Is Alleged Wikileaker Bradley Manning Pre-Transition Transgendered?
Max Read

http://gawker.com/5568351/is-wikileaker-bradley-manning-pre+transition-transgendered

Is Alleged Wikileaker Bradley Manning Pre-Transition Transgendered?What was going through the mind of Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private who allegedly leaked classified documents to secrets-sharing website Wikileaks? Could it be a plan to transition from living as a man to living as a woman?

It may be that Manning was worrying about change—not just from military to civilian life, but from public life as a man, to public life as a woman. Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin examined the chat logs between Manning and Lamo, the hacker/"journalist" who turned Manning over to the government and gave the story to Wired.com writer Kevin Poulsen, and found a series of not-particularly-veiled references to "transition" and gender:

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Was alleged Wikileaks leaker Bradley Manning's crisis also one of personal identity?

Xeni Jardin at 6:00 PM Sunday, Jun 20, 2010

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/06/20/was-alleged-wikileak.html

Yesterday, I published a what purported to be more detailed versions of IM logs between alleged whistleblower US Army PFC Bradley Manning and hacker Adrian Lamo, revealing specific countries and issues implicated in military documents Manning is alleged to have leaked to Wikileaks.

Journalists such as Washingtonian's Shane Harris have speculated that the "adjustment disorder" for which Manning was reportedly about to be discharged might indicate a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" issue within the military.

But these logs may also suggest that Manning's state of crisis involved a different gender identity issue.

Is Wikileaks' Air Strike Alleged Leaker Bradley Manning Transgender?

http://www.queerty.com/is-wikileaks-air-strike-alleged-leaker-bradley-manning-transgender-20100621/

Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence specialist accused of providing to Wikileaks classified files (including that brutal air strike video), might be one of us: Published chat transcripts between Manning and the hacker Adrian Lamo, who turned Manning in to authorities, reveal the soldier might identify as transgender.

In publishing the chat transcripts, Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin appears to have unknowingly outed Manning — and put him at risk of discharge under Don't Ask Don't Tell. Well, if leaking classified files doesn't get him discharged first.

Was Wikileaker Bradley Manning Betrayed By His Queer Identity?

http://gawker.com/5571388/was-wikileaker-bradley-manning-betrayed-by-his-queer-identity?skyline=true&s=i

It's been speculated that alleged Wikilekear, PFC Brian Manning, is transgendered. We've uncovered evidence that strongly suggests Brian Manning has some sort of LGBT identity, and that the man who snitched on him exploited this to win his trust.

Twenty-two year-old army intelligence specialist Brian Manning was arrested May 26th for allegedly leaking the notorious Iraq Apache attack helicopter video and more than a quarter million classified State Department documents to secret-sharing website Wikileaks. He was turned in by his confidant, ex-hacker Adrian Lamo. Lamo then gave logs of his chats with Manning to Wired's Kevin Poulsen, who broke the story of Manning's arrest.

Is Notorious Army Secrets Leaker Gay - Or Transgendered?
by Kilian Melloy
Thursday Jun 24, 2010

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=107291

A young Army intelligence officer who leaked sensitive information has been placed under arrest. But a larger question about the young officer's motives has been raised: was SPC Bradley Manning gay? Or could it be the case that he is transgendered?

The speculation arises from reports that Manning, 22, was facing discharge for an unspecified "adjustment disorder," and from analysis of texts that Manning himself allegedly wrote that express a reluctance to be seen "as a boy" and refer to a personal "transition."

New Chat Logs Reveal Bradley Manning Is An Abused, Depressed, Trans-Curious, Queerty Reader

http://www.queerty.com/new-chat-logs-reveal-bradley-manning-is-an-abused-depressed-trans-curious-queerty-reader-20110714/

Today Wired.com published the full instant messenger chats between accused WikiLeaker Bradley Manning and Adrian Lamo, the ex-hacker who turned him in.

Just like we did with Manning's Facebook page, we've combed through the IMs and picked out the queerest bits including and mentions of his depression, the abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of an alcoholic father, his unhappiness in the army, his associations with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, a reference to Queerty, and his possible transgender identity.

ADVOCATE.com


Bradley Manning's Gender Identity Subject of Court Testimony

By Andrew Harmon |  Posted on Advocate.com December 17, 2011 05:51:51 PM ET


http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/12/17/Bradley_Manning_s_Gender_Identity_Subject_of_Court_Hearing/





Bradley Manning kept a folder of articles on gender identity disorder and used a female alias in online chats, according to Saturday testimony in a pretrial court hearing for the Army private accused of leaking thousands of classified documents.

Manning, 24, had used the name Breanna Manning online, an Army special agent testified by phone from Germany under questioning by one of Manning's defense attorneys. Two special agents with the Army Criminal Investigation Command testified Saturday during Manning's Article 32 hearing at Fort Meade in Maryland, CNN reports.



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New York Magazine


Bradley Manning's Army of One

How a lonely, five-foot-two, gender-questioning soldier became a WikiLeaks hero, a traitor to the U.S., and one of the most unusual revolutionaries in American history.

        By Steve Fishman | Published Jul 3, 2011 | Retrieved from the Internet on December 18, 2011 by SJ

http://nymag.com/news/features/bradley-manning-2011-7/



(Photo: Courtesy of the Bradley Manning Support Network)

On the night of February 21, 2009, a year before Army private Bradley E. Manning allegedly leaked the largest cache of classified information in American history, he sat at a computer in his barracks at Fort Drum in upstate New York. It was a Saturday in midwinter, and the barracks were nearly empty. He pulled a chair up to the computer in his cinder-block room, briefly debated between a pizza and a sandwich from Domino's, went with the sandwich, and passed over into his "digital existence," as he thought of it. He logged on to AOL's instant-messenger service under the handle Bradass87, and off he went to transform himself. On the web, he could be whomever he chose.

It was 8:27 p.m. at Fort Drum when he popped up on the computer screen of ZJ Antolak.

"hi," he began.

Among fellow soldiers, Manning had to conceal the basic facts of his sexual orientation. On the web, he was proudly out and joined a "Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell" group. He'd even begun to explore switching his gender, chatting with a counselor about the steps a person takes to transition from male to female.

Soldier's gender identity issues raised in WikiLeaks case

By Ellen Nakashima and Julie Tate, Published: December 17

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/soldiers-gender-identity-issues-raised-in-wikileaks-case/2011/12/17/gIQAXxlC1O_story.html

Pfc. Bradley Manning was a deeply troubled soldier struggling with issues of gender identity whose alleged leaking of classified material to WikiLeaks could have been prevented by superiors.

He was also a gifted intelligence analyst who had received extensive training in proper handling of classified information and had been reprimanded once for breaching the rules.

[...]

In April, Manning sent an e-mail to a superior, Master Sgt. Paul D. Adkins, saying that he was suffering from a gender identity disorder. He included a picture of himself dressed as a woman and described how it had affected his ability to do his job, to interact with others and to "think," according to Capt. Steven Lim, military intelligence officer in the 1st Army East Division at Fort Meade.

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Bradley Manning's gender identity comes up in testimony
By Larry Shaughnessy, CNN Pentagon Producer
December 18, 2011 -- Updated 0208 GMT (1008 HKT)

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/17/us/bradlley-manning-hearing/

Fort George G. Meade, Maryland (CNN) -- Defense lawyers for an Army private accused in the biggest intelligence leak in U.S. history brought up Saturday a purported female alter ego of Bradley Manning's as they seek to establish his state of mind at the time of the alleged crimes.

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Defense cites Bradley Manning's emotional, gender issues at Wikileaks hearing

By JOSH GERSTEIN | 12/17/11 9:13 PM EST

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70597.html

FORT MEADE, Md. — A struggle with emotional problems and even his gender may affect the culpability of an Army private accused of leaking thousands of classified military reports and diplomatic cables to Wikileaks, the defense argued at a preliminary hearing here Saturday.

As a clearer view of the defense's strategy in the high-profile criminal investigation emerged, a lawyer for Pfc. Bradley Manning pressed a government investigator about whether she found articles he'd printed out about "gender identity disorder" and "gender reassignment," including one about transsexuals in the military engaging in "flight into hyper masculinity."

Hi, Zythyra,

I am sure you read this news in detail. Any evidence of GID, or is this justt speculattion ?

...with Security Clearance's come much responsibility...

...on both sides...

Quote from: Jen61 on December 18, 2011, 06:01:16 PM
Hi, Zythyra,

I am sure you read this news in detail. Any evidence of GID, or is this justt speculattion ?

Hi Jen,

I don't know if Bradley has GID or not, but there seems to have been a folder of articles found in their possession about TG/TS, and a FB account under a female name. Whether or not Bradley Manning is trans, I'd already been following the story, it has tremendous interest for any American citizen in regard to whistleblowing, what our military is doing covertly, etc.

Z

Quote from: Jen61 on December 18, 2011, 06:01:16 PM
Hi, Zythyra,

I am sure you read this news in detail. Any evidence of GID, or is this justt speculattion ?

Given that it was 'discovered' that both J Edgar Hoover and several top Nazis were also apparently the same, it probably no surprise. Those rather desperate by the prosecutors.

I have to say that I'm in two minds about this young man. The information he released wasn't as spectacular as to justify the act in itself. A bunch of civilians in Iraq were murdered during an invasion. Surprise surprise?

But he was in a trusted position and betrayed that trust.

That's just my own perspective. Most will know, I don't support wars nor aggressive militant behavior. But betraying trust, for apparently, no real cause seems questionable.

  This does not bode well for us due to his defense council to put this 'transgender' in as a defense.  I will probably get questioned at the Christmas family get together on this.  I had a background check when I was in the Navy because I worked in a classified area.  They questioned my neighbors and at least one of my schoolteachers.  THIS IS GOING TO HURT!  After all that I've been through!
   There were other underling problems Bradley had that the background checkers missed.  His elementary school principal essentially said that he had burned his bridges behind him.  He was a very bright kid, but teased his fellow students if they didn't get an exercise right.  He really distanced himself from the rest of his peers.  I agree what his elementary school principal said that if found guilty, he deserves everything coming to him.  What he did was treason. 
  Joelene

Frankly, even the implication that his sexuality may have contributed to his actions is ominous, to say the least. But I still am very suspect over the use of this. It's been used too many times to tarnish people whose actions should be sufficient on their own. They guy broke his word and betrayed his country, while under military orders.

I apologize that I have not read, thoroughly, every link. The entire case is of little interest to me, frankly. But the use of questions over his gender identity and sexuality as mitigation should be seen as damaging and serious to all Americans.

It will be interesting if not a little worrying if there are any future example of harassment of any sexually non-conforming people, cited by this case.

Although Manning has been accused of the "largest" leak of classified US material, former Navy Warrant Officer John Walker leaked the most damaging...Communication Crypto Secrets of the Navy's Submarine Fleet during the Cold War.

Nevertheless, Manning divulged Government secrets and there is a price to pay, but the Death Penalty in my opinion would not be warranted in this case. I had not read what Manning's  Elementary School Principle said, it does sound a little "Lee Harvey Oswald-ish", and interesting that he could recall him so well.  Will the GID issue have ripple effects on the rest of the Transgendered coummunity? Probably some in the US, and probably none elsewhere. The most disturbing  items are the incidents of "disruptive behavior" that went unchecked leading up to Manning's disclosure to Wiki Leaks. Similar "warning signs" went unheeded in the case of US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Psychiatrist that shot and killed 13 and wounded another 29 persons at Fort Hood in 2009.

On the bright side...at least his full name isn't being published...

I realize being trans can really mess with your head. I think all of us understand that. However, it seems to me that it doesn't take away your fundamental understanding of right and wrong. When Manning was granted access to classified info, s/he* was no doubt briefed on his/her responsibilities and the penalties for violating the rules. Unless there was some other mental factor involved, Manning knew at the time that releasing that information was a violation of his/hir clearance and carried stiff penalties.

There may have been some sort of mental instability involved, but I don't buy the "stress of being trans" defense. A more likely possibility is that someone found out about Manning's identity issues and threatened to go public unless Manning did certain things, such as dumping stuff to Wikileaks. Blackmail is tied with political dissent for being most common motivator for intentional classified leaks. Mental illness is pretty far down the list.



* Since I don't know the specifics of Manning's situation, I don't feel qualified to choose a pronoun at this time, so I'll do the best I can to stay gender ambiguous on this.

Lawyers say Bradley Manning struggled with gender identity disorder

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/12/19/lawyers-say-bradley-manning-struggled-with-gender-identity-disorder/
12/19/11
By Lou Chibbaro Jr

Attorneys representing Pfc. Bradley Manning, a 24-year-old Army private previously identified as gay, startled observers at a pre-court martial hearing on Saturday by saying allegations that Manning leaked classified U.S. intelligence information could be linked to a personal struggle over his gender identity.

Revelations that Manning created a Facebook page under the name Breanna Manning, that he dressed in women's clothes, and he told an Army supervisor that he was suffering from gender identity disorder surfaced on the second day of a military proceeding known as an Article 32 hearing at Fort Meade, Md.

Manning defense's focus on gender identity disorder alarms some

By Mike Brunker
msnbc.com

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/21/9590399-manning-defenses-focus-on-gender-identity-disorder-alarms-some

Raising the hackles of some attorneys who work on transgender legal issues, defense attorneys for Bradley Manning apparently intend to make an almost novel legal argument -- that the Army private was suffering from gender identity disorder when his alleged crimes were committed -- if his case proceeds to court martial as expected.

In the first five days of Manning's preliminary hearing at Fort Meade, Md., prosecutors and defense attorneys have both presented evidence that Manning, accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of secret government documents to the WikiLeaks website, was wrestling with gender issues in the period leading up to the publication of the documents.

Quote from: spacial on December 19, 2011, 11:50:43 AM

But he was in a trusted position and betrayed that trust.

That's just my own perspective. Most will know, I don't support wars nor aggressive militant behavior. But betraying trust, for apparently, no real cause seems questionable.

I wouldn't say that it was for no apparent reason.

To my understanding, it is suspected that he was the one who leaked the 'Collateral Murder' video. For those not in the loop, the air force was accused of disobeying the rules of engagement in Iraq and murdering children and subsequently some Reuters journalists who tried to escort them to medical care.  After an 'investigation' the military determined that the pilots acted within reason. They only turned course after the video of the encounter was leaked to Wikileaks.

It seems to me that his defence is not simply that he is transgender per se (what relevance does that have?), but that his choices and actions were affected by the way he was treated by others as a consequence of being TG. Now that seems relevant to the case, to me.

Quote from: Padma on December 22, 2011, 02:59:08 AM
It seems to me that his defence is not simply that he is transgender per se (what relevance does that have?), but that his choices and actions were affected by the way he was treated by others as a consequence of being TG. Now that seems relevant to the case, to me.

Someone's obviously done the assigned reading