Some of you couldn't handle the idea of your little friend Manning in jail with tattoed animals. So I changed the picture. Maybe you can deal with the USDB at Fort Leavenworth where he will be.
"Manning, 25, will be dishonorably discharged from the U.S. military and forfeit some pay, Lind said. His rank will be reduced to private from private first class.
Manning would be eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence, which will be reduced by the time he has already served in prison plus 112 days.
Wearing his dress uniform, the slightly built Manning stood at attention as the sentence was read, seeming to show no emotion. As he was escorted out of the courtroom, supporters shouted "Bradley, we are with you."
Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, called the sentence "unprecedented" in its magnitude.
"It's more than 17 times the next longest sentence ever served" for providing secret material to the media, Goitein said. "It is in line with sentences for paid espionage for the enemy."" Reuters
————————————
IMO this is a lenient sentence. He could have been shot for treason and/or espionage. The sentence is subject to review by the convening authority, then to appeal by an appellate court and SCOTUS, but IMO this will stick.
The part of the sentence that allows parole after 1/3 of the sentence has been served surprises me. I thought he would get 20 years without parole. The Dishonorable Discharge is something that civilians will not understand in its importance. It is a handicap that will follow him around for the rest of his life.
He will serve his sentence as a military prisoner. Hopefully he will never be allowed to wear the uniform again. This wiould be a relief to many, especially in the Military Intelligence Regiment and the 10th Mountain Division whose insignia he has disgraced. pl
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/21/us-usa-wikileaks-manning-idUSBRE97J0JI20130821
Good.
Yes, less than he deserved, but hopefully he will serve most of his sentence.
And he thought he was mistreated during his pre trial detention, wait till he’s been in the cell block for a few days with his new roomies!
In addition to the DD, he will also have to answer yes to questions on whether he has been convicted of a felony. A lot of doors will be forever closed to him because of that.
“Some of Manning’s future playmates.
They will cherish him.”
Some nice allusions to prison-rape to go with your blog post?
While I often enjoy your analysis, often you reveal a certain close-mindedness and vindictiveness. This shows up when you talk about Manning, or talk about all those strange alien people who live in the blue-state metro “archipelagos” (who outnumber the people you deem to be “real Americans”).
This should be brought to the attention of those advocating military justice for terrorism suspects. “Military” only sounds tough (in this context). In practice civilian justice tends be harsher. It’ll be interesting to see if the death penalty is applied in Hasan’s case.
daniel
Even in California where you live the left is not as strong as you imagine and is portrayed by your pet media. Look at the county result maps of elections. You people on the left live in urban islands where lawyers like you are protected by gated communities and security guards. as I wrote some time ago the GOP will probably be a Congressional party for some time and because of your weakness outside the big cities and the gerrymandering will continue to tie you and your friends in knots.
As for the pathetic little Manning creature, your feeling for him betrays the total disregard lefty civilians like you have for the need for “good order and discipline” in the military. the soldiery generally think of people like you as they would of any other form of insectoid life and they are personally far stronger and more capable of violence than you can imagine (not Manning). Without the “good order and discipline” of the military you would learn to live in a North American version of Sisi’s Egypt. For that reason Manning’s conviction and punishment is far more important than Manning could ever be. You don’t like my little joke about Manning’s new friends? Feel free not to come to my site. pl
There are a number of issues that have got wound together here.
1. I share Col. Langs view of the need for conduct and good order in the military and I think Mannings sentence was just, considering he will probably be out in Ten years and lionised by the left.
2. Anyone with some legal training knows that people are to be punished by being placed IN jail (loss of liberty) not AT jail (prison rape) and Manning has exactly the same rights at law as any other citizen to be protected from sexual predators. This is something most Americans don’t seem to want to understand and, considering the moral tone this website aspires to, Daniel is right to point out that schadenfreude about Mannings supposed fate is less than appropriate.
3. While the country vs. city debate is fun, I note that farmers still want access to the best of city based healthcare and all the electronic gadgets developed by left wing, army hating, lentil burger eating, nimby pimby, metrosexual nerds. I also note that some city folk don’t even know where milk comes from. I am not a fan of city vs. country politics as it ends up as just a fight between special interest groups. What is needed are nationwide policies.
High profile. The management will protect him and accept the punishment for that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Brig,_Quantico
walrus
Manning will certainly end up in a plush Club Fed civilian facility with his lily white butt protected from people like the ones in the picture. Manning is a foresworn spy and will be treated better than he deserves. As I have said before you would not be so sympathetic to him if he were an Australian soldier. You don’t like the fact that the non-big city population here doesn’t like the Democrats? So what? You may have American citizenship but your sympathies certainly are not here. what are we supposed to do, surrender to the lefties? You don’t like my laughing at Manning. I had no idea you were such a softy. pl
walrus
“considering the moral tone this website aspires to…” you have a lot of gall. pl
Thanks for your reply Col. Lang. I am not so much a softy but more a cold hearted economic realist. Maintaining Prisons cost money. Recidivism costs money. Badly behaving prisoners cost money, the courts cost money, as do the police.
We can all have our sadistic fun with convicted felons, but we pay for it in other ways, like increased insurance premiums, security systems, security guards and a general sense of personal unease. I believe its been demonstrated that it is generally cheaper to provide “plush club fed” conditions than the reverse, but of course there are those who want to see others suffer extra hard for their sins..
As for Mannings crime, I fail to see it resulted in much more than mild international diplomatic embarrassment for America which has already passed, but others may know more.
What is more concerning to me is the potential damage to the U.S.A. through the manufacture of various cause celebre out of Assange, Manning, Snowden, Greenwald, his boyfriend, Laura Poiras the Guardian Newspaper and perhaps others for the “crime” of exposing unconstitutional behaviour.
As for an Australian soldier, so what? Let them stand trial. The treatment of Mannings unconscionable treatment in the brig got my goat, as is the continuing efforts to “get” Assange.
As for “surrendering to the Lefties”, I don’t think there are many remaining. What counts for “left” in America looks like the center everywhere else from my experience.
As for city bound Democrats vs Republicans, who can tell them apart? A plague on both…
I’d rather hear about what was the conversation he had in his head about copying all the documents onto a smuggled thumb drive then uploading them on his personal computer. Every day. What the hell was going on in that mind? Revenge on his bullies?
Im sorry but this man should never have been placed in that level of trust. A gross failure in management. I mean, look at the “man”.
Would but Manning rot in jail now & forever just like Pollard . No parole ever for traitors with American blood on their hands..
walrus
I really don’t care what is considered “left” in the rest of the world. pl
Could not the same gross mismanagement be cited in clearing Snowden for his position ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soF2uIe8GPk
Ron Paul is not a leftist, but his son, you’ll like, is selling out his father’s legacy-even on this subject.
http://nomoremister.blogspot.com/2013/08/so-would-president-rand-paul-pardon.html
amspirnational
I said he was soft in the head. pl
AE
Yes, mismanagement from a misguided sense of compassion but not unusual. There have always been a few low level MI people like him. I could tell you a few stories. pl
I dont think so. He genuinely – or so it appears – seems to have decided that the NSA is actively ignoring the constitution. Contrast that with Manning who seems to have decided to engage in some kind of anonymous “payback” against the system.
All
Something I should make clear is that I think the information Manning disclosed is a fairly minor matter. It is the breach of discipline that must be punished for. pl
He issued a humiliating apology in exchange for a lenient sentence. Fair enough. It does remind me a bit of the Soviet Union (albeit that there he would have apologised and STILL been shot) in the sense that the government seems intent on crushing Manning as a person and an ideal.
Yet it seems to me that what he did was reveal war crimes (with the “collateral murder” video for example — what he was thinking when he also leaked the diplomatic cables I don’t know). I am not American, but isn’t it a duty of US soldiers to prevent and expose war crimes? And could one not argue (based for my part on the news, not on any personal experience with the US armed forces) that in Iraq the US armed forces developed a culture of negligence where someone like Manning would have been actively discouraged from following offical channels to expose such crimes? (One reads a lot about this being a problem in rape cases, for example.) I do not understand why the argument that he followed his conscience and had no other recourse is so unacceptable. Is his duty to his conscience and the international laws of war not greater than a non-disclosure agreement at some army department?
A similar argument was made regarding Snowden: he should have followed official channels. But he had ample opportunity to see from Drake and others the effectiveness of that approach. Maybe Manning did too.
And his chain of command, which allowed a soldier they didn’t trust with a weapon to have regular, unmonitored access to SIPR? And to put discs in the DVD drive? *That* is a “breach of discipline.” But we apparently don’t do command responsibility anymore.
What I was trying to ask regardless of the different motivations for what both Manning & Snowden had for revealing secrets – has it come time for all parts of national our government to review the hows & whys of which individuals get access to ‘top secret information ” . It is a separate issue in my opinion on whether or not the NSA has ignored our Constitution . I do believe DIA Clapper lied to Congress and should be held accountable . And as a slight detour into editorializing – given what is known about Prism & other activities by the NSA I am very uncomfortable with any type of national registry for firearms.
joe brand
i would love to see his chain of command punished. How far up do you want to go? pl
karim
So far as I know Manning never attempted to approach his chain of command over his ethical difficulty with the material he was reading. BTW much of it was not necessary to his work. as for the recording of the helicopter fire on people on the ground, they apparently thought this was a group of insurgents. This was not a war crime or any other kind of crime. people get killed in war by happenstance. you don’t seem to know that. pl
Proud words from a California bankruptcy lawyer. Manning couldn’t handle the discipline of being on active duty in the army. Prion rape? He’s got allot more to fear that than being as weak as he is. Vindictiveness? That man decided the proper way to show his discontent for the national policy was to collect as much classified material he had access to and dumped it into the public realm. That’ll teach America! Perhaps if the other Snowdens of the NSA decided they were pissed off at lawyers and that the correct way to get things changed was to collect all their relevant data and dump it into the public sphere you might be as equally concerned with the discipline there and within the armed forces our host is.
Personally I loved the other photo.
Millions will be made, to paraphrase a former poster here, off St. Bradley of the thumb drive. He just won’t see too much of it. Those folks from the prior photo would have been intimidating him into giving up most of the contents in those left cross packages sent from his admirers. They would sure as hell be smart enough to know that the goal is to shear the sheep, not skin them. Rape would get him preferential transfer. Intimidating a weakling, however, that’s another story. I think the problem for the warden and the guards would have been the fights over the sheep, not his being skinned (or raped).
Dear Col Lang,
MI was rife with incompetence and corruption during my 2 years and 10 months or so a long time ago. I expect it hasn’t changed much.
Manning was a canary in a coal mine that indicated a appalling level of incompetence.
Whatever happened to “need to know” and “compartmentalization”. Same goes for Manning.
No, it’s CYA and big gimmee all the time. Ride it to retirement and go into the private sector on a big salary to make contracts with your old buddies still in “service”. Booz, Allen, Hamilton, anyone?
And if anything goes wrong? Scapegoat an underling.
The Egyptian military models itself after DOD. Just your basic good old crony capitalist revolving door.
Eisenhower nailed it and we have ignored it.
And you, sir, never got past your time in Lexington. But that’s a puzzling affliction of a number of people I know.
And then there’s the old question, should Lee and the rest have been hung for their treason? All the way to the top, right?
John
One of the worst decision I ever made was to transfer to MI in the mid-sixties. I was lucky enough to be asked to be a founding member of SF Branch before I retired. The Confederates were not traitors. they were no longer citizens of the US. The US did not want that defense made in court. pl
Col. Lang
Pardon the off topic but I read an
article by William Lind at The Am-
erican Conservative site about Col.
John Boyd USAF ostensibly America’s
foremost military theorist whose OODA
Loop or Boyd Cycle helped revolutionise
modern warfare. One might call him our
Clausewitz or Sun Tzu. In modern times
possibly Gen. Giap of NVN. His wiki
entry stated he helped plan Gulf War I
at Dick Cheney’s request. The famous
“Left Hook” was his idea. Its seems
our allies/adversaries/enemies are
practicing his theorems on us. The main
thrust, as I understand it, is one’s
orientation to the events at hand. IMO
our political leaders are caught in the
closed system trap he outlines vis a vis
world and domestic events. Apparently,
he did not suffer fools gladly. Did you
have any expeniences with him you could share?
steveG
Lind is is a charlatan. His generations of warfare crap finally wore thin and he went broke here. the “left hook” plan was written by a team of Jedi Knights from Leavenworth based on their wide experience and knowledge of military history. pl
I can understand that we were so stretched out and facing so many new challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan that nobody had enough time to really think through the implications of allowing kids to have access to so much information.
I wonder though what is in place to stop another Manning from doing much the same thing.
Even more important, what is in place to prevent us from being so overwhelmed the next time?
If anything, all trends seem to point to us being even more likely to be overwhelmed the next time. We like to think we won’t be in two such remote places fighting such different kinds of enemies than we expected, but the truth is we don’t know what we’ll face in the years ahead.
The only obvious truth is that we don’t have the resources we once did while at the same time the world has such great expectations of us. In the meantime, we are also attempting to give millions of new people a second chance in life in America while we cannot even create enough jobs for American citizen workers or agree to raise enough revenue to pay for the level of government and government services that most of us clearly want and expect.
There’s a lot more to worry about here than just one private who was able to do what he shouldn’t have been able to do.
Company and battalion. Did anybody higher than that know about a PFC?
Karim,
I’ll suggest that his confession may have been completely genuine.
He was a 19 year old practically uneducated soldier who was exceptionally alienated within the society of Army. Isolated, he kept only his own and his internet “friends” council. Certainly there have been a great many things he had been unaware of described and explained in great detail since then.
And, perhaps, the failure of integrity and breach of trust with those with whom he shared the uniform. If those who serve can’t trust each other then all is lost.
As far as I’m concerned Steve G, the rot in system began to manifest itself when we started blowing this genius, “left hook’ find em, kill em’ smoke up our collective butts. Although there was a hint of it in all the medals handed out in the Granada ‘campaign’.
None of this is to diminish the willingness of the personal involved to make the ultimate sacrifice. And more sacrifices short of the ultimate one.
But in the end, for god sake’s..this was the god damn rag-tag Iraqi Army…coming off 8 years of a grueling war, that we went up against. And we made them out like Wehrmacht or something. And stormin Norm as Rommel or somebody similar. I mean they ran a professional campaign, against a minor foe. Ok…good…but VE Day it was not. But that has been the way it has been played since.
jonst et al
Chelsea Manning’s civilian lawyer is saying that she will serve her sentence in a military prison. I guess that means the USDB at Ft. Leavenworth. Someone explain to me how that can be. She will receive a Dishonorable Discharge before being “sent away.” Why would a civilian be confined in an army prison? pl
well, I’ll look into it…because I don’t understand it either. Unless, some how, legally, the DD does not actually go into effect until the sentence is up. I don’t see how that can be. Although I did know a ton of Marines who–for a fact– did their time (6 months, usually, in the Camp Lejune Brig before their BCD went into effect. What a time that was…the brig riots, vicious racial battles inside, as well, in 69-71. We were always hearing about.I knew a lot of guys on “Thump Squad” that broke the riots up. ‘Fun’ times in the Corps. And indeed, in America.
In any event, I predict he will get the DD upgraded to a BCD or UD….one day. I also suspect…one day, he will get the sentence reduced to 10 years. Again, one day. I am not calling for these things. Nor am I against these things. All I can say is I am feeling a bit chagrined, and more sympathetic to Gen Lee et al than I once was. Not with their particular cause…but I am beginning to have my doubts about the loyalty owed to the ‘Deep State’, if one exists. I don’t mean it in a silly, ‘man the ramparts’ way….I hope I mean it in a soberly, ‘just what the hell is evolving here?’ way. But I will try and figure out your question Col…cause I got the same one.
Disclaimer – I am absolutely not a JAG/SJA and though I am a reserve component MP, all of my mobilized/deployed experience was in other areas.
That said, several military lawyers have related in various training environments that dds and dismissals can be processed and kick in while the prisoner is incarcerated. He isn’t automatically transferred to bop. Ucmj apparently remains in effect. In fact, a 31E (corrections specialist) related bringing ucmj charges for larceny against prisoners for lifting sugar packets from the dfac to ferment.
I do not understand the legal regime. I am glad we have jags and 31Echos. I am glad I am neither a Jag or a 31E.
What books or articles best document the impact of Manning’s releases of classified info on US military and FP?
Or is the impact of the releases also classified?
WRC
There are no civilian publications other than polemics in favor of Chelsea and against military discipline. I am sure there are classified damage assessments, but, as I said, the real need for the sentence was “to encourage the others.” pl
They did probably think they were shooting at insurgents. I do know that people get killed in war by happenstance. I also think that some people make more effort to distinguish between armed opponents and civilians than others, and that that has a lot to do with the culture. I think the soldiers in the helicopter made very little effort to ascertain the nature of their target, although they do not sound like they are under any significant threat or stress. I am not a lawyer, but is that not an offence? I think the problem of culture is clearly revealed in that horrible sentence: “serves them right for bringing their kids to war”.
‘the real need for the sentence was “to encourage the others.”’
Absolutely. It is a major problem that the recent conduct of American – and British – governments encourages a predisposition in some people towards an indiscriminating sympathy for ‘whistleblowers’.
But anything which indulges a propensity on the part of armed men to regard the obligations they undertake, and the loyalty to the institutions they join, as matters not to be taken with the utmost seriousness, undermines an absolutely central pillar of the constitutional order. An example had to be made, if we are not to head down the road towards anarchy.
As regards the Voltaire quotation, incidentally, the general view now appears to be that the execution of Admiral Byng had a marked salutary effect on the Royal Navy – teaching that it was always safer to risk an attack than not to, even if one had powerful ‘friends at court’.
Jonst
There was alot of trouble at Camp
Pendleton during the time frame you
reference. Black on white fights at
the enlisted clubs. When I was at
Camp Margarita ’69 the armory was broken
into and the rumor was the brothers
sold or gave the weapons to the Black
Panthers. In RVN fraggings happend at
the Red Beach enlisted clubs. Who was
the enemy anyway??
PL! Did you mean “discourage the others”?
Manning is reduced in grade to E-1 and will serve his sentence at that grade. He will then be released with a dishonorable discharge from the military incarceration facility in Leavenworth, Kansas.
It is easy to disparage Manning – a seeming wimp, physically unimposing, effete and now apparently one of those poor transgender beings. He looks like anything but the soul of bravery. Yet let’s keep in mind that this kid underwent a year of brutal treatment – physical and psychological – that aimed to break him (as well as to punish him)so that he would exchange a lenient sentence for fabricating lies about Wikileaks and Assange. Lies about who initiated the contacts, the sequence, the terms of the relationship. In near total isolation, he resisted.
Whatever else one thinks of him, he showed some guts and character that many of our macho types in and out of the military lack. I doubt that Petraeus, Clapper or Alexander have it in them to do anything like that. As to the Obamas, Clintons, etc…..
That may be one contributing reason to the readiness of Snowden to do what he did in full awareness of the personal risks he ran. Snowden’s actions, IMHO, leave the country in a far better position than if he had taken the path of least resistance and just followed the rules.
mbrenner
Baloney. i don’t csare how much “good” Chelsea Manning did for world peace or whatever. pl
All
RF works as a civilian in the J-1 Section of the JCS so I guess that is the definitive word on the subject. IMO this is a bad policy since the armed forces should be rid of her as soon as possible. I will correct my post. pl
WRC
Voltaire intended the phrase to be ironic. pl
kerim
For the helicopter attack on the people in the street to be a chagreable offense you would have to prove that they did not think the targets were insurgents. Killing people is not an offense. Killing people and destroying things is what being a soldier is about. That IS the culture. pl
Man, it was a terrible time..no joke Steve, at Lejune…and, as you point out, and as I heard, at Pendleton. Walking around the base after dark at Lejune was a scary thing. Everyone carrying something. One moved quickly…and often in packs.
PL and All, are there any examples of situations where you believe it would be OK to disobey orders and break with “good order and discipline” of the military. Or actual historical examples where this was done and OK in your moral/ethical framework?
walter
Somehow I think you are being a wiseass. A US service member is obliged under US military law to refuse to obey an illegal order and to report the attempt to order something illegal. I have written this many times on SST. Go look at the punitive articles of the UCMJ for examples for the sort of things that you are looking for. Some other examples would be violations of US law concerning US government funds. So far as I know Chelsea never sought to report things she saw in computer traffic that she may have thought to be violations of US law. As I said to someone else, killing is not an offense when it occurs in combat. Unlawful killing is an offense. pl
Thanks PL AND WILL GO BACK TO TENDING MY GARDEN!
It is not hard to find some examples of killing the military finds criminal. For example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maywand_District_murders
I recall Col. Lang commenting on the above story at the time.
One assumes that some men broke ranks in order to inform on the men committing those crimes. It is also not unreasonable to assume that any who disobeyed orders to avoid along with what is shown above would have defensible ground in the military courts.
It seems to me the military has a vested interest in preserving good order whether the subject(s) be naive and careless or crazed and brutal.
MM
There were also several such trials that resulted from incidents in the US Army and USMC in Iraq. p
Col.,
If sentence was “to encourage the others.” should not someone at the command level receive punishment? There seems to be a major command/management issue here, too.
Col Lang
Wasn’t Sgt Bales just given in effect a life sentence for murdering civilians in Afghanistan ?
Col. Lang-
“Lind is is a charlatan. His generations of warfare crap finally wore thin and he went broke here”
Bravo Sir! From a strategic theory perspective of course. Lind seems to be in the middle of yet another re-launch of his reified and hopelessly confused attempt at doctrinal speculation . . . let the unsuspecting beware!
As to the latest Manning turn, it seems very much calculated to gain the optimal level of pity from this White House . . . changing the focus from “what he did” to “who Manning is” . . . almost tailor-made for a presidential pardon . . . ?
Bales pled guilty. They have to decide if he gets life with or without parole.
Poor Billy Budd had to be sacrificed for the discipline of the ship. The necessity of personal tragedy for the greater good. Wouldn’t put Manning in the same Christ-like category.
optimax
I dunno. Chelsea looks pretty good in a blond wig and makeup. that’s an SF joke. pl
Col
Chelsea will be popular with the men in jail.
Not trying to be a smart ass, Im just trying to learn
Surely there is a point which needs to be made about honour — as well as simply about punishment. So it would seem more appropriate that Manning be dishonourably discharged now, rather than at the end of the sentence.
David Habakkuk
Yes, IMO he/she should be discharged as soon as the appeals process ends and for the reason that you give. pl
So who leaked the request for a sex change by Manning? And why is intended by referring to Manning as Chelsea?
WRC
Chelsea says that is her name and her lawwyer, Coombs, refers to her that way. pl
I just now read about the sex change thing. Chelsea … good grief, this is turning into a travesty.
Col,
Not knowing where to post this but it has been reported that J J Pollard has written a letter to the J Post lamenting the recent prisoner release (amongst other things). Titled “Restoring Israel to greatness” and dated for 16th august, 2013. Can’t seem to find it though. Thought you might find it interesting in the context of betrayal, jail-time, a dd etc.
Yes, especially given the games the lawyers are starting to play with regards to requests for hormone therapy to physically change sexes.
But tunde, it was just a google search away ^^
http://tinyurl.com/krv5489
Fred,
Absolutely. Sometimes I do begin to think the lunatics have taken over the asylum. (This is not British superciliousness — we have very similar problems, although they manifest themselves in slightly different forms, in the U.K. as in the U.S.)
What I fear will happen is that the case will become, even more than it already is, a kind of bizarre arena for ‘culture wars’ to get fought out. It could easily end up as a weird kind of ‘soap opera’ which could run for some considerable time. And it is a can of worms in which the U.S. military really has a strong interest in not getting involved. They really should eject Bradley/Chelsea, as a kind of foreign body, asap.
His/her predelictions and personality really ought to be marginal to the whole affair. The key issue is that military discipline has to be preserved. This ought to be a matter on which all kinds of different people — whatever their views of gays, transexuals etc etc — can find common ground.
I believe he’s “sealing the deal” for protective custody with this.
It’s a gamble. Would make getting the earliest release date all but impossible for most people. He has “friends” who he helped to become famous to apply pressure though.
Thanks PL but does that mean official records changed NOW?
I agree with you whole heartedly. The far left is pushing an agenda that really has little to do with American values but everything to do with theoretical ones. I do not see this same group putting forth any energy into holding accountable the architects and facilitators of the war(s) they find so objectionable. Their first hero, President Obama, is busy having the NSA shred the Constitution and its leaders lie under oath about it. Meanwhile they are busy with their latest hero, Bradley/Chelsea; the new David taking on that big bad Goliath – Uncle Sam.
WRC,
Got a hunch it’s about keeping him high profile. The talking heads will now certainly be debating whether or not the DOD should be required to pay for the operation. Abalones will be riding bicycles before that happens, but no matter.
Might look better with a pair of DD’s, rather than just one, though?
Sorry, couldn’t help myself
You are making excuses. Millions of poorly educated soldiers have served terms of enlistment with under conditions far worse than Manning’s. They didn’t betray their obligations regardless of their support or lack thereof for the nation’s policy while they were on active duty.
COL, your statement is true, but it begs the question of what all those uniform-wearing analysts and policy makers at NSA were thinking (and continue to think) about breaking the law to collect on US citizens? Or those in the service who participated in the use of “enhanced interrogation” techniques?
RP