Thursday, August 22, 2013
Wikileaker Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years.
Some people think Bradley Manning is a criminal and/or traitor. Others think he is a hero. 35 year sentence for him will be too short for some and too long for others. I'm not sure. I look at this as an act of civil disobedience and an illegal act. Those who practice civil disobedience must be ready to pay the price--no matter how high as long as it's a legal sentence.
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Whatever Manning's reasons were for leaking confidential information, he violated his duty to obey the orders of those (commissioned officers) appointed over him. His actions not only undermined these professional soldiers, but compromised legitimate mission objectives with a possible backlash to U.S. security. Manning's personal troubles were not the nation's problem. That is, not until he decided to make it so.
ReplyDeleteTrouble is, it's folks like Manning who are the only source for learning of government wrong-doing. Given the lack of accountability for wrong-doing, it's only via whistle-blower knowledge that we can use our only weapon: Scorn and hostile laughter on the Internet.
ReplyDeleteFor the good of liberty in our society, we need more people like Manning, Assange and Snowden.
As for the military? They're so misused that it's pathetic. We should not be trying to gain by military action what our main opponent is gaining by trade.
The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were certainly no secret to the rest of the world. That said, it wasn't this soldier's prerogative to leak confidential information to affect policy changes. If he saw UCMJ violations in theater, he had a duty to report same to his command or contact the DOD's IG. See http://www.dodig.mil/programs/whistleblower/index.html
ReplyDeleteHaving served in the military overseas, I learned that "loose lips sink ships" is no lie. That's why we had rules. If people don't like what they see, take it to the voting booth. Rather than blaming our military, take a hard look at the electorate who chooses the civilian leadership.
44 and Anon: Thanks for getting a little debate going. Although I have mixed feelings, I find myself agreeing more with Anon, although I also agree with 44's points.
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