Dear VFP Members and Supporters,
Our brother, Brad Manning, needs our help now. You can help quickly
and easily by calling the White House the week of February 6 –
12. Maybe you’ve not gotten around to doing anything to support Brad
or maybe you’re active on a support committee. Either way, please
invest two or three minutes today and call. It’s “the least we can do,”
but when thousands of us actually do it, we become a powerful force to
improve Brad’s treatment and win his release. VFP gave PFC Manning an
award for his courage, at our convention last August. Let’s back that
up now with something real – our support when he needs it.
Please make that call now: 202-456-1414 (White House switchboard) or
202-456-1111 (comment line). Below is a good update on Brad’s case,
courtesy of Kevin Zeese and Voters for Peace. You can learn more about
his inhumane confinement at www.bradleymanning.org. BUT the important
thing right now is to make that call, before it gets buried on your
“good intentions” pile. 202-456-1414 (White House switchboard) or
202-456-1111 (comment line).
Peace,
Kevin Zeese's recommended talking points to make in your call
US Army PFC Bradley Manning, the accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower being held at the Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia, is an American citizen who is innocent until proven otherwise. Yet, he has been subjected to continuous illegal pre-trial punishment since his arrest in May 2010. Based on these abuses alone, Manning should be freed pending court martial.
Military pre-trial confinement is supposed to be about ensuring a soldier’s presence at court martial, yet for eight months now Manning has been subjected to extreme pre-trial punishment through the arbitrary use of rarely applied regulations—specifically the “maximum security classification” and the “prevention of injury” order. If he is not freed pending court martial, then at the very least, Manning’s human rights need to be respected, and the illegal pre-trial punishment must end.
The arbitrary restrictions placed on Manning, and no other inmates at Quantico, mean that: Manning is allowed no meaningful physical exercise, he is allowed no social interaction with other inmates, he is kept in his cell at least 23 hours per day, and he is not allowed out of his cell without restraints.
If the charges against him are true, then Manning is a patriot acting to advance an informed democracy. There is no allegation that Manning did anything but share truthful information with the American public regarding the realities of our nation’s ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with absolutely no benefit to himself, in order to spark public debate regarding foreign policy.
Remember to tell your friends, spread it on Facebook, Twitter and via email.