After Bradley Manning's very serious appearance on the stand during his pretrial hearing yesterday, the man facing charges for the Wikileaks security breach has in his testimony today unleashed this truth of Iraq that America may never unlearn: It was impossible, Manning says, to get the stench of Iraq off the underwear he wore during his deployment. It's supposed to be funny maybe? Or dramatic? Maybe both? Anyway, this all has to do with whether or not Manning was being punished too severely, which is not funny at all. Manning is currently being cross-examined and was discussing the details of his time at Quantico, Virginia, and his request for new underwear. Journalist Kevin Gosztola, who's at the trial, reports: 

December 10, 2010 – Manning needed underwear and t-shirts. He still had what he wore during his deployment. “They still smelled like Iraq…No matter how many times it got washed it just never went away.” The gallery laughed. Maj. Ashden Fein, cross-examining him, appeared to be holding back a laugh too.

Stay tuned for more details.

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Alexander Abad-Santos