What he did was heroic, but defined him as a traitor. Words have meanings for a reason.

I agree. Just don't think breaking the law for noble purposes negates the law. Especially if you are member of the military. Bradley Manning lucked out that an impotent president needed to clutch to something besides failure. Had Hillary won, Manning would still be in prison.

breaking the law for noble purposes negates the law. Especially if you are member of the military.

That's awful logic if what we want is more transparency. The law isn't always ethical, which is why whistle blowers have to exist in the first place.

It defined him as a traitor yes, but to whom? America? No. He is a traitor only to those complicit in collateral murder.

What about the people killed because of his actions? Isn't he responsible and complicit of collateral murder as well? Yes, he is. Also, his motivation might have been less than noble and more spiteful...which changes the dynamic as well. Now that he's going to be released, the unvarnished truth will reveal itself. Buckle up.

What about the people killed because of his actions?

Who?

Isn't he responsible and complicit of collateral murder as well(ignoring the fact he wantonly joined the armed forces)? Yes, he is.

No. Because nobody was killed.

Also, his motivation might have been less than noble and more spiteful...which changes the dynamic as well.

We can speculate about his motivations all day long. Doesn't absolve the crimes he exposed. Same thing with hillary. Whether it was russia or an unhappy NSA agent, she comitted crimes.

Now that he's

She

going to be released, the unvarnished truth will reveal itself.

I thought you didn't like truth being exposed wholesale without redaction?

Buckle up.

Son, we've been on a highway to hell in america for 30 years.

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/824604277003976704

Manning was found innocent of "aiding the enemy" & Pentagon admitted under oath no-one harmed

Yes--to America. And to his unit. And to every American who ever wore the uniform. And to the dictionary.

You're about as brainwashed by the MSM as you can get. Also your profile looks like a shill account.

AFAIK, difference between Snowden or Assange and "traitors" like Manning, is that the former did it through the proper channels and as responsibly as possible. Manning just dumped a bunch of files without vetting them for state secrets, op identities, etc.

Personally, the fact that she got pardoned before Assange or Snowden is absolutely ridiculous.

Don't forget part of his motivation was to flatter the guy he was trying to bang...

Wow, you got a good source on that? That's pretty bad, hadn't heard that yet.

You don't know anything about the sitiuation then...it's how they caught him...the source is the story. You should look into it.

None of them should need a pardon. If MSM could be trusted to do the right thing, Wikileaks wouldn't be necessary. The only reason the NSA leak was handled the way it was, is because Glen Greenwald is persistent enough to make sure his editor doesn't completely censor it. Now that he has his own outlet, he is the last MSM bastion to publish wrong doing. Even then, how many americans actually read the intercept? Not enough. But if you have something big enough, like top military brass knowingly authorizing the murder of civilians, better to release it to wikileaks, because at least then it will get read.

I agree, although Manning's choices on how to handle the documents was not the best way to go about it. Wikileaks is far and away the best option, because the media is completely unreliable.

Keep in mind, Trump called Snowden a traitor who should be executed. You're not likely to see him get a pardon.

He should at least give Assange a pardon and a Pulitzer

But err civil rights

Cue all the people who secretly hated Chelsea Manning all these years or something

I shill take that into consideration. We live in very dark, cold times. It's shilling.. Brr.. But it's ok. I went to eat dinner the other night, and I was like "bring me the shill", but the manager comped my meal! Some good things still happen, and I'm gonna try to focus on that unshill I can't anymore.

Oh, I mean "shall", "chilling", "bill", and "until", not "shill, shilling", "shill" and "shill". Whoopsie. Butterfingers.. My apologies.

I think Trump equates the Manning leaks with being disloyal, eg traitor. I fully agree with leaking due to moral reasons. However, leaking due to moral reasons is different than protections for disobeying unlawful orders. At the time, the actions that the military was having Manning preform in Iraq were considered lawful, while morally reprehensible. Additionally, morality is unfortunately subjective. I'd much rather Trump give an opinion on this matter that isn't limited to 140 characters / a sound bite.

Good objective assessment. Hard to come by, even on this sub. Thank you

are you sure? i'll rather he would shut up about almost everything. Trump strikes me as a stone cold idiot. (perhaps better than hillary.. but still?)

Additionally, morality is unfortunately subjective.

Perhaps moral axioms are subjective, but inferences made from them are either true or false.

If you're a humanist, for example, and you believe in human rights, then the way Manning is being treated is very obviously wrong.

Especially on a conspiracy sub!

This isn't a conspiracy sub anymore, this is where the dogs praise their master.

Idk what he thinks he's saying. He's not setting a good precedent for the next four years already. Not like I didn't expect it, I was just a little more hopeful.

It would be nice if our "World Leaders" would refer to the subject matter of these leaks every now and then, instead of just torturing the whistleblowers or chasing them around the world.

Well, it kind of is ungrateful to call the guy who let you out of prison "weak".

That being said, I think the real torture would have been to keep her in prison but withhold the transgender medical treatments. She did get hormone therapy and treatment for her gender dysphoria while in prison. That's more treatment than some vets with more serious medical problems get and they didn't even break the law.

so you're the one who is going to jail for us?

I agree, although Manning's choices on how to handle the documents was not the best way to go about it. Wikileaks is far and away the best option, because the media is completely unreliable.