Bradley Manning verdict.

[Deleted]

Bradley Manning, the US Army private who leaked thousands of classified documents, has been found guilty of espionage but not guilty of aiding the enemy.

Pte Manning, 25, has been found guilty of 20 charges in total.

He faces a maximum sentence up to 136 years. His sentencing hearing is set to begin on Wednesday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23508662

About time.

[Skroe]

Posted some of this this in the Snowden thread... maybe more appropriate here:

This is actually the best outcome. He'll still spend a long, long time (maybe his life?) behind bars. But it entirely deflates the argument of people who foolishly said that Manning couldn't get a fair trial. Manning chose to have the judge decide his fate rather than a jury. Manning offered to plead guilty to charges that would have put him away for decades. The prosecution tried to make the aiding the enemy case. They didn't. It was still worth the attempt. But heck, you can't win them all; they still got a hell of a consolation prize.

It is much harder, impossible I would say, to claim Manning is a political prisoner in a world where he was acquitted of the only truly political crime he was accused. The rest - enough to send him to jail for the rest of his - was pretty much indisputable fact. To claim anything other than "Bradley Manning, Convicted Criminal" is to be intellectually dishonest at this point. After all, he's going to prison for things he OFFERED to go to prison for (something the "Free Bradley Manning crowd forgets about), but the prosecution declined because they wanted him in prison even longer. And it looks like they are going to get it.

So it's a strong win-win-win. Manning goes to jail for a long time. He acts as a powerful deterrent against leakers. And the hysterical nature of his supporters gets fundamentally undercut by the fact that *gasp* the US Military gave him a very fair trial, one in which he beat the one charge he already didn't essentially admit to.

But indeed, about damn time.

[Rukentuts]

The best part is how he admits to being a criminal.

[Arcanist]

Just sad. The man is a hero because he exposed america's crimes for all to see, and his supporters are allowing him to be caged like an animal? And for what?

[Deleted]

The best part is how he admits to being a criminal.

At least he has that going for him. It takes a stronger person than most to accept when they are wrong, but it isn't a redeeming quality in this case.
I'm surprised they didn't get aiding the enemy and frankly quite disappointed. I don't know how the procedure works, but perhaps the prosecution can appeal and have it added.

[Arcanist]

At least he has that going for him. It takes a stronger person than most to accept when they are wrong, but it isn't a redeeming quality in this case.
I'm surprised they didn't get aiding the enemy and frankly quite disappointed. I don't know how the procedure works, but perhaps the prosecution can appeal and have it added.

Why stop there? Let's push to have him executed.

Ah, good ole mindless american bloodlust.

Infracted - please post constructively

[Deleted]

Just sad. The man is a hero because he exposed america's crimes for all to see, and his supporters are allowing him to be caged like an animal? And for what?

He isn't a hero. He wantonly leaked documents he obviously hadn't read to gauge the potential damage to his country or countrymen. Of course exposing war crimes is noble, but he overstepped his mark and is thankfully going to pay the price for his foolishness.

- - - Updated - - -

Why stop there? Let's push to have him executed.

Ah, good ole mindless american bloodlust.

American bloodlust? I'm English... I just don't like traitors.

[Deleted]

Now go on with the Warcrimes.

[Rumred]

Just sad. The man is a hero because he exposed America's crimes for all to see, and his supporters are allowing him to be caged like an animal? And for what?

A hero to you and some others but there are many more in the US who either A don't care or B think he is a criminal at least or traitor at worst. I think he is a criminal as he broke his oath and broke the laws by leaking information he wasn't allowed to. Don't give me the he is a hero bs and shouldn't go to jail. If i kill a rapist or killer who got off do to a loophole guess what i still go to prison. I will say this tho i respect the guy a hell of alot more then the hipster who flees to country's who do at best the same as the US and maybe far worse. Manning stayed to face the outcome like a man who is gonna preach his morals and principles should.

[Skroe]

At least he has that going for him. It takes a stronger person than most to accept when they are wrong, but it isn't a redeeming quality in this case.
I'm surprised they didn't get aiding the enemy and frankly quite disappointed. I don't know how the procedure works, but perhaps the prosecution can appeal and have it added.

I'm disapointed, but not surprised. The judge did say that the Prosecution would have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, and while their evidence was really strong in my opinion - I mean data he supplied to Wikileaks was found on Osama Bin Laden's hard drive for crying out loud - I could see how an entirely circumstanial case could be made about that. Maybe Bin Laden just downloaded the huge data file and had it kicking around a drive for future reference, and didn't go through all 225,000 pages, for example. It's a hard thing to prove.

Still worth the attempt though. But considering that manning chose to be tried by a judge rather than a jury (a jury of his military peers likely would have judged him harsher), and the judge set the standard that the prosecution had to make, legally it was an uphill battle.

Still as I said, it may actually be better this way.

[Matchles]

Just sad. The man is a hero because he exposed america's crimes for all to see, and his supporters are allowing him to be caged like an animal? And for what?

What of the literally hundreds of thousands of classified reports he leaked that have nothing even remotely illegal in them? Even if you have an argument that a couple things he leaked were illegal activities, it was the broad brush, release of everything that was criminal.

[sizzlinsauce]

He isn't a hero. He wantonly leaked documents he obviously hadn't read to gauge the potential damage to his country or countrymen. Of course exposing war crimes is noble, but he overstepped his mark and is thankfully going to pay the price for his foolishness.

- - - Updated - - -



American bloodlust? I'm English... I just don't like traitors.

why yes because hating someone for exposing you and your filth is so horrible.

[Rukentuts]

Maybe for the charge they actually had to prove the info he gave assisted an enemy.

[Deleted]

It's sad to see a Bradley Manning, a heroic man in a trial.

[Skroe]

Just sad. The man is a hero because he exposed america's crimes for all to see, and his supporters are allowing him to be caged like an animal? And for what?

He is not a hero and didn't expose any war crimes. As the DEFENSE proved and managed to convince the judge of, someone else leaked "Collateral Murder" (if you can call that a war crime, which I do not, but I know you probably do). Bradley Manning just provided Wikileaks with another copy of it.

As for the 225,000 State Department cables... there was nothing in them other than America's professional foreign service acting well... incredibly professionally in an incredibly corrupt world.

[Sky High]

a symbolic victory and nothing less. there was no way he was going to walk away from this.

[Skroe]

why yes because hating someone for exposing you and your filth is so horrible.

What filth? What exactly did he expose we should be embarrassed about? Like this keeps coming up. You state this. Give me three examples BRADLEY MANNING provided Wikileaks with?

The sauciest thing out of his leak was that German civil servants and politicians love trying to sell their influence to US Foreign Service officials in Germany, without being solicited to betray their homeland, because they saw actors in movies behave like that.

[Matchles]

Maybe for the charge they actually had to prove the info he gave assisted an enemy.

He had to knowingly give intelligence that either aided or attempted to aid the enemy. So they either had to prove he actually aided the enemy or acted with the intent to aid the enemy.

[Arcanist]

So if the stuff he released is so mild, then why is he facing a century in a cage?

I'm so embarrassed to be a merican because this fucking country is a problem worldwide. Fucking oppressive warfare/surveillance/coporatist state.

[Skroe]

What of the literally hundreds of thousands of classified reports he leaked that have nothing even remotely illegal in them? Even if you have an argument that a couple things he leaked were illegal activities, it was the broad brush, release of everything that was criminal.

Indeed, that's the greatest irony in this. The Cablegate leak didn't show war crimes. It actually showed, extremely effective and professional government. Sure there is some controversy in there - it is of course, controversial for us to have spies in a country's leadership. But even that was the extreme minority. For the most part, it was the kind of stuff you'd expect from the daily affairs of any well run organization that leaves a paper trail.