Wikileaks Court Martial: Manning Angry Over Military’s Treatment Of Gays – OpEd

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“The revelations of Manning’s openly pro-homosexual conduct suggest that a more liberal Department of Defense policy, in deference to the wishes of the Commander-in-Chief, had already been in effect and has now backfired in a big way. The result could be not only the loss of the lives of U.S. soldiers, as a result of the enemy understanding U.S. intelligence sources and methods, but damaged relations with Afghanistan and Pakistan and a possible U.S. military defeat in the region as a whole.” – Accuracy in Media.

One of the most devastating espionage cases of 2011 was the theft of classified military intelligence by a U.S. soldier and the publication of the stolen documents on an Internet web site called Wikileaks.org.

The suspect in the leaking of the classified military files, SPC Bradley Manning, voiced his disgust with US Army commanders and U.S. “society at large” on his Facebook page just prior to his alleged downloading of thousands of secret documents, according to the British news media.

Manning, who is openly homosexual, began his gloomy postings on January 12, saying: “Bradley Manning didn’t want this fight. Too much to lose, too fast.”

The 22-year old Manning is being court martialed as the primary suspect in the leaking of more than 100,000 secret documents to Wikileak.org creator Julian Assang, who in turn posted the documents on his web site. The secret documents subsequently appeared in major U.S. newspapers in a security breach which Pentagon officials say has endangered the lives of serving soldiers and Afghan civilians.

Pentagon investigators delved into Manning’s background to ascertain if they missed any warnings when he applied to join the US Army. According to The Telegraph, in May 2010, when he was serving at a US military base near Baghdad, he changed his Face Book status to: “Bradley Manning is now left with the sinking feeling that he doesn’t have anything left.”

Five days later, according to the Telegraph story, he said he was “livid” after being “lectured by ex-boyfriend”, then later the same day said he was “not a piece of equipment” and was “beyond frustrated with people and society at large”.

According to Accuracy in Media, a media watchdog group, Manning’s Facebook page shows that he enjoyed the MSNBC program hosted by Rachel Maddow, the lesbian activist, and that he listed the left-wing Media Matters and the National Center for Transgender Equality as being among his “likes and interests.”

“Manning’s affinity on his Facebook page for ‘Repeal the Ban’ is also significant. It is a project of a group called Servicemembers United, which describes itself as the nation’s largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans, their allies and supporters. The group receives financial support from the Open Society Institute of billionaire George Soros,” wrote AIM’s editor Cliff Kincaid.

While the President Barack Obama and his administration were calling for an end to the Bill Clinton-initiated “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gays and lesbians in the U.S. military, most Americans were being told only half the story. The result was the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and the beginning of one of Americans biggest social engineering experiment.

Contrary to the news media’s applause for so-called military leaders who support allowing openly gay soldiers, sailors and Marines, there were several top commanders who opposed rescinding the DADT policy.

During the debate, several senior military leaders came forward to oppose repealing the ban on homosexuals serving in the military until a one-year study can be completed. This opposition contrasts significantly with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen’s expressed “personal belief” that the current policy should be overturned.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway expressed his fear that the repeal effort will distract from the military’s mission of protecting the nation. He explained, “My concern would be that somehow that central purpose or focus were to become secondary to the discussion.”

Army Chief of Staff General George Casey agreed, saying, “I do have serious concerns about the impact of a repeal of the law on a force that is fully engaged in two wars.” He added, “We just don’t know the impacts on readiness and military effectiveness.”

Meanwhile, Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz argued that now is not the time to repeal. “This is not the time to perturb the force that is, at the moment, stretched by demands in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere without careful deliberation,” he said.

“Shortly after [his] State of the Union Address, President Obama sent Defense Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen to Capitol Hill to argue for a repeal of the military’s ban on homosexuals. Clearly, this hearing was politically timed in order to suppress opposition within the military to the President’s proposed new policy,” claims Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

Jim Kouri

Jim Kouri, CPP, formerly Fifth Vice-President, is currently a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, and he's a columnist for Examiner.com. In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.

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