Manning was arrested in Iraq in May 2010, after a government informant reported a series of Internet chats with someone he identified as an American soldier in Iraq, “BradAss87.” The military has asserted, without verifiable evidence, that Manning is BradAss87. In chats with the informant, BradAss87 indirectly took credit for leaking the so-called “Collateral Murder” video to the whistleblower website Wikileaks.
The graphic video footage shows American soldiers in Iraq laughing while gunning down civilians on a Baghdad street — including two Reuters reporters and several children. Based on these chat logs, Manning was taken into custody while on duty in Iraq. Subsequent leaks to Wikileaks of thousands of politically embarrassing U.S. diplomatic cables were later attributed to Manning. Despite administration statements that the cables and the video had no national security impact, Manning was charged with aiding the enemy, among other offenses.
Manning has remained incarcerated for the ensuing two years, with months of further imprisonment before he will be tried.
The military’s treatment of Manning is undeniably a hate crime. He has been singled out for abuse — what the United Nations has characterized as “cruel and inhuman treatment” — for his alleged whistle blowing, yet the perverse sexual humiliation and degradation inflicted upon him is inextricably linked to his sexual orientation. In an attempt to “break” Manning, to get him to divulge information about Wikileaks (which he likely does not possess), the specialized torture regimen focused on isolation and sexual humiliation.
When the mainstream media cover the Manning case at all, reports tend to highlight his sexuality and paint him as unstable and weak. PBS’s “Frontline” special on Manning devoted significant time to Manning’s coming out struggles.
Similar reports appeared in the New York Times and The Guardian. New York magazine emphasized Manning’s gender identity struggles, describing him as “disturbed” and unstable.
The link between Manning’s sexual orientation and his alleged offenses is presented in virtually all mass media accounts as pathological. It is somehow inconceivable that Manning could have any motivation beyond psychological weakness for releasing to the world massive evidence of the U.S. military’s lawlessness.
Beginning Aug. 27, Manning will have another series of pretrial hearings at Ft. Meade, Md. At long last, the Washington-Baltimore LGBT community should show up in force to support him and demand justice for one of our own.
No comments:
Post a Comment