The daily newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch, the Wall Street Journal, chose to take a hot-blooded authoritarian swipe at Pfc. Bradley Manning on Sunday.<\/p>\n
In an editorial, the newspaper notes he pled guilty and made a statement in military court. It proceeds to assert:<\/p>\n
Alienated by what he saw in Iraq, Private Manning told a military court that he leaked to \u201cmake the world a better place\u201d and to \u201cspark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy.\u201d He had an \u201cinsatiable curiosity and interest in geopolitics,\u201d and reading the diplomatic cables had stirred his outrage over \u201cbackdoor deals and seemingly criminal activity that didn\u2019t seem characteristic of the de facto leader of the free world.\u201d So he felt obliged to break the law.<\/p>\n
Idealists in a hurry are an old story and the source of much human misery. If he really wanted to change the world, the young private could have run for Congress or started a blog. [emphasis added]<\/p>\n
As is clear in the above paragraphs, it is brimming with despicable elitism that shows contempt for the American tradition of people taking action against injustice.<\/p>\n
The Journal\u2018s editorial board promotes ignorance by claiming, \u201dMost of the documents revealed little we didn\u2019t already know or suspect about the conduct of the Iraq and Afghan wars, Pakistan\u2019s double dealing with the Taliban, Russia\u2019s thieving rulers or the Arab world\u2019s doddering dictators (most since toppled).\u201d Then, in a more subtle version of the unenlightened \u201cWikiLeaks-has-blood-on-its-hands\u201d meme, the editorial board adds, \u201cYet some also revealed much about U.S. military tactics, capabilities and the names of Afghans and Iraqis who worked with us.\u201d<\/p>\n