Bradley Manning Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison

After more than three years already spent in confinement while awaiting trial, former Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison today for what has been described as the largest ever leak of classified government documents.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence him to a minimum of 60 years in prison, arguing that the leaks endangered lives and interfered with the government’s diplomatic efforts.


“There may not be a soldier in the history of the Army who displayed such an extreme disregard” for his mission, the prosecutor, Capt. Joe Morrow, said in court on Monday, according to CNN. Manning “felt he alone was knowledgeable and intelligent enough to determine what information was to be classified.”

He should have gotten 90 years.  Good riddance.

Thatll piss off the libs

Bradley Manning: I want to live as a woman 

Bradley Manning, the Army private sentenced to military prison for leaking classified documents, revealed he intends to live out the remainder of his life as a woman.

“I am Chelsea Manning. I am female,” the Army private wrote in a statement read on TODAY Thursday. “Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition.”
 
“I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility),” Manning continued in the statement. “I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the opportunity to write back.”
Link

This is one piece messed-up piece of garbage.  He's in prison and now wants the taxpayers to pay for this 'hormone therapy'.  I cant put into words the disgust I have for this vile piece of humanity. 

 Ron Paul: Release Bradley Manning from prison immediately

Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said Thursday that Army Pvt. Bradley Manning should be released from prison immediately because he has already been subject to an “excessive” amount punishment for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents. 

The former Republican congressman said Manning, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison, should not escape punishment altogether but has already served three years and endured torture. 

“Most military personnel who are caught committing war crimes never receive any penalties,” Paul said in a Reddit question-and-answer session. “I think he should be released now, [and] that he has done us a great service by letting the people know the truth.”
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/318377-ron-paul-manning-should-be-released-now#ixzz2clrEU8rZ
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

   See why I think Ron Paul is a nut?  He's had to endure 3 years of torture?   So they took Mannings clothes away from him (if that really happened) ...maybe to prevent him from committing suicide?  Or maybe Paul thinks we water boarded this sicko?  He's been in the brig (not prison) for 3 years and Paul thinks that's enough???

Dennis324 wrote:
He should have gotten 90 years.  Good riddance.

Yes, we should have given him a harsher sentence than what many murders and rapists get. That'll teach him to embarrass the government by highlighting our misdeeds....

Imo, murderers and rapists should get life at hard labor.  Also traitors.

Is it really being a traitor to the country to point out the wrong doings of that country.....or is it being a true patriot.....


Manning is a friggin weirdo though. Maybe I just ain't supposed to understand the whole gender identity crisis thingy.

Course being wierd isn't gonna sway my judgement on someone. Yeah he is fair game to smart ass comments, but I do not believe he should be locked away for 35 years.....especially if that individual only brought wrongdoings to light.

Marconius wrote:Is it really being a traitor to the country to point out the wrong doings of that country.....or is it being a true patriot.....


Manning is a friggin weirdo though. Maybe I just ain't supposed to understand the whole gender identity crisis thingy.

Course being wierd isn't gonna sway my judgement on someone. Yeah he is fair game to smart ass comments, but I do not believe he should be locked away for 35 years.....especially if that individual only brought wrongdoings to light.

Imo, there are legal ways to right the wrongs if one thinks the country is breaking the law.  Manning chose not to do that.  Were it me, I would have used my 'chain of command'.  Barring that, I would have contacted my congressman or Senator.  What I would not have done is stolen top secret information and given it to foreigners operating a website.

But really, its very unlikely that Manning did all this because he thought the US was breaking law.  He had a huge grudge to grind, as evidenced by all the background on this case and his history with the Army.  Manning is a weirdo who should have been kicked out long ago.
 
Latest:
 

A day after being sentenced for leaking classified material, Bradley Manning revealed that he was hoping to have a sex change.
In a written statement read on NBC News's 'Today' programme, Manning said he wants to start hormone therapy as soon as possible and asked supporters to refer to him by his new name, Chelsea, and to use the feminine pronoun.


But Manning's demands may set up another legal fight - the army said it does not provide hormone treatment or sex-reassignment surgery


Manning's lawyer said he will force the army to accommodate his client.


"I'm gong to become the smartest person on ensuring that a soldier who is in confinement who has gender dysphoria gets appropriate medical treatment. I know that recently there was a story, I think 'Courthouse News' ran it, where a Fort Leavenworth spokesperson said, 'We don't have certain treatment, that's not what we give.' I'm going to change that," said David Coombs.  LINK

I wonder if this lawyer is an activist?  Sounds like it.  This is what happens when the WH and the Pentagon cave into the demands of freakin' weirdos.

Yes, he had an axe to grind. Yes, he did break the law in what he did, but laws that hide unjust acts are not laws to begin with.

Let's say he did go to his rep. What are the chances his rep already knew and was in cahoots??? Even if the rep did fight for Manning, we both know that by the time the documents were released, they would have been redacted to point where no wrongdoing would have been evident. At that point, Manning's life would have been ruined anyway and nothing would have come to light. The wrongdoings would never stop.

Whistleblowers help keep those in power in check. We cannot try to stifle them or liberty takes a dive.

To me, this is not a cut and dry issue. Lot's of gray area here.

Now the hormone treatment thing is just silly. Sorry how you feel Mr. Manning, but there will be no hormone treatment for you in Leavenworth(whether I feel he should be there is besides the point). Buck up and be a soldier. Being a soldier means accepting that there is no special treatment. It means realizing that your citizenship is on hold and you are nothing more than US government property. If a sunburn can land you in front of a board for damage to government property, I would think hormone treatment can too.

Chelsea might be in the right place in prison

Marconius wrote:Yes, he had an axe to grind. Yes, he did break the law in what he did, but laws that hide unjust acts are not laws to begin with.

Let's say he did go to his rep. What are the chances his rep already knew and was in cahoots??? Even if the rep did fight for Manning, we both know that by the time the documents were released, they would have been redacted to point where no wrongdoing would have been evident. At that point, Manning's life would have been ruined anyway and nothing would have come to light. The wrongdoings would never stop.

Whistleblowers help keep those in power in check. We cannot try to stifle them or liberty takes a dive.

To me, this is not a cut and dry issue. Lot's of gray area here.

Now the hormone treatment thing is just silly. Sorry how you feel Mr. Manning, but there will be no hormone treatment for you in Leavenworth(whether I feel he should be there is besides the point). Buck up and be a soldier. Being a soldier means accepting that there is no special treatment. It means realizing that your citizenship is on hold and you are nothing more than US government property. If a sunburn can land you in front of a board for damage to government property, I would think hormone treatment can too.

I see now that Wikipedia has changed its page on Manning to "Chelsea Manning".     PC BS.

Ok, I see your point about his rep.  Otoh, in this case Manning was from Oklahoma.  A red state.  Both Senators are GOPers who likely would Luv to get something on Obama.  So...  But even if his senators were uncooperative, I'm sure there are other ways to blow the whistle without just dumping the info to a foreign news leak website.  I mean, he may as well handed the info over to the Russians like Snowden did, or to Islamic radicals.

Sir Pun wrote:Chelsea might be in the right place in prison

He can get all the 'boyfriends' he wants in prison, though I dunno how prevalent it is in a military prison.  Also...don't military prisons still make inmates do hard labor?  I hope so.  He'll be too worn out to date in prison.  They oughta work this little wussy like they did in "Cool Hand Luke".

What exactly were the injustices he exposed?

He leaked the death of Reuters reporters in a helicopter attack
He leaked info on child abuse, by civi contractors, that was covered up by our government.
He leaked torture methods(including people being hung on meat hooks).

Lots of stuff really.

http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/what-did-wikileaks-reveal

Now,

How exactly did he put our security at risk and how exactly did he betray our country???

Manning was ultimately charged with 22 offenses, including aiding the enemy, the most serious charge. This includes:

any person who, without proper authority, knowingly harbors or protects or gives intelligence to , or communicates or corresponds or holds any intercourse with the enemy, either directly or indirectly; shall suffer death or any other punishment as a court-martial or military commission may direct.

The case was made that Manning did this (indirectly I suppose) through turning over classified information to Wikileaks.

Now...that article of the UCMJ has stood for decades.  Practically no one was complaining about the UCMJ before the Manning case.  Manning violated the UCMJ and should have, and was, held responsible.  Imo, the military was in its rights NOT to overlook this violation and Manning should consider himself lucky to not be facing a firing squad.

The material he released included videos of the July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike and the 2009 Granai airstrike in Afghanistan; 250,000 United States diplomatic cables; and 500,000 army reports that came to be known as the Iraq War logs and Afghan War logs.

I'm sorry fellas, I'm not trying to be argumentative, but this guy, imo did aid the enemy.  Maybe not intentionally (which is probably why he wasn't executed).  But the material he release could and probably did give incentive for more jihadists to be recruited. He released this info to a website which he knew would be posted all over the world.

Perhaps the US military did do some things we don't like or don't want to happen.  All the same, Manning turned all that info over and should suffer the penalty to the full extent of military law.

Well, to be technical, if we use the legal definition of treason, high up officials, including the President would be guilty.

Under Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution, any person who levies war against the United States or adheres to its enemies by giving them Aid and Comfort has committed treason within the meaning of the Constitution. The term aid and comfort refers to any act that manifests a betrayal of allegiance to the United States, such as furnishing enemies with arms, troops, transportation, shelter, or classified information. If a subversive act has any tendency to weaken the power of the United States to attack or resist its enemies, aid and comfort has been given.

The Treason Clause applies only to disloyal acts committed during times of war. Acts of dis-loyalty during peacetime are not considered treasonous under the Constitution. Nor do acts of Espionage committed on behalf of an ally constitute treason. For example, julius and ethel rosenberg were convicted of espionage, in 1951, for helping the Soviet Union steal atomic secrets from the United States during World War II. The Rosenbergs were not tried for treason because the United States and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II.

Under Article III a person can levy war against the United States without the use of arms, weapons, or military equipment. Persons who play only a peripheral role in a conspiracy to levy war are still considered traitors under the Constitution if an armed rebellion against the United States results. After the U.S. Civil War, for example, all Confederate soldiers were vulnerable to charges of treason, regardless of their role in the secession or insurrection of the Southern states. No treason charges were filed against these soldiers, however, because President Andrew Johnson issued a universal Amnesty

Given our current situation with "the war on terror" waged against AQ, giving weapons and aid to AQ, which we are doing at this very moment, is by definition......treason.

I wont argue the Treason article.  Its hard to prove someone of treason.
 
However, you said you were a veteran right?  then you know that servicemen fall under the UCMJ.  And Manning violated the UCMJ.  Simple as that.  Most non-vets don't know anything about the UCMJ so they don't really get how the military can prosecute this guy.

Dennis324 wrote:I wont argue the Treason article.  Its hard to prove someone of treason.
 
However, you said you were a veteran right?  then you know that servicemen fall under the UCMJ.  And Manning violated the UCMJ.  Simple as that.  Most non-vets don't know anything about the UCMJ.

Yeah, I cannot argue with that.

Btw...what branch were you in and where'd you serve? 

I was USAF (a PJ, but not rescue). Served all over(OPSEC). Stationed outta Europe for most of it. Wanted to be a simple mechanic(and many times I just go with that....unless I am talking to a fellow serviceman), but they made it sound soooo damn good when they offered PJ to me.

Holy crap man, you jumped out of planes?



That's pretty cool!  Not for me, but cool still.  And stationed in Europe?  that's pretty good duty.  Hawaii would have been good too.  Lol!  I never got to Hawaii though.  But for me, Europe would have been a great place to serve.  Maybe Germany.

Dennis324 wrote:Holy crap man, you jumped out of planes?

PJs jumped out of helicopters didn't they?

How can u be a nin rescue pj? Ur not talking abt FAC stuff r u?

I still find it interesting tht the air force has snipers lol.

Sir Pun wrote:How can u be a nin rescue pj? Ur not talking abt FAC stuff r u?

Two types of PJ's(PJ stands for para-jumper). I was basically nothing more than what used to be called a foward observer back in WWII. Think Tyrese's character in Transformers. Technically CCT is the name. Nothing special really.

...and yeah, I was good putting rounds down range, at a distance.....that and my physical condition was why they spent time selling mme on it.