture-like effects of solitary confinement Manning was subjected to at the Quantico Marine Base. Coombs also intends to call high-ranking politicians to the witness stand, among them President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Coombs expects Obama to testify, since he promised his administration was “committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government,” further promising: “We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.*”

In actuality, however, Coombs says a gigantic and unjustified veil of secrecy was practiced that made it possible to charge his client. Coombs especially wants to hear Obama testify on the effect of his April 21, 2011 public statement in San Francisco, when he stated, “He broke the law.” Coombs considers this prejudicial to his client, making a fair trial impossible. The case should be dismissed on those grounds, Coombs says.

The Federation of German Scientists (VDW) and the International Association Of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) intend to financially support Manning’s defense. The Bradley Manning Support Network has called for a day of activism on his behalf on Saturday, Manning’s birthday.

*Editor’s note: This quote is from the whitehouse.gov Transparency and Open Government memorandum: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment