04/25/11 – President Obama – Today WikiLeaks released a new batch of documents pertaining to the unfortunate handling of “detainees” at Guantanamo. Last Thursday you were confronted at a $5000 per plate fund raiser by a group of your supporters who questioned you about the Change you promised. They also brought up Bradley Manning, a hero in the eyes of most people, who is being held in deplorable conditions by your government. In a conversation after that event an attendee asked, "Isn’t that just the same thing as what Daniel Ellsberg did?" Your response was, "No, it wasn’t the same thing. What it was, Ellsberg’s material wasn’t classified in the same way." That is true. Ellsberg's material was classified Top Secret, while Manning's alleged material was marked “secret” or “classified,” among the lowest-level secrecy designations. You, the military, and the Justice Department can spin this any way you wish, but the reality is, if Manning is guilty of anything, it is that he possibly released the truth.
Hopefully you can see that the treatment of Manning is, and continues to be terrible, and his treatment will eventually be just another reason why you are unlikely to be reelected.
Thomas Daly
Retired California Newspaper Publisher
www.tomasdaly.com