Interview: Bradley Manning’s father no fan of his son

[Playinghardball]

Source: RawReplay
By Stephen C. Webster

The father of the lone soldier accused of turning over massive cache of U.S. secrets to WikiLeaks sometimes refuses to acknowledge to strangers that his son is actually Pfc. Bradley Manning, according to an interview he gave ABC News.

Asked what he would say to his son if he admits guilt, Manning’s father responded: “‘You stupid eff’in idiot. Why would you do something like that?’ And probably more words after that. I’d probably be openly embarrassed at the way I’d been holding up, thinking he’s innocent — and embarrassed that he’d done such a thing.”

Manning faces 22 different charges stemming from his alleged release of secret U.S. State Dept. and military documents. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to death, or life in prison.

This video is from ABC News, broadcast Saturday, May 28, 2011

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/05/interview-bradley-mannings-father-no-fan-of-his-son/

[Liberal Veteran]

1. Sounds like "Father of the Year" material.

[seabeyond]

12. your son does something criminal and disgraceful and you haev issue with the father? nt

[blueclown]

19. It is arguable whether his actions were "disgraceful".

What isn't debatable is that the information that he leaked - the actual content of those leaks - those actions were disgraceful.

I am of the belief that a father should have unconditional love for his son.

[seabeyond]

20. absolutely, to go back on an oath, is disgraceful. i did not read the article, but what i read

i did not read he declared he did not love him, just he was fuckin stupid and enbarassed by his behavior.

[xchrom]

2. you just knew this was coming. nt

[MinneapolisMatt]

3. Ouch.

That hurts.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

4. The father's words don't match the story headline.

The father is asked to speculate WHAT he would feel if his son admits guilt. Not how he feels now.

Furthermore, holding out hope that the son is not guilty doesn't sound like the position of a "non-fan". ANd he denies he has a poor relationship with his son.

So WTF?

[pnwmom]

9. I agree. Watching the actual interview gives a different picture.

If he finds out his son is guilty of passing on state secrets -- while employed specifically to guard state secrets -- not surprisingly, he'll be very disappointed in him. But for now he's viewing his son as innocent.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

10. He refuses to admit he's his son

Sounds like a real champion for his cause......

[BanzaiBonnie]

5. I wonder if that's how he always talked to his son

I suspect so.

[alp227]

6. Happy early Father's Day?

And he was interviewed on the Frontline episode "WikiSecrets" that was shown on PBS last week and can be streamed online at PBS.org/frontline, according to the ABC report.

[coalition_unwilling]

7. EPIC FAIL! Headline does not match contents of article and thus

qualifies as pure flamebait.

Welcome to my Ignore list.

[Occulus]

13. Um, wait. That IS the headline.

The person who posted it here didn't write it.

[coalition_unwilling]

16. Yeah, you know, posting an article here whose headline is contradicted

by the content of the snip posted below and then no comment from the person doing the posting?

So what am we supposed to think? In the absence of any editorial comment from the poster him- or herself, I must assume that the person creating the OP shares the view of the article's author. And that view is clearly belied by the words of Manning's father. Which has to at least bring into question the credibility of the person making the OP, wouldn't you say?

In this case, Manning's father has been upholding his son's innocence and standing by his son, as Manning's father's own words in the snip suggest. So exactly how does that make him not a fan of Manning? You'll never know from the OP's silence on the subject.

I had placed the OP on ignore for this journalistic travesty, so am sorry I did not see your reply until now when I went in and tweaked the Ignore function to allow the thread and replies other than the OPs to be visible.

[Bladian]

14. Jumping the gun much? N/t

[coalition_unwilling]

17. I'll refer you to my reply in post #16. Sorry I was delayed in responding.

I had to tweak the Ignore options to see your replies.

[hlthe2b]

8. I've long thought the father was intent on sabotaging him.

Some defended his strangely detached statements regarding the possibility his son was being tortured as simply the result of a clueless man's difficulties with the MSM. I think we are seeing the truth now. Sad truth for Manning... I hope he has others in his family that support him.

[Glimmer of Hope]

11. There is a Washington Post article that mentions his father's abuse

"Bradley was “afraid of his dad,” Davis said. He recalled how Bradley once told him that “he had to hide out in a tree” or that “his dad was going at him with a belt.” Once, when Bradley was in the second grade or so, his father gave him a spanking so severe that the next day at school, he told his teacher he could not sit down, his mother and sister said. His father was also “abusive with words,” Susan Manning said."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/who-is-wikileaks-suspect-bradley-manning/2011/04/16/AFMwBmrF_story_2.html

[Cid_B]

15. Its a weird thing...

... because I believe the father when he says that he would be ashamed of his son if he thought he did such a thing.

On the other hand, the dumbass did it. Short of space aliens or time travel...

Dunno, maybe the guy just listened to lawyers and lied out loud even though he knew, hoping for that 1 in a million shot of non conviction.

[Bluebear]

18. I'm sure Bradley was no fan of the physical abuse his father doled out.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/who-is-wikileaks-suspect-bradley-manning/2011/04/16/AFMwBmrF_story_2.html