(USA Today) A pacifist group has submitted a petition signed by 100,000 people online in support of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to U.S. soldier Bradley Manning, who was convicted of espionage for disclosing classified war information to WikiLeaks.
Nobel Prize Committee officials acknowledged receiving the petition from RootsAction, which opposed the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and is a critic of the anti-terror polices of President Obama. The group opposes the use of drone strikes, and the attempt to extradite National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
The peace prize is awarded annually to an individual who has worked for "fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
Petitions have no bearing on the selection of a recipient for the $1 million prize, though they are often submitted on behalf of a candidate, according to the Nobel prize committee.
Manning, an Army private first class who who faces up to 90 years in prison, was nominated by Mairead Maguire, who won the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize along with Betty Williams for trying to resolve hostilities between the Irish Republican Army and the British government.
Maguire is an anti-war activist and has championed the cause of the Palestinians, having taken part in an attempt to bust a naval blockade that Israel imposes against the designated terrorist group Hamas to prevent weapons from entering Gaza.
In her nomination of Manning, Maguire said his leaks of classified information helped end the war in Iraq by hastening foreign troop withdrawals and also helped prevent further U.S. intervention in the Middle East.
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