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Manning Found Not Guilty Of 'Aiding The Enemy


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Bradley Manning, the former intelligence analyst who perpetrated the largest leak of classified information in U.S. history, has been acquitted of the most serious charge against him.

Col. Denise Lind, the military judge presiding over the case in Fort Meade, Md., found the Army private not guilty of aiding the enemy, when he released hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks. The charge carried a possible punishment of life in prison.

Manning, however, was found guilty of other serious offenses including five charges of espionage and five charges of theft.

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They will still lock him up and throw the key away.

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I'm glad he will not spend the rest of his life in prison. I'm also glad that a strong message was sent to the rest of his comrades in arms...

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He was foun not guilty of the 2 charges but was still foud guilty if espionage.

He will spend most of his life in prison.

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I'm sure an "accident" is coming his way eventually.

:unsure2:

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Yeah, I don't know much at all about law, much less military law, but I suppose the intent of the judges ruling was to the effect that he did not directly give the info to the "enemy", like say to a foreign enemy spy. Instead it was indirect, through Wikileaks.

So I guess that might make sense, though surely he should have known that the info who inevitably fall into the wrong hands.

But I also agree with other's here that said he is still in a whole lot of trouble, and the military judge apparently agree's that some of his actions were clearly illegal. I also agree that some prison time is likely in his future.

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I'm sure an "accident" is coming his way eventually.

Perhaps not.

In day's gone by, yes, without question he would have been "snuffed"

But these day's, at least in the U.S., such people are highly protected from that type of event.

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it is a fine line as to what makes a "traitor". You could say that, if one revealed evidence of atrocities and crimes committed by one's government or its army, then one is not a traitor but is actually doing a service toy our country by making these known. However, what these Whistleblowers, like him and the other one, seem to do is just publicise everything that you find, regardless of whether it is actually evidence of wrongs being committed. By doing that, you could well be putting one's fellow soldiers (who may have had nothing to do with the wrongs being done) and one's fellow citizens at risk.

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Perhaps not.

In day's gone by, yes, without question he would have been "snuffed"

But these day's, at least in the U.S., such people are highly protected from that type of event.

If he is put in the general population at Fort Leavenworth Military Penitenary, he's in for a rough road... The prisoners there consider 'treason' (to whatever degree)

in much the same light that civilian prisoners consider child molestors...

If he is put in a military prison, that should be his biggest worry... Guards can only watch you part of the time...

Edited by Taun
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If he is put in the general population at Fort Leavenworth Military Penitenary, he's in for a rough road... The prisoners there consider 'treason' (to whatever degree)

in much the same light that civilian prisoners consider child molestors...

If he is put in a military prison, that should be his biggest worry... Guards can only watch you part of the time...

He'll spend most of the time in solitary.

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I don't think Manning did anything wrong. Exposing government crimes should never be considered treason.

The 25-year-old Crescent, Okla., native acknowledged giving the anti-secrecy website hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports, diplomatic cables and videos in early 2010.

Manning said he didn't believe the information would harm troops in Afghanistan and Iraq or threaten national security.

Manning's court-martial was unusual because he acknowledged giving the anti-secrecy website more than 700,000 battlefield reports and diplomatic cables, and video of a 2007 U.S. helicopter attack that killed civilians in Iraq, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. In the footage, airmen laughed and called targets "dead b*******."

Manning pleaded guilty earlier this year to lesser offenses that could have brought him 20 years behind bars, yet the government continued to pursue the original, more serious charges.

Manning said during a pre-trial hearing in February he leaked the material to expose the U.S military's "bloodlust" and disregard for human life, and what he considered American diplomatic deceit. He said he chose information he believed would not the harm the United States and he wanted to start a debate on military and foreign policy. He did not testify at his court-martial.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.c.../#ixzz2aYkv3D5Z

Edited by Kowalski
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Manning said he didn't believe the information would harm troops in Afghanistan and Iraq or threaten national security

and he didn't think that giving the enemy - i mean the anti-secrecy website more than 700,000 battlefield reports and diplomatic cables might possibly do that in any way? How incredibly naive is he?

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I'm glad he will not spend the rest of his life in prison. I'm also glad that a strong message was sent to the rest of his comrades in arms...

He was found guilty on 20 other charges,he will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

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This sounds like what Manning deserved. He obviously did not seek to hand over information to enemy, but he did steal files, and did conduct espionage. So, I feel that he got the verdicts the evidence supported.

He's both a hero and a villan. He stole and gave away documents he had no idea what they were, and yet he did expose several military war crimes. But, I don't think his positive acts MUST counter his negative acts. I think that he must serve his time. If you rob a bank to pay your kids cancer bills, you still robbed a bank.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/bradley-manning-not-guilty-of-aiding-the-enemy-over-wikileaks-leaks-guilty-of-espionage-theft/story-e6frfro0-1226688441205

Manning's sentencing hearing is set to begin Wednesday. Despite being cleared on the most serious charge, Manning faces up to 128 years in prison for his breaches of the espionage act.

The pictures of Julian Assange in this link make it seem he's looking around for snipers...

http://www.news.com....0-1226688441205

449196-julian-assange-wikileaks.jpg

http://www.news.com.au/technology/who-is-bradley-manning-and-why-should-you-care/story-e6frfro0-1226658755452

Who is Bradley Manning and why should you care?
Edited by DieChecker
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This sounds like what Manning deserved. He obviously did not seek to hand over information to enemy, but he did steal files, and did conduct espionage. So, I feel that he got the verdicts the evidence supported.

He's both a hero and a villan. He stole and gave away documents he had no idea what they were, and yet he did expose several military war crimes. But, I don't think his positive acts MUST counter his negative acts. I think that he must serve his time. If you rob a bank to pay your kids cancer bills, you still robbed a bank.

I can certainly see your point, but my question is why is Manning on trial, and the corrupt pieces of filth who perpetrated the crimes he exposed not?

Great links by the way! :)

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Didn't the US review the cables after the leak and found they didn't pose any extra threats to troops or national security ?

Manning was trained in intel analysis, and the fact that he was found not guilty of the more serious charge IMO confirms that, and after the US review found them operationally harmless other than highlighting possible war crimes, he knew what he was giving over and his intentions.

I would hope a clause can be included into any military confidentiality agreement that covers war crimes..highly unlikely but one can hope.

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I agree with this man's take on the Bradley Manning trial verdict:

David Rieff, author, editor, Crimes of War 2.0: What the Public Should Know

The guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion.

The US government's fury at the release of hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic cables and other materials cannot be overstated.

The government has been unable to get its hands on Wikileaks' founder, Julian Assange, who is clearly right not to leave the Ecuadorean embassy in London. Therefore Manning would have to do.

Of course the most important single piece of classified data Manning released was a cockpit video of two US airstrikes, one in Baghdad in 2007 and the other in Afghanistan in 2009.

The footage seemed to show soldiers in flagrant violation of the laws of armed conflict.

Unlike Manning, members of the aircrew were never charged, just as most US service personnel convicted of war crimes have received sentences far lighter than Manning's.

There is no doubt Manning committed criminal offences.

But the verdict is emblematic of Barack Obama, the president who has succeeded at what Bill Clinton failed do: make the Democratic Party the standard bearer of the national security state.

In this way, the crime of revealing possible war crimes in defiance of official secrecy is deemed by the government to be espionage, punishable by up to 130 years in prison, and thus infinitely worse than committing them.

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-23511145

Edited by Kowalski
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Didn't the US review the cables after the leak and found they didn't pose any extra threats to troops or national security ?

Manning was trained in intel analysis, and the fact that he was found not guilty of the more serious charge IMO confirms that, and after the US review found them operationally harmless other than highlighting possible war crimes, he knew what he was giving over and his intentions.

I would hope a clause can be included into any military confidentiality agreement that covers war crimes..highly unlikely but one can hope.

He had no idea what he was giving over. He just knew what the information was categorized.

The man is guilty of all but two of the charges, because he didn't directly have the want to aid the enemy. He however did betray his position of trust. He willfully gave a foreign national classified information that could potentially be harmful to his nations security. Had he only released the few items that where illegal such as the video and a few others we would be having a different conversation. However he did not know what he was giving away.

I hope he spends a long long time behind bars.

~Thanato

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He had no idea what he was giving over. He just knew what the information was categorized.

The man is guilty of all but two of the charges, because he didn't directly have the want to aid the enemy. He however did betray his position of trust. He willfully gave a foreign national classified information that could potentially be harmful to his nations security. Had he only released the few items that where illegal such as the video and a few others we would be having a different conversation. However he did not know what he was giving away.

I hope he spends a long long time behind bars.

~Thanato

I do agree with the conclusion of his guilt...but

Of course he knew...he stated or it has been stated that he grew increasingly concerned over certain aspects of combat he didn't agree with, which was reflected in the files he took..and as stated earlier, after review the US found no important info that threatened the US other than perhaps 'criminal' practice by the military...to download 700k? files not knowing what they contained, he got very lucky that at least one didn't contain anything that could "aid the enemy" I tend to think if the US had to review the files then he was privvy to more sensitive info he could have handed over that would have...

I tend to think he should be punished but what for I don't really know...and that if war crimes are being committed by the US military, it was his duty to speak out as well as keep silent as he was a soldier in the US army...I think he did the right thing for him because at the end of the day he's the one who has to live with his own conscience, and sometimes losing your freedom is not nearly as bad as living with the guilt that you didnt do anything.

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I do agree with the conclusion of his guilt...but

Of course he knew...he stated or it has been stated that he grew increasingly concerned over certain aspects of combat he didn't agree with, which was reflected in the files he took..and as stated earlier, after review the US found no important info that threatened the US other than perhaps 'criminal' practice by the military...to download 700k? files not knowing what they contained, he got very lucky that at least one didn't contain anything that could "aid the enemy" I tend to think if the US had to review the files then he was privvy to more sensitive info he could have handed over that would have...

I tend to think he should be punished but what for I don't really know...and that if war crimes are being committed by the US military, it was his duty to speak out as well as keep silent as he was a soldier in the US army...I think he did the right thing for him because at the end of the day he's the one who has to live with his own conscience, and sometimes losing your freedom is not nearly as bad as living with the guilt that you didnt do anything.

The problem is. If he only exposed the crimes he would be viewed very differently. What he did was take hundreds of thousands of files and gave them to a foreign national.

~Thanato

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I can certainly see your point, but my question is why is Manning on trial, and the corrupt pieces of filth who perpetrated the crimes he exposed not?

Great links by the way! :)

I think that if there is evidence they should be brought to trial also.

If Manning had gone in and just published the documents that actually exposed government abuse and military/war crimes, I say he should be let free. But that is not what he did. He harvested hundreds of thousands of documents and sent them unread to a foreign national who he knew could publish them worldwide.

The problem is. If he only exposed the crimes he would be viewed very differently. What he did was take hundreds of thousands of files and gave them to a foreign national.

~Thanato

Ha ha... Great minds and whatnot....

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Of course he knew...he stated or it has been stated that he grew increasingly concerned over certain aspects of combat he didn't agree with, which was reflected in the files he took..and as stated earlier, after review the US found no important info that threatened the US other than perhaps 'criminal' practice by the military...to download 700k? files not knowing what they contained, he got very lucky that at least one didn't contain anything that could "aid the enemy" I tend to think if the US had to review the files then he was privvy to more sensitive info he could have handed over that would have...

Actually I believe Mr Assange said there were thousands of documents he would NOT post online due to their sensitive nature. Who knows if those files actually held state secrets that the Taliban or Al'Quida might have used against us. Let me see if I can find a source.....

EDIT: Many of the documents released by Wikileaks were redacted...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks

Appears however from what I've just been reading that I can't confirm or denigh that US secret documents have been withheld.

Assange has withheld a lot of documents and has said he will expose great secrets if anyone moves against him. So maybe he does still have the best, juiciest bits still from Convict Mannings sendings?

Edited by DieChecker
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The problem is. If he only exposed the crimes he would be viewed very differently. What he did was take hundreds of thousands of files and gave them to a foreign national.

~Thanato

Firstly I'm not too sure about that, and as for the rest I'm not in dispute,

but the facts are he took files that did show war crimes and the reason he took them so he claimed was because they were proof of war crimes,

I'm not going to argue he knew the contents of every file, nor am I going to comment about stuff Assange says he still has that are of a sensitive nature.

I just wont accept that he didn't know what he was taking and just willy nilly downloaded secret military stuff...

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