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Bradley Manning Recounts His Struggle With War's Horrors and the Alienation He Felt as Gay Soldier

1,349 views · Published 12 March 2013 · 1:34 · Indexed 20 October 2026

Channel: Democracy Now! · 2013 · News & Politics

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Hear more audio clips from Bradley Manning's pre-hearing statement and reaction from Daniel Ellsberg on Democracy Now! at http://owl.li/iOWPJ. In this leaked audio recording from his pre-trial hearing, Bradley Manning discusses the alienation he felt in the U.S. military, lacking close friends and feeling hostility from his roommate over his sexual orientation. Manning says after he came into contact with WikiLeaks, he initially felt support through his online conversations with a WikiLeaks member he dubs "Nathaniel Frank." As Manning discusses his struggles in the military, he appears to choke back tears.

BRADLEY MANNING: The anonymity that was provided by TOR and the Jabber client and the WLO's policy allowed me to feel I could just be myself, free of the concerns of social labeling and perceptions that are often placed upon me in real life.

In real life, I lacked a close friendship with the people I worked with in my section, the S2 section—in my section, the S2 section that supported battalions and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team as a whole. For instance, I lacked close ties with my roommate due to his discomfort regarding my perceived sexual orientation.

Over the next few months, I stayed in frequent contact with Nathaniel. We conversed on nearly a daily basis, and I felt that we were developing a friendship. Conversations covered many topics, and I enjoyed the ability to talk about pretty much anything, and not just the publications that the WLO was working on. In retrospect, I realize that these dynamics were artificial and were valued more by myself than Nathaniel. For me, these conversations represented an opportunity to escape from the immense pressures and anxiety that I experienced and built up throughout the deployment. It seems that as I tried harder to fit in at work, the more I seemed to alienate my peers, lose respect, trust and the support I needed.

Hear additional clips from the leaked audio recording at http://www.democracynow.org/2013/3/12/bradley_manning_speaks_in_leaked_court.

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