In a bizarre twist of Icelandic Parliamentary fate, Bradley Manning, a US soldier who was arrested on suspicion of leaking highly classifed US documents to WikiLeaks, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Though Manning has not been offcially convicted, the US government is currently charging Manning with aiding the enemy, treason and transferring classifed data onto a personal computer. His trial started February 23rd, 2012.

According to the nomination letter, penned by three members of the Icelandic Parliament, who call themselves “ The Movement”, Manning’s actions in 2010 caused “democratic uprisings around the world, including a democratic revolution in Tunisia” and the information revealed “a long history of corruption, war crimes, and imperialism by the United States government in international dealings.” The letter continues to describe how Manning’s actions revealed American manipulations overseas and civilian casualties, but does not go into detail or reveal specifc incidents. It makes Manning sound like a rebellious hero working for the greater good— revealing the US under sheep’s clothing.

The timing of the nomination – two years after the fact, when Manning has faded from the public eye – adds an element of political conspiracy to the mix: the Icelandic Parliament may be aiming to make a political statement against the US rather than reward Manning’s efforts.

Does Mr. Manning truly deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? No.

Manning broke the law and endangered the lives of American troops during a time of war, despite any allegedly bene cial side effects of his actions. He revealed the locations of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, footage of airstrikes and internal military logs and diaries. Information that was classifed for a reason.

Perhaps Manning did reveal corruption within the United States government. Nothing has come of this information. No great laws have been passed to clean out our so-called corrupt government. The US has remained in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cynical though it may be, the revelation that the United States, arguably the most powerful country in the world, is imperialistically manipulative and corrupt is neither surprising enough nor so ground breaking as to be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, especially since no direct action has been taken within the US since the scandal broke. Moreover, there is also no direct correlation between the alleged democratic uprisings the Movement cited in its nomination and the actions of Bradley Manning.

Bradley Manning does not deserve a nomination for his actions. He committed an act of treason, plain and simple. He leaked classifed US documents which endangered the lives of American troops. He endangered his fellow countrymen. Hopefully this modern day Benedict Arnold will not be rewarded for his dangerous actions.