STR 116
WikiLeaks exposes US government war crimes in Afghanistan. Its founder, Julian Assange, is underground but not silenced.
Mitchel Cohen opens the show with a sizzling commentary on war crimes, crimes against humanity and the Nuremburg Principles (see below for the text version).
The show then cuts to an amazing discussion about the WikiLeaks revelations first broadcast on Democracy Now!, with
Amy Goodman
Juan Gonzalez
Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower.
Glenn Greenwald, political and legal blogger for Salon.com.
Birgitta Jonsdottir, Member of the Icelandic Parliament and co-producer of the Wikileaks video Collateral Murder.
Songs:
Lena Horne, “Stormy Weather”
Brian & Marcy, “Don’t Sleep through the Revolution”
Theme:
Mario Savio, Berkeley, 1964
Jefferson Airplane, Volunteers
Opposing War Crimes and Murder, and in defense of WikiLeaks
by Mitchel Cohen
Today on Steal This Radio were going to learn about “What is WikiLeaks,” and why is the Obama administration intent on tracking down one of its founders, Julian Assange, who is now Underground, in America.
First, what is Wikileaks?
Wikileaks is a website which posts information from whistleblowers truthtellers — that you wont find in the corporate press. It has a reputation for vociferously protecting the anonymity of its sources as a matter of principle. It collects materials in person and from postal drops, and runs a network of lawyers and others to defend its work and its sources.
A few months ago, Wikileaks posted classified video footage — and audio — of U.S. soldiers intentionally murdering civilians in Iraq. The tape was seen instantly all over the world. As a result, the ugly side of the U.S. governments illegal war against Iraq and Afghanistan has become evident to millions of people.
Now Wikleaks has announced that it is about to release new footage of war crimes committed by US soldiers in Afghanistan which — in my view — may be the actual reason for the forced resignation of General McCrystal as Commandante of US military forces there.
But first, a brief historical note: In 1950, the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal defined and codified into international law the legal principles determining what constitutes a War Crime. The Tribunal made it the moral obligation of individuals including soldiers to refuse to accept or participate in Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime.
One cannot say, as a defense, ‘I only followed orders’. Morality supersedes illegitimate orders.
The Nuremberg Principles were applied to government and military officials of Nazi Germany who had ordered or carried out war crimes and Crimes against Humanity during World War 2.
Those soldiers, and those who ordered or permitted the recent and ongoing murder of Iraqi civilians, have committed war crimes, and must be held accountable for their actions. But instead, amazingly, the Obama Administration is cracking down on Wikileaks and soldiers in the US military for EXPOSING war crimes, crimes against humanity, and who have said Not in My Name.
In todays edition of Steal This Radio, we go to Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez and their cracker-jack team at Democracy Now!, who recently broadcast this powerful inquiry into the U.S. governments persecution of Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange who remains underground but, not voiceless.
So today, lets give a shout out to Wikileaks, Julian Assange and friends, and U.S. Army Specialist Bradley Manning, for at great personal risk to themselves upholding the Nuremberg Principles and refusing to countenance these crimes against humanity, for upholding what it means to be HUMAN in an era of robots.
