I’m not sure if many have seen the video in WikiLeaks leaked a couple of months ago about the helicopter gunship attack in Baghdad in 2007 where two Reuters employees were among the several people killed. I’ve watched it over and over and I just felt even worse every time. Many have been struck by the content of the video, including me, as the video is authentic and not just like the Hollywood drama we all have seen in the movies like The Hurt Locker. The video looked so real, and is claimed to be authentic by WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks upholds transparency and the importance of investigative journalism by protecting whistleblowers, journalists, and activists who have sensitive materials to publicize. WikiLeaks have released many leaks on the US government and the US military, and one of the hottest leaks was the Baghdad incident wherein the 22-year old private, Bradley Manning was charged to have leaked.
Manning is currently in jail in Kuwait as the investigation on the Baghdad air strike leak continues. However, another investigation on Manning is set to be on track. The new investigation is about the leak of some 90,000 classified military files on the Afghan war, which was assigned to the same Army Criminal Investigation Division that has been investigating Manning.
Although I’m personally affected by the WikiLeak video, I ask myself now, why would Manning do that? I’m curious about his intentions and principles. It takes a lot to do that. Anywhere you may be, in politics, in your office, at school, you’ll find errors and misconduct but small people who witness lack of justice are more likely to choose a quiet life instead of whistleblowing. But for Manning, a private leaking against the military he served, he must have a lot of courage to try and take those men involved down.
