A military judge sentenced whistle blowing Pfc. Bradley Manning to thirty-five years in jail for transmitting more than 700,000 classified documents to the website Wikileaks.
The 25-year-old Oklahoman was convicted of numerous espionage, theft and computer fraud charges last month – but was found innocent of “aiding America’s enemies,” a charge which could have resulted
As it stands, Manning will get credit for nearly four years of time served – which means he could be eligible for parole in a little over eight years.
He will serve his time at a military detention facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Manning has apologized for the “unintended consequences” of the leaks.
“When I made these decisions, I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people,” he said.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange claims Manning’s apology was coerced – “extorted from him under the overbearing weight of the United States military justice system.”
Some have sought to compare Manning’s situation with that of National Security Agency (NSA) whistle blower Edward Snowden, although we believe there are major differences in the two cases.
Snowden’s leak of information related to the NSA’s massive domestic spying initiative was a “heroic act,” as we’ve said all along. But Manning’s leaks strike us as substantially less-than-praiseworthy.
“Certain military documents ought to remain classified,” we wrote upon his conviction, “and while blowing the whistle on the U.S. State Department is fine (as is exposing non-tactical military information), relaying combat reports strikes us as wrong.”
UPDATE: Bradley Manning is now Chelsea Manning. No really … he says he’s a girl now.
51 comments
Another hero screwed by the citizens of These United States of Amerika :P
Your boy Bradley is now Chelsea and wants you to pay for his “hormone therapy” while he is in prison. You know how to pick winners.
Don’t make fun of his sexual orientation. He was born that way.
No. He decided to be “born-again” the moment he was found guilty and then sentenced to 35 years.
The Colonel is —– correct!
Thank god, the world is now safe from this evil, evil man who revealed facts that we weren’t supposed to know.
EDIT: IDK what to say. I was trying to be a smarty pants, but I’m too tired.
lol
It’s all good.
YOU RIGHT WING GAWD FEARING GUN TOTEING SWINE!!!
BIBLE THUMPER
The little twit should have been sentenced to do his time in our military prison in Bagram, Afghanistan. 8 hours a day walking point and 16 hours in a cell.
You hero worship just a little too much.
Okay, I’ll bite, exactly who am hero worshipping? Or was that poor sarcasm?
Up yours. That was Awesome Sarcasm. CAPITALIZED AWESOME I TELL YOU.
Frank – you didn’t use the $arca$m Font $o I couldn’t tell.
You’ll have to get with Shifty on than. I will endeavor to defer more often.
I still think he’s a hero though.
Maybe it’s just the perspective difference, from my foxhole he’s little turd.
Shitte Henry? Oh. NVM
You go,Colonel.Right On!
Something tells me that an endorsement from the gay sir hump-a-lot is not going going to make The Colonel feel better.
I have three gay military friends,and don’t need to bother straight guys,fool.
9″, to each his own, I have several acquaintances who are gay in and out of the Army. Not my style but also not my business.
He could be eligible. I’d be surprised if they released him early. That would set a bad example, which is why the prosecution asked for a 60 year sentence. Manning will be made an example of because the government fears the people knowing what it hides.
There is one lesson that this sentence sent to every would-be whistleblower: if you intend on being a whistleblower in the USA, have a plan to get to Venezuela, Russia or Equator. Dump everything into the public domain. Whistleblowers are not safe in the USA when the chief executive wants revenge.
Manning says he is confused about his gender. His cellmates can’t wait to help him with that.
I’m sure they can find a better looking guy;-)
Bradley Manning: I want to live as a woman
Population of Leavenworth: Oh, honey, you will….
He was in the U.S. Armed Forces. Totally insubordinate. Snowden was not in a Military chain of command.
The line is there. We don’t need any self aware vigilantes in the Army.
“We don’t need any self aware vigilantes in the Army.”
The sooner they get real life “Terminators” the better, it will make those in power much happier.
No worrying about those pesky emotions and conscience.
“Pesky emotions and conscience”? The little nerd can’t decide whether
he is a boy or a girl.
If you are comfortable with self aware Georgia Washingtons deciding what should be released………???
Edit: Girl. He is now known as Chelsea.
Stunning that if gov’t wanted to keep high level secrets that would put such a troubled person in a position with access to them all, isn’t it?
Borderline incompetence, would you say? In fact, if a business hired a kleptomaniac to run their cash register who would you blame?
Uh two wrongs don’t make a right.
All the Army’s fault? I thought you were in favor of Chelsea releasing the info. ??
She released the right info didn’t she? This time?
I didn’t say two wrongs made a right, I never claimed what he did was wrong in the first place…my comment speaks to who is more responsible for the leaks…the organization that supposedly is driven to protect the state secrets and has the resources to do so or the emotionally troubled young man they gave access to….(and who they know had emotional issues)?
In fact, Manning showed better judgement then the gov’t based on what has been released so far(and Wikileaks).
The U.S. Armed forces . Yeah the “Gov’t” but it’s The Army.
If you think that the Army can determine the “emotional” underlying problems with all of the soldiers there is a bridge….
There is no Accountability in the Army? The Army is responsible for every thing?
Damn!
Here’s the thing, even if you don’t want to hold the Army, NSA, etc. responsible for the leak….they suppressed evidence of the killing of journalists and a further attack on kids/civs.
Who’s being held “responsible” for that?
This is similar to the Snowden case in that we have our gov’t committing crimes yet the people whistleblowing on them are suffering and not the criminals in gov’t responsible for having to cover stuff up in the first place.
Is that the atmosphere you want? One in which a crime is witnessed but no one fesses up? Mai Lai unabated x1000?
As I said in my first post. Different from Snowden. Snowden was not in the Army. No I do not ever want the “gov’t” to commit crimes. Ever. However to think it’s alright for every Tom, Dick and Chelsea in the Army to decide what is right and wrong is ….wrong.
Today’s whistleblower is tomorrow’s saboteur .
“No I do not ever want the “gov’t” to commit crimes.”
You just want those that witness them to “shut up”…so basically it doesn’t matter if you don’t want gov’t to commit crimes because in your world view there’s no repercussion if they do.
In fact, if we draw your line of thinking out to is natural conclusion everything has to be run by the President and/or Congress before anything is said.
?
This girl was supposed to answer to her superior officer. Not to WikiLeaks.
If Chelsea saw any problems take it to the commanding officer.
“If Chelsea saw any problems take it to the commanding officer.”
You mean the commanding officers that hid the video of journalists getting creamed?
That was his option by your rules. Even more so, do you think his superior’s bosses were going to give me a medal for reporting such?
Are you truly that naive? Do you have any concept of what war is about?
Seriously, if we undertook the Smedly Butler peace plan or even had a “military” of composition similar to Switzerland, filled with citizen soldiers…the whole nature of these discussions would be drastically different…aside from the fact we have military presence in over 100 countries around the world.
Yea man, I don’t think you are seeing things clearly.
Let me put it to you this way:
If Manning released the strategic goings on of war plans against enemy’s would he be guilty of treason?
Now, let’s contrast that with what he’s released:
Discussions between gov’t officials, soap opera style, and video of helicopter cowboys blowing up journalists that was suppressed by his bosses.
If our gov’t had the moral high ground, what would be the “controversy”?
That’s why you hear the claim that he put troops in jeopardy, yet there’s no hard evidence of that….even gov’t knows it doesn’t have the moral high ground.
I rather like the occasional gov’t mule telling us secrets that our gov’t doesn’t want us to know, after all, gov’t is entitled to know EVERYTHING it wants to know about us without asking.
So we get to pick and choose what Army privates release? No. we got lucky. This time.
If we didn’t have multiple overseas undeclared wars, suppressed potential war crimes, etc., none of it would matter.
Does 35 years measure up to his “crimes”?
They couldn’t even get the treason conviction.
Should have been shot or hung. Treason applies “upon the testimony of two witnesses…”
He wasn’t found guilty of treason, so he can’t be shot or hung. Besides, he didn’t put any American in harms way more than our foreign policy already does.
Was not tried for treason. Should have been. No Guts military judge.
This is the kind of attitude that makes the Constitution and the Bill of Rights necessary.
Manning and Snowden are both criminals,and belong in prison.It’s that simple.
If you believe otherwise,you’re a brainwashed internet idiot.
No. You are an ignorant moron. It is because of people like you that the United States has lost the moral authority it once had. A moron citizenry that knows nothing about public affairs.
In the U.S., what’s the punishment for starting a war based on lies, leading to killing of thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilians? The answer is nothing. In the U.S., what’s the punishment for lying to Congress about the government collecting data and spying on American citizens? The answer is nothing. In the U.S., what’s the punishment for releasing information about the crimes and atrocities committed by the U.S. government, thereby exposing those in true motives of those in power? The answer is 35 years. To call this country free would make you a goddamned liar.
My heart goes out to Bradley, Chelsea and Glenn. Here’s a learning video they can use to understand their bodies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLhld_PI2zg