Bradley Manning stands accused of releasing military secrets to WikiLeaks, an open government group dedicated to exposing unsavory classified documents. These documents - especially a decrypted video of a live massacre  - will probably never be televised. Two of the people killed in the video were Reuters employees. Reuters demanded to see the video, but was refused on the grounds that it contained classified information.

If genuine, this video represents a clear and present danger to the reputation of the U.S. Military, and the generally benevolent public perception of the Iraq War.

In 1971, when Gil Scott-Heron wrote, published and sang The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, he was referring to a massive change in the American political landscape that was not reflected by mainstream media. In 1971, cherished and traditional notions of what it meant to be an American, a patriot, and a citizen, were being challenged against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, which was rapidly being exposed as septic, barbaric, and futile.

At that time the "new media," the alternative media, was music. Corporations ruled television and radio broadcasts, and messages that were deemed unpleasant or unprofitable to corporate sponsored media were not allowed. That's why the revolution wasn't televised. But the Vietnam War, at least, was televised. You could see the war on television and in major daily newspapers. Independent journalists, not "embedded reporters" went to great lengths to provide objective accounts of what was happening in Vietnam.

Now, nearly 40 years later, few objective and independent reports on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made it through the U.S. military's media filter. The general impression is that these are "good wars" that are justified, andthat few people are dying.

"We must kill them over there, before they kill us here" we are told.

And the embedded reporters who cover the wars have a vested personal and career interest in maintaining a pro-U.S. tone to their reports. Because the reporters are deployed with the troops, their activities are easily controlled and manipulated. Which is what makes the case of Intelligence Specialist Bradley Manning so interesting. If Manning did release the video, he not only committed treason, but he also committed an unprecedented act of civil disobedience in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau.

Perhaps the most disturbing document to be attributed to Manning so far is a live video feed taken from an Apache helicopter which shows a dozen mostly unarmed people being attacked from the air with machine guns.  Titled "Collateral Murder," it shows relaxed men being shot in the back with a full commentary from the pilot.
One of the men has what appears to be an AK47, but his posture is relaxed, none of them are threatened - or threatening.  The chopper is in the air in attack position, but the soon-to-be-dead aren't hiding or running.  No weapons are ever fired bythe victims. Most of the men have their backs to the chopper when they are shot. Two men, carrying 35 Millimeter cameras, are assumed to be carrying weapons.  In one case, what is obviously a camera is mistaken for a rocket propelled grenade launcher.

In one of the video's more disconcerting moments, we learn that there are children in a minivan that has just been laced with rounds as the victims attempted to drive some of the wounded to a hospital.  One of the troops says "It's their fault for bringing their kids into battle." And that's the real horror of the video, the people who were being shot, includingthe children, didn't know they were in a battle: the chopper brought the battle to them.

If it wasn't for the Internet and new media, you would never see this video. It occured on July 12, 2007. It has no strategic or military value, yet the government has chosen to keep it secret. Now, thanks to the power of new media, you can watch it from your own computer. At least for now. Because if the U.S. Government could find a way to stop you from viewing it, they would. Our leaders in the military and corporate world know that the most efficient way to stop a revolution is to make sure it is never televised.