Bradley Manning - Sentence A Bit On The Heavy Side?

[Booldawg]

http://news.uk.msn.com/world/manning-cleared-of-aiding-enemy-1

considering he was cleared of most the charges he will still die in prison. Justified or a bit steep?

[youngmafbog]

No, not heavy. He is a traitor happy to potentially risk lives of his fellow countrymen for his own self gratification.

An example has to be set.

[Baldric]

Treason, Life Sentence, sounds Ok!

[jake-the-peg]

I might have to change my mind about publiuc interest defence


I'd forgotton some of these

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/06/04/bradley_manning_trial_10_revelations_from_wikileaks_documents_on_iraq_afghanistan.html


http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/06/us-iraq-usa-journalists-idUSTRE6344FW20100406

The machine gunning from an Apache helicopter killing a dozen people including 2 Reuters reporters


Spying on the UN leadership

The execution of iraqi children shot in the head including a 5 month old child

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/08/31/122789/wikileaks-iraqi-children-in-us.html#.Ufj9pW0pi0Q [graphic]

I think we are being reminded only of diplomatic 'tittle tattle' and not of some of these more important stories

I wonder why that would be

[modeller]

Have you noticed that none of our potential enemies have made much comment about these whistle blowers ? Which is hardly surprising they employ thousands of analyists pouring over every scrap of paper to better understand everything we do. All this (so called trivia according to the freedom of expression brigade ) is of immense value to our enemies and industrial competitors ( it's not just politics and the military ). Had BM wanted to expose any atrocities he could have sent it to the press .

[Quizmonster]

Our apparently being on the same "side" has got to be a first, Modeller, but long may it continue! Cheers.
Appalling behaviour, perpetrated by civilians and military alike, has occurred in every conflict in human history, Jake, and will doubtless continue to do so.

[modeller]

Yes we are when it matters. I have been waiting for someone to query the 4000 bog rolls. In point of fact it was only 4 but that coupled with other scraps of trivia it told us something we wanted to know, but not in the way I described.
My point is Bradley has supplied enough scraps of trivia to keep our opponents happy for years and Bradley was aware of that more than than most servicemen.
I had several friends killed in the middle east because of the disclosure of a simple train timetable despite being marked secret. That was carelessness ,but Bradley has deliberately betrayed his country and who knows what may happen down the line.

[jake-the-peg]

Appalling behaviour, perpetrated by civilians and military alike, has occurred in every conflict in human history,

This was not an argument that held water in Neurenberg QM was it?

It's actually a shockingly complacent and arrogant thing to say in the context of some of these things

We're talking war crimes here

+ American soldiers massacreing children

+ Machine gunning civillians from helcopters

And your response is 'Oh well bad things happen'

I'll bet you wouldn't have the guts to tell that to the famillies of the Reuters journalists killed in that incident

[lightbulb247]

//We're talking war crimes here

+ American soldiers massacreing children

+ Machine gunning civillians from helcopters

And your response is 'Oh well bad things happen'//

yes Jom, but apparently, its only when non-Americans do it that it is than considered a war crime.

[Quizmonster]

How can it be (quote) "shockingly complacent and arrogant", Jake, to state the plain truth or can you actually offer evidence of any conflict where behaviour such as I mentioned did not occur?
In the past day or two, the families of British Military Policemen killed in Iraq have been given leave to 'sue' the MoD on the basis that the men were inadequately provided-for by superiors. What civilians never seem to grasp is that any examination of military activity should always carry the qualifying words, "as things turned out". As it "turned out", they clearly didn't have enough ammunition, for instance, but how were their superiors to know they would be trapped, surrounded by a baying mob of armed civilians and, consequently, how much ammunition WOULD have been enough?
Yes, these men were not slaughtered by soldiers but by a crowd of enraged civilians which is clear evidence of what I said; namely, that it is not just the military who are guilty of atrocities, as you appear to believe.
I'm not suggesting that gunning people down from a helicopter is any better than killing trapped soldiers, but I am saying that it is certainly no worse.
As I said, things such as both these incidents - military and civilian - HAPPEN in wars...end of.
(Since you appear to have got on your patronisingly high horse with me personally once again, I'll leave it at that.)