Army ‘Investigating’ Bradley Manning Support Network

Admits to 'Active Investigation'

The military has been trying to pull out all the stops in its prosecution of Pfc. Bradley Manning for his alleged role in the WikiLeaks releases. The Bradley Manning Support Network, operators of the website Bradleymanning.org and founded in 2010 with the goal of supporting the jailed whistleblower, has apparently found itself under military scrutiny as well.

According to a US Army response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, there is “an active investigation” ongoing against the network. The details of the investigation were kept secret by the Army, which, by way of declining the FOIA request, offered to provide documents after the “undetermined completion date.”

One can only imagine that the group’s efforts to aid in Manning’s defense, as well as their high profile criticism of the secrecy surrounding the trial, had the military hoping they could find some dirt on the group.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this is the revelation that the army is doing the investigating directly against the private civilian organization. Though the army clearly has a vested interested in the prosecution of Manning, moves against antiwar groups have usually been done by the FBI under the guise of anti-terror investigations.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.