Tell the Nobel Committee: Award Bradley Manning the 2012 Peace Prize

As Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsburg has said, Bradley Manning is a hero.

Bradley Manning

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Pfc. Bradley Manning was just nominated for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize!¹

Last week, Major General Linnington gave the final recommendation for Manning to face court martial on all 22 charges, including the vindictive aiding the enemy charge.² Despite logging thousands of phone calls and emails to the Department of Defense, we were ultimately unable to convince the government to drop the charge.

But while the government can try and lock Bradley away for the rest of his life, they cannot suppress his story and what it means for other whistle-blowers. Fortunately, Bradley Manning's nomination for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness for his case once more.

We're starting a letter urging the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award him the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize and call attention to both his contributions and unjust treatment. Can you add your name to our letter?

Sign our letter urging the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award Bradley Manning with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 and call attention to both his contributions to peace as well as his unjust treatment by the US government.

What's more ironic than nominating Bradley Manning for a Nobel Peace Prize while he stands trial for allegedly "aiding the enemy," is that President Obama himself won the prize in 2009 - a few months before Manning was arrested in Iraq. This could be the first time a Nobel Peace Prize recipient has been inhumanely and unjustly imprisoned by a previous Peace Prize recipient.

If Bradley did leak these documents, he deserves at least a modicum of credit for all they have helped to inspire. That includes exposing official corruption and brutality in countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, which helped catalyze the Arab Spring movement and the popular uprooting of several well-entrenched despots across the region in just one year. Indeed, the Arab Spring has done more for justice and democracy in the Middle East than the War on Terror.

As Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsburg has said, Bradley Manning is a hero. If he really did leak these documents, we should recognize that there are likely few individuals who have made as great a contribution to justice and peace as Bradley Manning - and even fewer who have had to pay for it the way he has. Please help us rally more support for Bradley by urging the Norwegian Nobel Committee to give him this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Sign our letter urging the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award Bradley Manning with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

Without you and the thousands of activists who have likewise rallied to Bradley's side over the past year, it's quite possible that very few people would know about his situation today. Thank you so much for all you've done and continue to do for Bradley Manning.

In solidarity,

Brian Sonenstein
Director of Online Activism,
Firedoglake.com

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Sources
1. Bradley Manning for Nobel Peace Prize? RT, 2/6/12.
2. Bradley Manning to Face All Charges in Court-Martial. Wired, 2/3/12.