Well, the government just announced very quietly that it's transferring Pfc. Bradley Manning to Fort Leavenworth. Like most DailyKos people, I think that the treatment of Bradley Manning is a really important question — and test of how just the US government is being.
Unlike many people at DailyKos, I don't think Manning is a hero nor do I think that WikiLeaks is, in general, a good idea. I think that it's a huge mistake to conflate what is obviously bad behavior on the part of the government in the treatment of Manning with the claim that WikiLeaks/Manning are somehow meritorious.
My opinion is that Manning is most likely a criminal, but obviously has rights. But by failing to respect those rights, the government is making him a martyr and, well, sort of making WikiLeaks' case for it.
I wrote about this at Partisans and you can find an excerpt of my column below:
By Prajwal Ciryam. Bradley Manning’s poor treatment gives WikiLeaks ammunition in its crusade for indiscriminately open government. To justify keeping secrets, the government must act responsibly and treat prisoners fairly.
“Ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” That’s how former Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley described the treatment of Pfc. Bradley Manning. Manning has been held in the brig at Marine Corps Base Quantico, accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks.
Manning’s defenders, many of whom also support WikiLeaks, hold that the federal government is torturing Manning. Manning’s poor treatment, whether or not it constitutes torture per se, is clearly inconsistent with American values. More practically, it weakens the position of all of us who oppose WikiLeaks. The government’s behavior is helping to make Manning a martyr and, more fundamentally, is bolstering the charge that governments cannot be trusted with secrecy.
You can read more of this column here.
I would love to hear what folks at DailyKos think. I know there are a lot of pro-WikiLeaks people here — are there any anti-WikiLeaks folks? I think all of us can agree on Manning's treatment, even if we can't agree on his culpability or the nature of WikiLeaks. I am hoping to write more later about WikiLeaks and my specific objections to them on the grounds of good governance.