Is anyone SURPRISED by this?
Tens of thousands of people who hold top secret clearances could “make history” if they violated the oath they took when they were entrusted with sensitive information.
Julian Assange is laughing all the way to the bank while Manning will die in SuperMax. Manning provided 99% of Wikileaks’ content and didn’t get a red cent while Assange used Manning’s theft to raise millions for his “non-profit” - money which is apparently gone and which produced no new content.
The only way i would excuse the release of classified info was if the government had been keeping certain truths about the fundemental nature of the universe or the world from the american people.
Things like: “The existance of Extraterestials, Asteroid about to hit us, Proof of God’s existence... etc”
If the letter is accurate than Manning's intentions were clearly to contravene a system of information security that he was sworn to protect. His motivations for doing so are irrelevant, but this intention to "make history" argues that he had intended to betray his trust from the outset and was not, as his supporters argue, trying to blow the whistle on any particular incident.
Incidentally, none of this is what Clausewitz meant by "fog of war". Manning isn't any better a scholar than he is a spy.
A Code Pink activist wrote a guest column for the local paper (which they printed!) claiming manning was the “victim” and the dirty US Army was the villian, and was torturing poor bradley.
Has anyone seen an explanation as to HOW a Pfc managed to have access to all these documents?
If he is truly the source of the leak, ALL of his chain of command should be under investigation also.