Bradley Manning Did Not Hurt the United States

[Montecresto]

Although I do not even agree with Snowden disclosing classified information, yes, Manning is a POS. He arbitrarily released hundreds of thousands of classified documents. Not to be a whistleblower, but to seek fame and seem important. He decided that he and only he was the intelligent one to determine what should be classified and what shouldn't be. Manning got off light for what I would have given him.

And I don't think he's a POS. but you know about opinions. Anyway, a much more important point in all of this is that if (and of course it was not) the material Manning made public was so sensitive, so very important, so damaging to the US, why in the hell was it so insecure that a private could freely disseminate it, hahahaha ha what a joke. Again Robert Gates said, it did no harm to the US other than embarrassing us. Which one more time is what happens when your caught misbehaving.

 

[Montecresto]

Whistleblowers like Manning and Snowden need to be protected. They are doing the right thing by keeping our government accountable to the people for its transgressions. I find it very strange that people who are supposedly for limited government power are so agreeable with its ability to keep secrets from us. A government that can hide its violations is essentially above the law. This will not do at all.

Exactly, very good point. For one thing there are a lot of military/ex military here and you know what fraternity that can be. I was on another message board with a guy who worked (presently) for the NSA, he was never objective on the subject of NSA abuses.

 

[Montecresto]

Scooter Libby, through Robert Novak, leaked Valerie Plames identity which likely cost the lives of informants around the world and he received a slap on the hand.

 

[OldWorldOrder]

People say it embarrassed the US? What was embarrassing? It was just damaging.

Bye, buddy, have fun in Leavenworth.

 

[ecofarm]

I find it very strange that people who are supposedly for limited government power are so agreeable with its ability to keep secrets from us.

You believe that there should not be any classified info or operations?

A government that can hide its violations is essentially above the law. This will not do at all.

What violations were exposed?

 

[Montecresto]

People say it embarrassed the US? What was embarrassing? It was just damaging.

Bye, buddy, have fun in Leavenworth.

Well we can listen to OWO or we can listen to someone like Robert Gates who really knows.

 

[Dapper Andy]

POS?? I suppose we should just kill whistleblowers. Actually anytime anybody pulls the curtain back on government wrong doing, we should just kill them. Btw, Robert Gates said Bradley Manning didn't harm the US at all, but did embarrass us. When wrong doing is exposed it is embarrassing.

What really makes Bradley a whistle blower?

I think the sentence was excessive but it's not like Bradley identified wrong doing then attempted to show the world what he uncovered. He just uploaded a bunch of files without knowing what was in them and some of them continued wrong doing.

 

[Dapper Andy]

Scooter Libby, through Robert Novak, leaked Valerie Plames identity which likely cost the lives of informants around the world and he received a slap on the hand.

Can you really substantiate that in any reasonable way?

 

[Montecresto]

You believe that there should not be any classified info or operations?



What violations were exposed?

Secrets of wrong doing, Iran Contra, Fast and Furious, gun running to al Qaida extremists, NSA warrantless wiretapping, maybe things like, what were the classified documents Sandy Berger smuggled out in his underware. And so much more.

 

[ecofarm]

gun running to al Qaida extremists

hahaha

 

[Montecresto]

What really makes Bradley a whistle blower?

I think the sentence was excessive but it's not like Bradley identified wrong doing then attempted to show the world what he uncovered. He just uploaded a bunch of files without knowing what was in them and some of them continued wrong doing.

As you noted, they did contain wrongdoing.

 

[Montecresto]

Can you really substantiate that in any reasonable way?

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted Tuesday of lying and obstructing a leak investigation that reached into the highest levels of the Bush administration.
Libby is the highest-ranking White House official to be convicted of a felony since the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s. The case brought new attention to the Bush administration's much-criticized handling of weapons of mass destruction intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war.
The verdict culminated a nearly four-year investigation into how CIA official Valerie Plame's name was leaked to reporters in 2003. The trial revealed that top members of the administration were eager to discredit Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who accused the administration of doctoring prewar intelligence on Iraq.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17479718/...convict-libby-four-five-charges/#.UhUB44y9KSM

 

[Montecresto]

Key Players in the CIA Leak Investigation
Compiled by washingtonpost.com
Updated: Tuesday, July 3, 2007; 11:53 a.m.
On Oct. 28, 2005, a grand jury handed down a five-count indictment in the 22-month-long investigation into whether White House officials illegally leaked the identity of Valerie Plame, a covert CIA agent, in retaliation for public criticisms made by her husband, Joseph Wilson IV, about the Bush administration's case for invading Iraq.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/plame/Plame_KeyPlayers.html

 

[John Liberty]

Read more @: https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/blog/2013/08/bradley-manning-did-not-hurt-united-states

In reality the Bradly Manning leaks did no damage to the US government. All it did was embarrass the government and it revealed several war crimes and hwo our government functions in normal life and some more corrupt arrogant ways as well. [/FONT][/COLOR]

Exactly! Neither did Snowden...They revealed that the United States isn't the "perfect infallible" country that it claims to be. The U.S has committed war crimes and the U.S has committed privacy violations. It says a lot about where our country is heading that people are screaming for these men to be put in jail...or even put to death!

You know, the Ron Paul quote in my signature rings quite true for this topic. "Truth is treason in the empire of lies." What are Snowden and Manning wanted for? TREASON! What did they do? Tell the truth.

 

[John Liberty]

They broke the law.

So did the United States!! That's what Snowden and Manning revealed. If Snowden and Manning breaking a law constitutes them having to go to jail, than Obama should go to jail too. Hillary Clinton should go to jail. The NSA Director should go to jail. They all broke laws, but they aren't being put on trial for breaking laws. That my friend is what we call hypocrisy.

 

[Dapper Andy]

As you noted, they did contain wrongdoing.

Unbeknownst to him, though.

 

[Dapper Andy]

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted Tuesday of lying and obstructing a leak investigation that reached into the highest levels of the Bush administration.
Libby is the highest-ranking White House official to be convicted of a felony since the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s. The case brought new attention to the Bush administration's much-criticized handling of weapons of mass destruction intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war.
The verdict culminated a nearly four-year investigation into how CIA official Valerie Plame's name was leaked to reporters in 2003. The trial revealed that top members of the administration were eager to discredit Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who accused the administration of doctoring prewar intelligence on Iraq.

Jury convicts Libby on four charges - politics | NBC News

I'm talking about how you said it LIKELY killed people.

Is that actually based on anything?

 

[John Liberty]

As I said... Obviously we know, in hindsight (no pun intended), that the vehicle was not a threat. But it was perfectly reasonable for the crew, who had taken fire in the active combat zone, to think so at the time.

I want to ask you a question. If a man were to walk down the street and see a video camera pointed at him thinking it was gun pointed at him, then shoot the person wielding the video camera...what would happen? He would go to jail! If they found that it was not a meditated murder, then he would still be charged with manslaughter.

Now I am pretty sure they did not mistake video cameras for guns. They look nothing alike. But let's say for a moment that in a certain light that video cameras could be construed as guns. They still killed innocent civilians! You cannot deny that part! If a normal American citizen would have done that, he would go to jail! Why are government officials and military soldiers above that??

 

[ecofarm]

I want to ask you a question. If a man were to walk down the street and see a video camera pointed at him thinking it was gun pointed at him, then shoot the person wielding the video camera...what would happen? He would go to jail! If they found that it was not a meditated murder, then he would still be charged with manslaughter.

It was an active firefight in a combat. It was not "walking down the street".

Your context drop is laughable.

The moral of the story... If one witnesses a firefight in a combat zone, don't drive into the middle of it with heavy equipment. If ones does, one is a ****ing idiot and will probably die.

 

[ecofarm]

So did the United States!! That's what Snowden and Manning revealed

Then why hasn't anyone been arrested? Massive conspiracy theory?

 

[Montecresto]

Unbeknownst to him, though.

Oh no, he was very aware.

 

[Montecresto]

I'm talking about how you said it LIKELY killed people.

Is that actually based on anything?

Well just think about Valerie' contacts and the covert nature of a spy's life and how it could spell disaster for people in foreign countries, informants, double agents and the like when it became public knowledge that she worked for the CIA.

 

[Dapper Andy]

Oh no, he was very aware.

He read all 500,000 Iraq war reports, 250,000 diplomatic cables, etc?

:roll:

 

[Dapper Andy]

Well just think about Valerie' contacts and the covert nature of a spy's life and how it could spell disaster for people in foreign countries, informants, double agents and the like when it became public knowledge that she worked for the CIA.

So then the answer would be "no".

You can't substantiate it.

 

[Montecresto]

I want to ask you a question. If a man were to walk down the street and see a video camera pointed at him thinking it was gun pointed at him, then shoot the person wielding the video camera...what would happen? He would go to jail! If they found that it was not a meditated murder, then he would still be charged with manslaughter.

Now I am pretty sure they did not mistake video cameras for guns. They look nothing alike. But let's say for a moment that in a certain light that video cameras could be construed as guns. They still killed innocent civilians! You cannot deny that part! If a normal American citizen would have done that, he would go to jail! Why are government officials and military soldiers above that??

Not to mention the fact that the entire war, based on a lie was a completely illegimate excercise and every killing involved, of course and especially, the hundreds of thousands of civilians, constitute crimes against humanity of which Bush was convicted in Malaysia. And you might note how close to home Bush stays, I think he's had issues in Canada and Switzerland, too. Anyway, your arguing with a rather un-objective and calloused individual and won't get far.