I am Bradley Manning

I was simply obeying orders.

That was a defence given by defendants at the Nuremburg war crimes trials which took place after the Second World War. The argument was given that because the individuals involved were acting under orders they were therefore not responsible for their actions. So, they argued, these men who had committed horrific acts of mass murder and torture should not face justice because they were not responsible for their actions.

The Nuremburg tribunal rejected this logic, according to Nuremburg when it comes to crimes against humanity there is no defence of being under orders, we each have an individual moral responsibility not to commit war crimes.

All of which Preamble brings me to considering a significant event which has occurred this week and which, I think, concerns all of us.

On Monday 3^rd June court-martial proceeding began against Bradley Manning, the US soldier who released secret information to the wiki-leaks website in 2010. The information detailed illegal actions carried out by the US military, actions which could very easily be defined as war crimes. (For more info read here)

Bradley Manning was a young 22 year old soldier who was confronted with a moral question. What should someone do when they believe that the actions of their government are immoral and wrong? He knew that to stay silent in the face of evil is to collaborate with evil; and so he took a courageous decision. The cost of making that courageous decision could be decades, perhaps a whole lifetime, in prison. And yet he acted as the Nuremburg tribunal 65 years earlier had called on all future soldiers to act.

Anyone who has half an eye on world history knows that history is only ever redeemed by a small group of very courageous people who take a stand against the immoral use of power. Each of us has a voice which we can choose to use or not use. 

When we are confronted with the shameful truth of our sinful actions there are two possible reactions, we can repent and be converted, or we can run away from our actions doing our best to get rid of the prophetic voice in our midst speaking truths we don’t want to hear.

The US military would like the Bradley Manning court-martial to be a quiet affair of little interest to the world at large. It is our responsibility not to let that happen. In 2008 while campaigning for election Barack Obama said in a different context: “Government whistleblowers are part of a healthy democracy and must be protected from reprisal”. He was right. Too much power easily corrupts; if we are to avoid our governments and militaries being responsible for future war crimes then we need prophets like Bradley Manning who call foul when our governments step out of line. What is at stake here really is that serious.

There is currently a campaign asking people photograph themselves with a placard reading "I am Bradley Manning", inspired by the film Spartacus the idea is that we show our solidarity and support. Three Nobel peace prize winners, including Desmond Tutu, are already behind the campaign. Bradley Manning himself has been nominated for this year's peace prize.see this link

  

I will be writing to Barack Obama, and the US military; I urge everyone to do the same. (Click here for some sample letters)

For info can be found here