Saluting Pfc. manning.

• Author: Rothschild, Matthew
• Position: Editor's Note - Private First Class Bradley Manning

I salute Private First Class Bradley Manning.

I salute him for withstanding the hideous mistreatment he has faced in the 1,000 days he's been confined, often in solitary, sometimes naked, enduring sleep and sensory deprivation.

I salute him for being a soldier of conscience who was outraged by what he saw in Iraq, especially by the video of the Apache helicopter attack on two Reuters journalists and on the van that came to assist them.

I salute him for recognizing, and agonizing over, "the seemingly delightful bloodlust" of the helicopter crew, as he put it, who "seemed similar to a child torturing ants with a magnifying glass."

I salute him for trying to get the word out, first by contacting The Washington Post and The New York Times, but when they turned a deaf ear, then going to WikiLeaks.

I salute him for exonerating WikiLeaks by testifying that they didn't pressure him to divulge the documents.

I salute him for trying, in his words, to "spark a debate" about U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I salute him for taking responsibility for his actions, and for pleading guilty to ten charges that could put him in prison for twenty years, without plea bargaining at all.

I salute him for standing up for what is right, no matter the consequences.

In short, I salute Private First Class Bradley Manning for being one brave soldier, one brave citizen.

But I don't salute John Brennan, President Obama's choice for CIA director and the mastermind of the Administration's drone policy.

At his confirmation hearing, he excreted octopus ink to dodge questions and obfuscate the issues.

For example, responding to a question on the need for full disclosure, he said: "We need to optimize transparency and at the same time optimize secrecy."

He also tried to assure the Senate that the government is "very disciplined and very judicious" in the way it makes its selections of whom...