Wikileaks: Does Bradley Manning deserve a Nobel Peace Prize?

Icelandic lawmakers nominate the accused secret spiller — reigniting a debate over whether Manning aided the world, or aided the enemy

A "Free Bradley Manning" sign hangs from barbed wire in Fort Meade, Maryland: The accused WikiLeaks informant has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/ Getty Images)

Three members of the Icelandic parliament have nominated accused WikiLeaks informant Army Pfc. Bradley Manning for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. Manning allegedly put 250,000 Department of State diplomatic cables, Department of Defense gun camera videos, and other classified documents onto CD-RWs, and sent them to WikiLeaks, which posted them online for all to see. The Icelandic politicians say Manning, who is being court-martialed for aiding the enemy, did the world a favor by exposing America's "long history of corruption, war crimes, and imperialism." Does Manning really deserve a medal?

Manning deserves this award: "Bradley Manning is a hero," not a criminal, says Brian Sonenstein at Salem-News.com. If he really did leak these documents, which helped catalyze the Arab Spring by exposing "official corruption and brutality in countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria," then there are truly "few individuals who have made as great a contribution to justice and peace." And because of his "unjust treatment," there are "even fewer who have had to pay for it the way he has."

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