Manning says he first tried to leak to Washington Post and New York Times

Cut>While he was on leave from Iraq and staying in the Washington area in January 2010 he contacted the Washington Post and asked would it be interested in receiving information that he said would be "enormously important to the American people". He spoke to a woman who said she was a reporter but "she didn't seem to take me seriously".

The woman said, according to Manning's account, that the paper would only be interested subject to vetting by senior editors.

Despairing of that route, Manning turned to the New York Times. He called the public editor of the paper but only got voicemail.

He then tried other numbers on the paper but also got put through to voicemail, and though he left a message with his Skype contact details, nobody called him back. Manning added he had also contemplated going to the website Politico, but harsh weather prevented him.>Cut

Story


It looks like Manning tried to shop his documents to MSM but got the shine. From the article it doesn't seem like he was real diligent. According to the story he wasn't taken seriously or calls were never returned. He discusses conversations that he assumed were taking place between Assange and himself. This kid is so screwed. He will never see the outside of a military prison again. The government will see to that one way or another.

As an addition to the OP I wanted to post this story about Manning pleading guilty to many of his charges and agreeing to a 20 sentence on those. He will still by tried on the more serious charges.

FT. MEADE, Md. – Army Pfc. Bradley Edward Manning pleaded guilty Thursday to 10 charges that he illegally acquired and transferred U.S. government secrets, agreeing to serve 20 years in prison for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks that described U.S. military and diplomatic efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the globe.

The 25-year-old soldier, however, pleaded not guilty to 12 more serious charges, including espionage for aiding the enemy, meaning that his criminal case will go forward at a general court-martial in June. If convicted at trial, he risks a sentence of life in prison at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan.

Link

Here is another snippet from Wired's coverage of the days event with respect to Manning's ongoing legal battle.

Manning spoke for over an hour as he read from a 35-page document detailing and explaining his actions that drove him to disclose what he said he “believed, and still believe… are some of the most significant documents of our time.” He rarely grew emotional, with the exception of describing his alienation from his fellow soldiers in Iraq and his relationship with Julian Assange.

Manning described accessing, investigating and ultimately spiriting away and leaking military and diplomatic documents as consistent with his training as an intelligence analyst, attempting to put together a factual picture of complex events. He came to view much of what the Army told him — and the public — to be false, such as the suggestion the military had destroyed a graphic video of an aerial assault in Iraq that killed civilians, or that WikiLeaks was a nefarious entity.

The leaking came gradually, Manning explained — providing a window into the military’s poor data hygiene. While serving at Forward Operating Base Hammer in Iraq in 2009, Manning accessed, compressed and copied databases containing voluminous accounts of military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, known as CIDNE-I and CIDNE-A.

“I never hid the fact that I downloaded copies of CIDNE-I and CIDNE-A” and burned them onto CDs, Manning said, even labeling and storing them “in the open” in his unit’s tactical operations center. Nor did he hide that he also downloaded compression software to facilitate the transfer, Manning said.

Wired Coverage

Good info...

This has been up for a while now and no one from the Manning camp has chimed in... Is it because he is admitting to committing the crimes people said he did not commit?

If he is pleading guilty to the bulk of the charges then logic dictates he knows his actions were wrong. He knows his releasing of classified information was wrong and served no other purpose than to jeopradize operations. His goal, like wikileaks, is not to throw sunshine on the dark, but to use it to their own personal advantage.

This is supported by Assange and his actions... Asking for cash with the promise of releasing more info that never surfaces... Using the money from wikileaks to cover his own personal issues instead of furthering their "goal".


Manning... Assange.... 2 people who used the information for no legitimate reason other than revenge. Ironic really... since they chose the exact course of action they condem the US for.

Look, Manning screwed himself. He signed the papers for a security clearance and a non-disclosure agreement and you're only as good as your word.

If you think the US is engaged in evil (it wouldn't be the first time, especially if you look at the totality of American history) -don't work for them in any capacity.

Has there been any response from the news agencies he contacted and tried to hand these documents to?

He manned up to most of those charges which says a lot about his character.

I do not know where I stand with this, very conflicted because he went against his military family while at the same time upholding the Constitution and trying to protect and alert the people of what really is going on.

I wish him the best though and hope he gets a fair and honest trail. He's an Okie that tried to do good while breaking laws, true rebel. Boomer Sooner!

Originally posted by Xcathdra
Good info...

This has been up for a while now and no one from the Manning camp has chimed in... Is it because he is admitting to committing the crimes people said he did not commit?

If he is pleading guilty to the bulk of the charges then logic dictates he knows his actions were wrong. He knows his releasing of classified information was wrong and served no other purpose than to jeopradize operations. His goal, like wikileaks, is not to throw sunshine on the dark, but to use it to their own personal advantage.

This is supported by Assange and his actions... Asking for cash with the promise of releasing more info that never surfaces... Using the money from wikileaks to cover his own personal issues instead of furthering their "goal".


Manning... Assange.... 2 people who used the information for no legitimate reason other than revenge. Ironic really... since they chose the exact course of action they condem the US for.

How is it self serving? Sure he breach confidentiality / non-disclosure agreement, but he thought that the public interest in knowing what was happening in Iraq outweighed the bad..

He denies the espionage and aiding the enemy charges and quite rightly so. He's no worse than the people who leaked info on the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. The American people are being lied to and manning saw his duty to correct that lie. Manning is a patriot in the true sense of the word.

Originally posted by GreenGlassDoor
Look, Manning screwed himself. He signed the papers for a security clearance and a non-disclosure agreement and you're only as good as your word.

If you think the US is engaged in evil (it wouldn't be the first time, especially if you look at the totality of American history) -don't work for them in any capacity.

WHy don't you get down on your knees and blow uncle sam.

The very fact that Manning is behind bars right now is absolute proof that the US Government is corrupt to the core. And yet all Americans care about is entertainment and the dollar menu.

reply to post by GrantedBail


You guys have read about Bradley Manning being transsexual right? I had heard about it long ago, but after a quick search it almost seems common knowledge now

In the discussions he had with the hacker that eventually turned him over Manning discussed fear of being outed before he had made some sort of transition.

He said:

I wouldn’t mind going to prison for the rest of my life, or being executed so much, if it wasn’t for the possibility of having pictures of me… plastered all over the world press… as boy…

I think Manning might play to that, especially when you consider the weight of that on him right around the time of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" being repealed. I won't be surprised to see that used in the defense.

They might end up hyping Manning up as a transgender hero :arti cle I personally don't care what people do, but I will say that article I posted is annoyingly p.c. posting (sic) after every use of "he" in reference to Manning.

I'm certain that everyone on ATS is well aware of Operation Mockingbird... well, it has never ceased. In fact, according to many, it has increased in scope.

Now, I don't need to tell anyone how important a free press is to democracy (whatever that means anymore), but we have proof again that the mainstream media has become part and parcel of the government's propaganda machine, and that democracy is dead. (If it ever existed is up for debate!)

When someone else said it so well, nothing more to do but to quote them:

"Truth is treason in an empire of lies." -George Orwell

the Billmeister

Manning's biggest mistake, aside from the obvious, was discussing his exploits with Adrian Lamo. Probably the worst hacker in history who has gotten any notoriety. I just finished reading an article about Manning's pretrial experiences, and I am left with questions. First of all, I understand that it can be argued he aided the enemy, but I do not think that anyone honestly believes there was intent to aid the enemy. It seems his motivation was not money, which he could have gotten a lot of, from any number of different sources, and instead he seemed to be mostly concerned with informing the American public.

He really was doing us a favor, and there was no serious backlash toward the US as a result, despite what some would have you believe. And regarding "hurting" foreign relations. Wow. Every single embassy from all countries on the globe do the exact same thing in regards to dirt on members of other governments. The truth is that no one was surprised at what was said by US diplomats, but rather that they were caught saying it, and it originated from their own military. The military takes absolutely zero precautions against who it allows to serve, in terms of idealism. I have been in the military, with a security clearance, and I know the process.

A background check is performed for anyone working on anything related to classified material, but the background checks fall short when attempting to ascertain personal beliefs that are kept inside of oneself. The military recruits idealized young men, which in my mind means things like this should have happened more often. Manning was not the first to see just what kind of illegal activities were going on in Iraq, and anyone who thinks he should be punished for doing his job, which is to uphold the US Constitution, is just brain-dead. When the US military is violating the rights and ideals Americans stand for, including killing innocent civilians who are not US citizens, someone needs to speak up. Manning did, and he outed the criminals in government to some degree, and he should not be punished for it.

So some of you actually think that Manning committed a worse crime than the government, who is killing innocent civilians, which is evident in some of the cable leaks? How naive can you be? That is US brainwashing at work if you ask me.

As much as some people, the media, government and a chunk of society in general want you to feel contempt for people like Manning and McKinnon (NASA - Non-Terrestrial Officers ?) we need more things like this to hold our government accountable.

Obviously not locations of weapons or infrastructure, not stuff that will put the country in danger to potential attacks.

Things like information on drug/human smuggling, weapons and money laundering, black projects and things that are hidden inside the Military Industrial Complex and Medical Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex (possible free-energy devices, cures for AIDS, Cancer etc. and relatable research... Hemp Oil anyone?)

If you knowingly conceal wrongdoings or look the other way you are part of the problem. The time is coming to choose which side you are on. The side of a free and beautiful humanity, or the side of our Luciferian controllers.

Originally posted by Xcathdra
Good info...

This has been up for a while now and no one from the Manning camp has chimed in... Is it because he is admitting to committing the crimes people said he did not commit?

If he is pleading guilty to the bulk of the charges then logic dictates he knows his actions were wrong. He knows his releasing of classified information was wrong and served no other purpose than to jeopradize operations. His goal, like wikileaks, is not to throw sunshine on the dark, but to use it to their own personal advantage.

This is supported by Assange and his actions... Asking for cash with the promise of releasing more info that never surfaces... Using the money from wikileaks to cover his own personal issues instead of furthering their "goal".


Manning... Assange.... 2 people who used the information for no legitimate reason other than revenge. Ironic really... since they chose the exact course of action they condem the US for.

Poor attempt at ad hominem. Pathetic, reactionary, asinine, moralistic, repressive, anal retentive and above all, hypocritical, just like any Inquisition tribunal. Who's doing it for his own personal issues... the guy who risks jail for the rest of his life for revealing a few infos, or the one who's getting paid by the DHS to post defamatory disinfo crap on conspiracy forums? A cop gets PAID for his loyal service to TPTB, no matter how evil they are.

Your democracy holds the largest population in jail on the entire planet, estimated at 25%, where people are being sent into concrete solitary cells only for being dissenters, or whistleblowing on CRIMINAL ACTIVITY by government forces, like brainwashed psychopaths in their choppers shooting at civilians and journalists!

The cowards.

Bradly Manning stands as an example of this, just like Gary McKinnon, and so many others. Either that, or they simply are getting shot and killed.

He wasn't smart enough to catalog all the ongoing events then after he was out of the military, blow the bastards out of the water under an alias... some people are just dumb that way

reply to post by Xcathdra

He knows his releasing of classified information was wrong and served no other purpose than to jeopradize operations. His goal, like wikileaks, is not to throw sunshine on the dark, but to use it to their own personal advantage.

Did you even read the rest of what Manning said?

The media outlets ignored him because they are generally in cahoots with the government and do not challenge them or question them but instead act like sycophantic mouthpieces just trumpeting the government line.

They're not going to run a story which would risk their cozy interviews and exclusive access to the administration.

Spineless the lot of them and a disgrace to their profession.

In any other "civilized" nation you'd think Manning's actions and what he revealed would prick the consciences of it's citizens, but instead he's been aggressively prosecuted and suffered disgraceful treatment.

It seems like this "trial" is all for show, like a kangaroo court. The "enemy" weren't aided it's just that the U.S. government has been embarrassed and now has egg on it's face and is also furious that disgusting war crimes have been revealed.

Obviously Americans aren't too concerned either way about such things as long as it's in a far away land being perpetrated against brown people.

If the United States actually stood by the values it preached then Manning would be praised and be awarded top honors not treated as if he is a war criminal.

He also pleaded not guilty to 12 of the 22 counts, including the most serious - the capital offense of "aiding and abetting the enemy", which could send him to prison for life - on the ground that nothing he did was intended to nor did it result in harm to US national security.

There are those who have said he should have followed the chain of command and reported abuses etc.

"Manning said he often found himself frustrated by attempts to get his chain of command to investigate apparent abuses detailed in the documents Manning accessed. . . ."

And he extensively narrated how he had learned of serious abuse and illegality while serving in the war - including detaining Iraqi citizens guilty of nothing other than criticizing the Malaki government - but was ignored when he brought those abuses to his superiors.

a then-22-year-old Army Private knowingly risked his liberty in order to inform the world about what he learned. He endured treatment which the top UN torture investigator deemed "cruel and inhuman", and he now faces decades in prison if not life.

Guardian

A full transcript of Manning's statement.

Bradley Manning Statement

Originally posted by bigdohbeatdown
How is it self serving? Sure he breach confidentiality / non-disclosure agreement, but he thought that the public interest in knowing what was happening in Iraq outweighed the bad..

I agree with this statement up to a point. When he began collecting and sending out information that contained no wrong doing at all (diplomatic cables as an example), it became self serving. He exposed information that had no reason to be exposed. The only reason for doing it at that point was self serving.

Originally posted by bigdohbeatdown
He denies the espionage and aiding the enemy charges and quite rightly so. He's no worse than the people who leaked info on the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. The American people are being lied to and manning saw his duty to correct that lie. Manning is a patriot in the true sense of the word.

The problem with the My Lai comparison is people were held accountible. The UCMJ is the governing document for the military, not civilian law. While I dont agree with the light sentence, people were held accountible. In this case Manning released information that was restricted yet contained no criminal wrong doing.

Manning, by releasing classified information that showed no criminal wrong doing, was not attempting to stop the US government / its agents from killing unarmed civilians. While I dont agree with his leaking of the helicopter incident, I can understand why he thought it should be brought to light and I wont fault him for that.

As an example I have access to investigations / field notesof cases I am not involved in. Would it be right for me, without having all of the information the investigating officer has, to take that information and release it to the public? Where is the justification for doing that?

Just because you have information that looks like its illegal doesnt mean you have all of the information or the whole story. Classified information, when it comes from multiple sources and agencies, is going to differ from entity to entity.

As an example if a classified report containes information from 5 different agencies, that report will not contain all of the information from those 5 agencies. It will most likely reference other reports, at which point those referenced reports will contain a better understanding of the information.

The CIA can tell the Military that a terror attack is being planned. Chances are though they are not going to tell the Pentagon who their source is and how he came across the information in detail.

As an analyst, Manning knows this. He chose to ignore it, which, in my opinion, is nothing but self serving on his part. Revenge on the military and the government that he felt ignored the issues he was having in the military.

reply to post by Kram09


How very right you are!

Manning is a hero in every sense of the word, but most americans have no conscience whatsoever, cannot recognize right from wrong, and consider it a crime to expose the crimes of government. As an american, I am ashamed of the moral turpitude present in this country today.

In their defense, the american people have been thoroughly brainwashed and manipulated for decades now, by some very skilled but utterly perverse special interests. However the fact remains that americans are quite mean-spirited, and are unable to discern good from bad.