April 5th marked the five year anniversary of WikiLeaks publication of theCollateral Murder Video. The footage of a secret US military video depicted an Apache helicopter killing Iraqi civilians, including two Reuters journalists. It provided an uncensored view of modern war for the world to see. The light that shone in the darkness was the conscience of a young woman. Chelsea Manning (formally Bradley Manning) is now serving 35 years behind bars for her great public service.
After witnessing Manning confess to her role as WikiLeaks whistleblower at the court-martial proceeding in Fort Meade, Maryland, attorney and President Emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Michael Ratner said that locking her up “for even a day is to lock up the conscience of our nation”.
Manning’s disclosure of secret government documents exposed America’s illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Guantanamo Files revealed the state of America’s offshore gulags and violations of universal human rights according to the Geneva Convention. The secret US embassy cables let us see corrupted diplomacy serving corporate global hegemony through coercion and manipulation. Manning’s conscience shed light on the real actions of the US government behind a façade of democracy. Yet, the ugly face of empire was not the only thing she showed us.