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He broke the law, he should be imprisoned for that.
However our bureaucrats do far too many unethical things, there are too many secrets. America does many un-American acts. These things need to be published from time to time.
I'm glad this thread was started...After reading the traitorous attitudes of many...including some who are prior military...it has completely re-energized my desire to root out those who will not hesitate to breach national security. After reading the comments on this thread...I will certainly be keeping an even more keen eye out on those around me because its evident that many people cannot be trusted to the uphold commitments.
Being in Iraq at the moment.....i'm inclined to hold people accountable. And you can bet the farm that I will.
Go forth super patriot and rat out the subversive citizens in your midst!....LOL
Go forth super patriot and rat out the subversive citizens in your midst!....LOL
You would have made a great Nazi.....LOL
You said what I was thinking; he would have made a good Gestapo agent.
But since we all love to generalize and simplify the issue, it comes down to this,
Nazism is an extreme form of Right-wing government
And
Communism is an extreme form of Left-wing government,
Casper
He swore an unconditional oath. They entrusted him with the information he had sworn to protect; he spilled it. Therefore he should be tried and made to face the full penalty for his crime if found guilty.
I criticize my government as much as the next person. I detest some of the things we do. But this guy just makes me sick. Even seeing his picture makes me want to punch him.
I can't believe some of you are calling him a hero.
Again, a non-military personnal has no clue what they are talking about...
WHen you become a military person, and get the access he did...he signed MANY MANY papers that said "don't do this" and he went against them...by doing exactally what he said he would not do....
Beleive it or not....your FREE SPEECH (to a point) is taken away in the military....
If I have a choice between doing what's right and following military orders, I'll do what's right. My allegiance to the truth and my adherence to what's ethical won't be quashed by forced obedience and fear.
Why does the military require people to sign their rights away? Because they know what they'll ask one to do will cause moral anguish. Which in and of itself is enough for me to dismiss the military entirely. I owe it nothing.
Secrecy is one of humanity's worst tendencies and I'll have no part in promoting it.
He swore an unconditional oath. They entrusted him with the information he had sworn to protect; he spilled it. Therefore he should be tried and made to face the full penalty for his crime if found guilty.
I criticize my government as much as the next person. I detest some of the things we do. But this guy just makes me sick. Even seeing his picture makes me want to punch him.
I can't believe some of you are calling him a hero.
There's what's right and then there's following orders. If someone stood up during WW2 and said, No I'm not going to herd people into ovens, would you feel the same way toward them as you do toward Manning? They too probably were threatened with punishment if they didn't do what their 'superior' officers told them to do.
Imagine if everyone paid attention to their moral compass instead of giving in to the threat they are put under. There is no signed document that has more weight than one's conscience. Recognizing the importance of doing the right thing makes you a hero. Following orders and giving into the threats made against you, not so much.
If you feel OK with a world where people are sworn to secrecy, then my opinion here will have no influence. But, the vast majority of the world wants the truth and will break whatever vow they made to reveal it.
There's what's right and then there's following orders. If someone stood up during WW2 and said, No I'm not going to herd people into ovens, would you feel the same way toward them as you do toward Manning? They too probably were threatened with punishment if they didn't do what their 'superior' officers told them to do.
Imagine if everyone paid attention to their moral compass instead of giving in to the threat they are put under. There is no signed document that has more weight than one's conscience. Recognizing the importance of doing the right thing makes you a hero. Following orders and giving into the threats made against you, not so much.
If you feel OK with a world where people are sworn to secrecy, then my opinion here will have no influence. But, the vast majority of the world wants the truth and will break whatever vow they made to reveal it.
None of what you said applies. He wasn't issued an unlawful order nor was he witness to any crime (despite what you may take away from some of it). Even if he was, I'm sure they have some sort of process in place for such things. Furthermore, no one coerced him into agreeing to the terms of his clearance. I'm sure, even after enlisting, he went through an enterview and signed another contract before he was ever given access to classified or sensitive information. During that interview I'm sure they explained to him very clearly that if had any misgivings about safeguarding whatever he might learn, no matter what, that if he couldn't handle that type of commitment he should let them know right away so that they could terminate his background check and reassign him to a different field. He agreed to their terms...then proceeded to do the exact opposite of that to which he had agreed. One of the news articles I read said that even during his initial training he had been reprimanded for talking shop with his friends. The guy had issues from day one. And he's hardly doing any of this for moral reasons. Nothing he did made the world a better place. It sounds like he had an axe to grind.
I think they should free him and give him a medal. Exposing evil done in our name is a good thing.
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