Letter: Manning's act a moral tradition
Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private suspected of being the source of some of the unauthorized classified information disclosed on the WikiLeaks website. (File Photo) Credit: AP
Bob Keeler's column "The Nixon corruption preceded Watergate" [Opinion, June 20] is a powerful and eloquent reminder of Randy Kehler's conscientious objection to the war in Vietnam.
The unanticipated consequence of this act of courage was the downfall of Richard Nixon's presidency. Daniel Ellsberg, inspired by Kehler's willingness to go to jail, proved to be the agent of Nixon's undoing.
In that moral tradition, will Bradley Manning's revelations about the U.S. role in Afghanistan, published by WikiLeaks, result in the swift end to the war? Will his action encourage others to heed their conscience?
Martin Melkonian, Hempstead
Editor's note: The writer is an adjunct professor of economics at Hofstra University.
