Brooklyn Voices Hosts Discussion on Wikileaks Phenomenon

April 23, 2013

BROOKLYN, N.Y. April 24, 2013 St. Josephs College (SJC), in partnership with the New Inquiry and Verso Books, will host a discussion between Chase Madar, author of The Passion of Bradley Manning: The Story Behind the Wikileaks Whistleblower, and Sarah Leonard, editor of New Inquiry, as part of its Brooklyn Voices lecture series. This talk, co-sponsored by Greenlight Bookstore and the Brooklyn Rail, will take place on Tuesday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m. in the Tuohy Hall Auditorium located on the College's Brooklyn Campus.

Over the last three years, the phenomenon known as Wikileaks has released thousands of classified documents about the Iraq War, the Afghan War and American statecraft in general. From these documents, the media has composed thousands of important stories that would have otherwise not been reported. Who was the source of all of this information? A 22-year-old U.S. Army Intelligence Private First Class from Crescent, Oklahoma named Bradley Manning. After three years of pretrial detention, his court martial will begin on June 3, 2013; he stands accused of 22 charges, including espionage and "aiding the enemy, which carries a possible life term.

The case of Bradley Manning is both a coda and a key to the long debacle of Americas militarized response to the 9/11 attacks. What are the consequences of charging, and perhaps, convicting Pfc. Manning with the capital offense of "aiding the enemy? Why arent the New York Times and other establishment media vigorously defending the source of so many of their important stories? What power does information have to change policy and halt wars? What power doesnt it have? And why are whistleblowers usually less popular than war criminals?

This event is free and open to the public. For more information or to learn more about SJC, contact Michael Banach at 718.940.5584 or visit www.sjny.edu.