By Andy Worthington 

A week after WikiLeaks began releasing classified military files — known as Detainee Assessment Briefs (DABs) — relating to the majority of the 779 prisoners held at Guantánamo since the prison opened in January 2002, I am reassured that the prison, its remaining inhabitants and its back story have reemerged so forcefully into the consciousness of the general public.

Over the last few months, in particular, it had become apparent, to those of us who still cared about Guantánamo, that President Obama’s stated mission to close the prison had ended ignominiously, and that the prison’s supporters in the US (particularly in Congress and the judiciary) had won a resounding victory, closing off every avenue that might have led to the release of all but a few of the remaining 172 prisoners.

By Chris Varias 

(this is excerpted from a longer review from the Marion Star) 

When Tuesday’s show became political, a measure of the crowd didn’t like it, making for some heated moments on stage and in the crowd. The tension produced an edge to the three-hour event typically missing from an oldies show.

Following a 25-minute intermission, Nash came to the stage without Crosby and began talking about Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier arrested for his role in the WikiLeaks case. Nash made the point that Manning is being detained by the government in an inhumane manner. The comments drew boos and applause from the crowd.

Nash proceeded to play a song he said that he completed the previous day with Crosby’s son James Raymond, who played keyboards with the band Tuesday night, and that the Taft performance would be the debut of the song. He called it “Almost Gone: The Ballad of Bradley Manning.” The last line of the song is, “Bradley Manning is a hero to me.” There were more cheers, more boos.

By Kevin Gosztola

April 5th marks one year since WikiLeaks first released the "Collateral Murder" video, which showed a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Iraq. To mark the anniversary, "This Week in WikiLeaks" had Ethan McCord, an Iraq War veteran and one of the US soldiers on the ground in Baghdad in 2007 who can be seen in the video helping to rescue children wounded in the attack, come on the show.

In the aftermath of the attack, McCord's superiors ordered him to stop saving the wounded. He was deeply bothered by the fact that he was the only one interested in saving lives.

By Michael Whitney

President Barack Obama made stunning accusations about accused Wikileaks whistleblower PFC Bradley Manning, directly asserting that Manning “broke the law.” Apparently the President of the United States of America and a self-described Constitutional scholar does not care that Manning has yet to be tried or convicted for any crime.

Via The Nation. McCord states, "Incidents Like 'Collateral Murder' Happen Almost Daily in Iraq" (taped at Revolution Books, April 21, 2011):

More videos:

By Andy Worthington

The story of Pfc Bradley Manning, the young US Army intelligence analyst allegedly responsible for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, continues to act as a magnet for supporters worldwide, who are appalled by the accounts of his solitary confinement, and the humiliation to which he has recently been subjected, which has involved him sleeping naked at night, and having to stand naked outside his call during cell inspections in the morning, even though the alleged basis for this humiliation — that he is at risk of committing suicide — has been disproved by the miltary’s own records, in which his alleged propensity to commit suicide has been repeatedly challenged.

Via the Bradley Manning Support Network

APRIL 19, 2011: Alleged WikiLeaks source to be moved away from attorney and DC-area backers; however, Kansas residents already preparing to spearhead support

“The military and Administration has been shocked by the support Bradley Manning has garnered globally–specifically at the gates of Quantico, Virginia. Last month, 500 supporters rallied near the Marine brig where PFC Manning has been held since August 2010. It wasn’t a secret that we were preparing to rally one to two thousand for an upcoming DC-area pre-trial hearing,” explains Jeff Paterson of Courage to Resist and the Bradley Manning Support Network.

By Andy Worthington  

In the ongoing scandal regarding the treatment of Pfc Bradley Manning, the alleged whistleblower responsible for leaking a treasure trove of classified US documents to WikiLeaks, who has been held since last July in a military brig in Quantico, Virginia, a slowly building body of criticism turned into a torrent of indignation early last month, when it was revealed that, as well as being kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day and checked every five minutes under a “Prevention of Injury” (PoI) order, Manning is also stripped naked every night (apart from a smock) and is made to stand naked outside his cell every morning as the cells are inspected.

By Greg Mitchell

Today marks the first anniversary of the day WikiLeaks started to become a household name in the US—when Julian Assange released the video he had titled “Collateral Murder.” It showed a 2007 incident in Baghdad when a US Apache copter crew gunned down more than a dozen Iraqis, most likely civilians, on the streets below, including two Reuters staffers. After a flurry of publicity, the episode soon faded from the media, although three major WikiLeaks releases followed last year, all allegedly coming via Private Bradley Manning, now sitting in near-solitary confinement in the brig at Quantico.

But largely thanks to one soldier who was in the thick of things on that day in 2007, the incident is far from over.

WikiLeaks suspect treated cruelly, says rights group, which accuses psychiatrists of 'violating ethical duties'

By Ed Pilkington

A leading group of doctors in the US concerned with the ethical treatment of patients has questioned the role of military psychiatrists in Quantico, Virginia, where the suspected WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning is being subjected to harsh treatment that some call torture.

By Kevin Zeese

Bradley Manning’s appeal of the refusal to relax his conditions of confinement makes a strong case that he has been a model prisoner who is being unjustly abused. His inhumane treatment violates his due process rights and is cruel and unusual punishment.

After providing detailed descriptions of his excellent behavior and the positive reports he has received while detained at Quantico since July 29, 2010, he contradicts the military’s claim that he is being treated just like any other prisoner.