- Manning's WikiLeaks release made it impossible for America to ignore the moral horror of its foreign wars. That is true loyalty.
Unpopular internet opinion time: "That is true loyalty." Right. If you work for the US military, and you work with handling sensitive data, the worst thing you could possibly do is to release that data to a third party. That's pretty much your only job responsibility; maintaining data integrity, and he violated that responsibility.
I'm not say anything to morals, or virtues, or anything of that nature. If that's what he wanted to do to get the word out, so be it, but the people saying that he shouldn't go to jail or not face a trial are silly. They can't let this type of leak go unpunished in the US military, otherwise, what happens? Anyone who thinks they have some secret info that the public should know can release it without fear of harm or jail time? That's just not how it works, or should work, in my opinion.
I'm not against what Manning did, just to be clear, I'm just against the sentiment that he did nothing wrong and shouldn't be punished. He took some actions against everything he was taught, and right or wrong, he's going to have to face the consequences for his actions that he knew full well were against the rules and policies of his position.
People might not like how hes being treated, or that he might go to prison for the rest of his life, but he knew fully well the risks he was up against when he sent all that data to a third party.
This is what I've been saying. He swore an oath and signed security documents outlining his responsibilities as a soldier, and moreover, an intelligence soldier. Those guys in intel go through a long schooling process, sometimes upwards of 50 weeks in training before they get to their real units. He knew what could have happened to him from the day he stepped on that bus. It is TREASON.
Now, I'm not going to disagree the world needed to know about these war crimes, but even the very nature of the war itself was unconventional. Soldiers in field are edgy, often losing sleep and working around the clock. The "enemy" is often a roadside bomb, some sniper fire, or something. The U.S. was fighting in an unconventional field, where combatants are not wearing uniforms; they look like the civilians you're trying to defend. Maybe it would have been better in terms of consequences if he waited until after the draw-down or after he'd left the military, but we'll never know.
- The closest thing he's being prosecuted for is aiding the enemy.
But part of what determines treason in the US is "aiding the enemy". Also, this is a military case, not a civilian case. He gave up his rights when he joined the military, and they have a slightly different set of rules and definitions of crimes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_Three_of_the_United_Sta...
Aiding the enemy is not treason. A given act may count as both, but they are not the same charge. In particular, aiding the enemy explicitly includes passing on intelligence indirectly.
- They can't let this type of leak go unpunished in the US military, otherwise, what happens? Anyone who thinks they have some secret info that the public should know can release it without fear of harm or jail time? That's just not how it works, or should work, in my opinion.
That's exactly how the world should work. People in the military who commit morally questionable acts in our name should have to worry that we will find out about it, and soon enough that that it will do them harm. Congressional oversight is not enough, because Congress is too sympathetic.
- People in the military who commit morally questionable acts in our name should have to worry that we will find out about it, and soon enough that that it will do them harm.
I agree with that. But at the same time there's a difference between, say, fellow soldiers turning in someone who murdered some people outside of combat or raped a bunch of people. It's another to just send someone gigs and gigs of data they themselves haven't gone through.
This guys only job in the military was to keep this data safe, and he exposed it all without even going through it himself.