Sometimes a girl can’t get a break.
Embattled former US Army soldier Chelsea Manning has run afoul with the land down under, just ahead of her scheduled speaking tour. Australian officials informed the sponsor of Manning’s tour that immigration authorities intended to deny her entry to the country. Manning, who is transgender, rose to prominence after leaking more than 700,000 classified US documents to WikiLeaks.
Related: Chelsea Manning reveals what she looks like now in new Instagram photo
Though officials for the Australian government refuse to comment on the status of Manning’s visa, Australian law provides that immigration magistrates have wide-ranging powers to deny anyone entry to the nation based on a “character test.” Given her history of leaking classified government documents, Australian officials–somewhat understandably–take issue with granting Manning a visa. Manning had additional scheduled speaking dates in the neighboring country of New Zealand, where politicians have also called for denial of her entry. The Canadian government made similar moves prior to a visit from Manning last year as well.
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Prior to her transition, Manning served as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. Courts convicted her for leaking sensitive information about ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2013. President Obama later commuted her sentence.
Sam6969
It tells a lot about the collusion of all these governments with the US administration and their common interest in keeping their stinky secrets for them. I won’t forget the human rights violations (torture for instance) that whistleblower Chelsea Manning revealed to the world.
KevInSD
He is not a whistleblower. He didn’t even know what he was leaking in those hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cablles. He didn’t read them. He is, however, a perpetrator of an anti-lesbian violent assault.
Sam6969
I posted a comment below that is awaited moderation because I put several links pointing to articles.
Basically, we now know that Chelsea Manning did not damage US national security, as mentioned in a government report (check on the net, as I cannot put the links here).
In another article, we can read:
““Chelsea Manning on Sunday told a crowd at the annual New Yorker Festival in New York that the information she leaked did not expose names of informants.
“These aren’t intelligence documents,” she said. “It’s historical data.”
She went on, “There’s nothing sensitive in there, there’s no troop movements,” she added. “It was a historical record of everything that had happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.””
In another article from theGuardian:
“She said that then and now, she believed “there are plenty of things that should be kept secret”.
“Let’s protect sensitive sources,” Manning said. “Let’s protect troop movements. Let’s protect nuclear information. Let’s not hide missteps. Let’s not hide misguided policies. Let’s not hide history. Let’s not hide who we are and what we are doing.”
Robert Gates, who was the United States secretary of defense wrote:
“Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is this awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest.”
Source: What Bradley Manning revealed (2013)
This article is also interesting because it exposes the content of what Chelsea Manning revealed.
Mack
It’s my understanding that Australia has gotten an extreme right wing Prime Minister recently. I wonder if that may have something to do with it.
gymmuscleboy
@Mack Scott Morrison is “extremely” right wing?? Why do people think it’s OK to attach the word “extreme” to people willy nilly? And then we wonder why the western world is so divided.
JJinAus
Bear in mind, here in Australia, our right wing is allied with the US left wing. Seriously, that’s how far y’all are behind.
Johnny
Scott Morrison is an extreme right wing religious Pentecostal nut job and is currently the Prime minister. Strange there was no back step in allowing Lauren Southern in….
Lacuevaman
she’s a GD fraud!
bridyyc
criminal convictions is grounds for most countries to deny entry to anyone. Pardons, or commutes, don’t generally ease that restriction. Ms. Manning isn’t being treated any differently than anyone else with criminal convictions. No story here.
mark21764
Exactly!
RnDC
I have to agree with you. People are free to think what they want. Many of us fought for our right to have that freedom. Personally, I’m a liberal gay man, veteran, work for a 3 letter agency and hold a certain clearance. There are other avenues to get this information released. I agree much of it needed to be made public, but the right way. There is a lot of responsibility with having a clearance of any level, you sign up for it and go through the somewhat grueling process to obtain it. If you can’t hack it, change jobs. I do think her sentence was too long and I’m glad she was released, I don’t however support what she did. She paid the price, she’s still a criminal who released classified information. You can’t change that.
mark21764
In Canada, if you have a Driving Under the Influence conviction (a felony there), they won’t let you in the country. If you buy alcoholic beverages in Ontario, you cannot even have them in the passenger area of your car; they have to be in the trunk or boot. Each country has their own rules about admissions and travel visas. If you are a convicted criminal, you have to understand that you can be banned from entering other countries. Unless you are going to a conservative country under an Islamic government, it is not a big deal if a transgender person travels. One exception, the Iranian government permits transgender transition surgery and medications, pays for most of the cost and will change the person’s gender on their birth certificate and other official documents. The Iranian government, however, is not OK with same-sex intercourse or same-sex marriage. I am a gay man and an Army veteran. I am a progressive Democrat and I am a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. I had a security clearance in the Army. I still take that seriously and I would never betray my country or fellow soldiers. When a person violates their security clearance they can endanger the lives of their fellow soldiers. I am angry with Chelsea Manning for what she did and I supported her 35-year prison sentence. I wish her no physical harm. Other than creating some outrage about U.S. military actions in the Middle East, no military or government policies changed as a result of her massive dump of confidential information. Releasing that information did more harm than good. This has nothing to do with being transgender. Some people seem to want to lionize her because of her gender identity issues. She was mistreated when she was incarcerated on a U.S. Marine base. This was inexcusable, but the people in charge with keeping her locked up looked upon her as a traitor. Another point: when she was in custody at the Marine Corps base, she advised the guards she was suicidal. If you indicate suicidal ideations in any corrections setting, you will probably have to wear only underwear. She wasn’t placed in her underwear to make her uncomfortable. Can you imagine the outrage if she had committed suicide while incarcerated? She did make some sort of suicidal gesture while incarcerated at Ft. Leavenworth and was punished by being placed in seclusion and was under daily mental health treatment. There are transgender people in the military now with security clearances and they don’t betray their country or fellow soldiers. They can be trusted to handle a loaded weapon. Chelsea Manning is no hero or victim. Chelsea Manning (given what we know about the evidence entered in the court on her behalf about her pre-military mental status and possible birth defects – her mother drank heavily when she was pregnant with Chelsea) should never have been permitted to enlist in the Army in the first place. Doctors testifying on her behalf at her court martial said she had physical traits of someone with fetal alcohol syndrome. This would have been obvious to a doctor examining her prior to her enlistment in the Army. You get a very thorough medical exam before you enter the Army. Her chain-of-command actually took her weapon away from her yet permitted her to remain in the Middle East. If you are not trustworthy or reliable enough to handle a weapon in a combat theatre, you should no longer be working with confidential or secret information. When Chelsea started making comments about being suicidal, she should have been re-deployed to the USA immediately with a mandatory referral to consult with military mental health. Her chain-of-command has some responsibility for not dealing with this situation correctly. Although I am opposed to the death penalty in all cases, Manning was charged with 22 offenses, including aiding the enemy, which was the most serious charge and could have resulted in a death sentence. She pleaded guilty to ten. Yes, the military has the death penalty permitted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I voted for President Obama twice. But I disagreed with his commutation of Manning’s sentence. I think she should have served the minimum of a ten year sentence. After ten years she would have been released on probation to a halfway house. Again, I can’t endorse the serious crimes she admitted to, but she will have to learn to live with her self-inflicted travel restrictions. I wish her no harm and I hope no one bothers her or harms her.
Sam6969
Basically, to be banned from entering Canada, you must be convicted of an offence in your country that finds its counterpart in Canada. So, revealing the government and military’s secret wrongdoings seems to be a common offence in the US, Canada (and several other countries). They just match on it.
In fact, rules can be conveniently used or overlooked at will by higher ranks officials. It all depends on their political agenda. Canada is not different.
“In no case shall information be classified… in order to: conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error; prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency… or prevent or delay the release of information that does not require protection in the interest of the national security.”
—Executive Order 13526, Sec. 1.7. US Classification Prohibitions and Limitations
“Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is this awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest.”
—Robert Gates, Unites States Secretary of Defense
Source: What Bradley Manning Revealed (2013)
Chelsea Manning’s leaks did not damage national security says government report
Bradley Manning did not result in deaths by enemy forces court hears
““Chelsea Manning on Sunday told a crowd at the annual New Yorker Festival in New York that the information she leaked did not expose names of informants.
“These aren’t intelligence documents,” she said. “It’s historical data.”
She went on, “There’s nothing sensitive in there, there’s no troop movements,” she added. “It was a historical record of everything that had happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.””
Source: Chelsea Manning finds sympathetic crowd in NY defends action
“She said that then and now, she believed “there are plenty of things that should be kept secret”.
“Let’s protect sensitive sources,” Manning said. “Let’s protect troop movements. Let’s protect nuclear information. Let’s not hide missteps. Let’s not hide misguided policies. Let’s not hide history. Let’s not hide who we are and what we are doing.”
Source: Chelsea Manning: I leaked reports after seeing how Americans ignored wars
People just need to make some research to make their own independent opinion.
msfrost
Chelsea, is a She, not a he!
STS
It this day and age, people are thinking, doing, and saying and living the way they want. It is completely valid for Chelsea to live her life as a transgendered woman, but it is just as valid for some people to think of him as a man. None of us has the right to tell others how to live or what to think. Chelsea living her truth cannot be expected to have any affect on the truth of others. Wrap your mind around that for a moment…. I think this same idea is behind a lot of “controversial” topics on Queerty: Grinder bigotry, HIV+ but Undetectable, Masculine vs Feminine. LGBT people are living their truth, without guilt or explanation, this is what living your truth is about. So, if your truth is that Chelsea is a She, that’s great, but remember in this day and age your truth, is only your truth, and has no bearing on the truth of others.
mark21764
I think Chelsea is a “she.” That doesn’t have anything to do with her being a convicted felon and being denied entry into other countries. She is facing the consequences for actions and choices that she admitted, pled guilty to, and apologized for. These crimes have nothing to do with her gender. The original story we are discussing is about her being persona non grata in Australia and New Zealand because of her criminal convictions.
mark21764
I referred to Chelsea as a “she” throughout my entire comment.
Sam6969
Basically, to be banned from entering Canada, you must be convicted of an offence in your country that finds its counterpart in Canada. So, revealing the government and military’s secret wrongdoings seems to be a common offence in the US, Canada (and several other countries). They just match on it.
In fact, rules can be conveniently used or overlooked at will by higher ranks officials. It all depends on their political agenda. Canada is not different.