Amy Goodman: Why the Obama Administration Persecutes Bradley Manning!

The following is a Democracy Now interview with Glenn Greenwald on the terrifying persecution of Bradley Manning. As we broadcast from the Freedom to Connect conference, we look at one whistle-blower, who used the Internet to reveal the horrors of war: US Army Private Bradley Manning. Military prosecutors have decided to bring the maximum charges against Manning, after he admitted during a pretrial hearing last week, to the largest leak of state secrets in US history. In a bid to secure a reduced sentence, Manning acknowledged on the stand, that he gave classified documents to Wiki Leaks, in order to show the American public the "true costs of war" and "spark a debate about foreign policy." Manning pleaded guilty to reduced charges on 10 counts, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but instead of accepting that plea, military prosecutors announce Friday they will seek to imprison Manning for life without parole, on charges that include aiding the enemy. Manning's court martial is scheduled to begin in June. We speak with Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald, who has long covered the case, about what this means for Manning, and its broader implications for whistle blowers, and the journalists they often approach. Glenn, welcome to Democracy Now! Glenn Greenwald: Great to be here. Amy Goodman: Talk about the significance of what the military prosecutors are pushing for now, life without parole for Bradley Manning, and what he said in court last week, not far from here, just down the road at Fort Meade. Glenn Greenwald: There are several levels of significance, the first of which is the most obvious, which is that this is a case of extraordinary prosecutorial overkill. The government has never been able to identify any substantial harm that has come from any of the leaks that Bradley Manning is accused of, and now admits to being responsible for. Certainly no-one has died as a result of these leaks, even though the government originally said that Wiki Leaks and the leaker has blood o their hands. Journalists investigated, and found that there was no evidence for that. So, just the very idea that he should spend decades in prison, let alone be faced with life on parole, given what is that he actually did, and the consequences of it, is really remarkable.