Blog post

VIDEO: Chase Madar on the Court Martial of Bradley Manning at Democracy Now! and CURRENT TV

Jisu Kim 5 June 2013

Monday marked the beginning of Private First Class Bradley Manning's court-martial, where the 25-year-old Private is being charged with the largest leak of classified documents in US history. The trial is being kept deliberately hushed—only 70 journalists' requests were approved by the military to enter the courtroom—but deliberation over the proceeding still abounds. In advent of the trial, Chase Madar, author of The Passion of Bradley Manning, has appeared on Al Jazeera, Democracy Now!, and Background Briefing with Ian Masters to comment on the case. Madar is also blogging for The Nation to provide deep-focus coverage of Manning's trial. Click on the links for access to the original text, or continue reading to watch videos of Madar's interviews.

Speaking with Democracy Now!, Madar defends Manning's actions as those of a politically-motivated citizen concerned with the consequences of US foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan. He assert that Manning's intelligence leaks have never been tied to American deaths, but rather, the leak was a national benefit that resulted in the enlightenment of the public and a more thorough, nuanced understanding of the war. Echoing the sentiments of James Madison, Madar reminds us that, "a popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prelude to a tragedy or a farce, or perhaps both."

Madar points out the hypocrisy of the US military on CURRENT TV: while consistently "infinitely forgiving" with charges of sexual assault or the deaths of foreign civilians, response to Manning's leak has shown that the Obama administration's standards of treason seem incompatible with real justice.

Visit Democracy Now! or CURRENT TV to watch the segments in full.