Bradley Manning FOUND NOT GUILTY OF AIDING THE ENEMY

[Segami]

Army Private First Class Bradley Manning was found not guilty on Tuesday morning on charges of knowingly aiding enemies of the U.S. by transferring 750,000 pages of military files to WikiLeaks, the Associated Press reported. Manning was tried on 20 other criminal counts, and offered to plead guilty to most of them, but refused to say he helped the terrorist network al-Qaeda.


Manning requested that the judge, Colonel Denise Lind, have the responsibility of determining the verdict, as opposed to a military jury. His attorney, David Coombs, told the court during his closing argument on July 26 that Manning “He “was hoping to spark worldwide discussion” by leaking the information and shed light on U.S. military policy.


Wikileaks founder Julian Assange defended Manning’s actions in an interview with CNN shortly before the verdict was released.


We call those types of people that are willing to risk — not be a martyr but risk being a martyr — for all the rest of us, we call those people heroes,” Assange told host Jake Tapper. “Bradley Manning is a hero.”



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/30/bradley-manning-found-not-guilty-of-aiding-the-enemy/

[Rex]

1. Impossible! I've been told by the Usual Suspects that he is guiltier then hell!

I have no doubt they will conveniently ignore this thread.

[Segami]

13. NO, that they won't. They're switching to a Vaudeville Comedy Act..

..just to cover their a$$es.

[backscatter712]

31. They'll come a little later when the talking points come back from focus group testing. n/t

[WatermelonRat]

2. Impossible!

I was given assurances that this was just a show trial staged by our fascist overlords!

Edit: Wow, it looks like Rex and I share the same tastes in sarcasm.

[Rex]

30. Impossible!

Thanks for making me LOL! Sid too. Sometimes this place is so dam funny...impossible!

[sabrina 1]

32. It was a show trial. Same as the trials of all the Whistle Blowers, Binney, Drake et al.

There should have been no trial.

This country gave a medal to the man who oversaw the torture at Abu Ghraib.

Manning was deserving of that Medal, Sanchez, not so much.

The War and Wall St. criminals are now obscenely wealthy 'elder statesmen, with the assurance that they will never be prosecuted.

They receive praise at the WH.

Manning is a hero. Truly free countries listen to their Whistle Blowers, investigate their claims and they do not throw them in jail.

[morningfog]

3. Impossible! I just want to keep the responses consistent!

[WatermelonRat]

6. Believe it or not

that was entirely a funny coincidence.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. 5 counts of espionage though

Judge found him guilty of that.

[closeupready]

5. The correct ruling. K&R

[SidDithers]

7. Impossible!...

I was told that the fix was in, that Manning wouldn't get a fair trial, and that TPTB would make sure that he was lynched (or was it crucified?).

Sid

[LordGlenconner]

9. Impossible!

I was told Obama would have him drawn and quartered by someone wearing a funny straw hat and then his innards would be fed to Bo the Labrodoodle!

Impossible!!!1!!!

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

34. The real Bradley Manning was personally executed by Obama himself

The smiling youngster you see is a clone.......A CLONE!!!!!

[JoePhilly]

10. Crucifiction was definitely being predicted.

What we'll hear next is that the screams from DU stopped the judge from handing down the death sentence.

Or something like that.

I'll be curious to read the full verdict.

[msanthrope]

12. They held her feet to the fire--still, it is a testament to a fair process. nt

[ljm2002]

22. You are the one promoting a fiction...

...please show a link to just ONE post predicting "crucifiction" (sic).

[JoePhilly]

28. Here ya go ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023371476

[ljm2002]

36. Thanks.

To save others from following another blind link (no associated text, no excerpt), here is the title of Catherina's post:

Happy Whistleblower's Day! Today we celebrate by crucifying Bradley Manning

So you did find one. Good work.

[Segami]

26. Thats silly and catering to delusional inventions.

[JoePhilly]

29. Hey, I didn't just start talking about crucifiction on my own ...

Its right here ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023371476

[sabrina 1]

33. He was crucified. What are you talking about? He SHOULD have received a medal, if we can give

medals to torturers then we should give them to those courageous soldiers who expose the torturers.

But we are not that kind of free country. We honor War Criminals at the White House and we throw heroes, like Manning, in jail and we torture them and ruin their lives and careers and reputations, as was done to Drake and Binney.

Manning was crucified. In the end he didn't get the Death Penalty and we are supposed to be happy about that???

Unbelievable to see the support for the persecution of Whistle Blowers, like him, because he exposed BUSH'S war crimes. Can't believe anyone on DU is defending Bush's crimes, but they are.

[JoePhilly]

38. Crucifiction ends in death.

This is yet another great example where the level of hyperbole is ratcheted up well beyond the point of being useful as a linguistic tool.

And your last sentence is false.

Not that you care.

Just more pointless, over the top hyperbole, with a bit of personal attack tossed in for good measure.

[lordsummerisle]

39. Actually

According to Merriam-Webster, crucify also means: to treat cruelly : torment
which describes how Manning was initially treated.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crucify

[JoePhilly]

41. Now now ... the person I referenced said we were going to CELEBRATE

Whistle blower day by CRUCIFYING (present tense) Bradly Manning.

It was not a reference to what had happened previously, but a prediction of what was about to happen. He was going to be crucified.

Instead, Manning was acquitted (and rightfully so) of the most serious charge against him.

The point of all this of course was that for months we've been told that he'd never get a fair trial and that in the end, the evil government would find him guilty of aiding the enemy. The fix was in.

And throughout, as has become common place on so many topics, the level of hyperbole has been cranked up past 11.

He was going to be crucified. Today.

It didn't happen.

[sabrina 1]

42. Whistle Blowers are supposed to be protected in this country. Manning exposed Bush Criimes.

Last edited Tue Jul 30, 2013, 09:42 PM - Edit history (1)

He has been persecuted, torture, refused bail, as we used to do, see Ellsberg, and held in solitary confinement. We Do have lawss governing the protection of Whistle Blowers, all of which have been ignored over the past seeral years.

You have not even remotely addressed the issues here, but resorted to perosnal attacks, which is expected at this point. Hyberlole does not apply here, you seem to be uninformed about our laws on Whistle Blowing. And because of that you yourself are engaging in hyperbole.

No democracy can survive without Whistle Blowers, and that is why, back when we were a nation that based our laws on reason, Whistle Blower Protection laws were instituted.

Today, in the US, the rule of law no longer applies to that small section of society who have managed to buy influence over our government.

[JoePhilly]

44. As a soldier, Manning faces military

law in a military court. Certainly you are aware that.

[sabrina 1]

49. And what does that have to with the laws that protect Whistle Blowers? Or with the torture

he was subjected to?

The military is not exempt from the laws of this country.

[JoePhilly]

51. The laws that protect whistler blowers, at least those you seem to be

referring to, cover civilians, not military personnel. Military personnel face a different set of laws, and punishments.

And the fact that the military justice system has a different set of laws does not make it exempt from the laws of the country.

When you join the military, you agree to be judged under another, and in many cases much tougher, set of laws.

Which means you have agreed to give up certain legal protections that would otherwise be available to civilians.

And Manning was not tortured.

[sabrina 1]

52. Manning was tortured. And the rules of the military are even more demanding when it comes

to violations of the law. On paper, as we are finding out.

Manning did his duty according to the oath he took and to the rules that do not require that a soldier follow illegal orders.

His oath says that he will defend and protect the US Constitution 'from all enemies, foreign and domestic'. That is all that is required of soldiers, but it covers a multitude of crimes.

So, where in the rules of the Military does it say that a soldier should look the other way when s/he sees crimes against humanity being committed?

And where does it give permission to superior officers to tell a soldier doing his/her duty to be quiet about the crimes they are reporting??

You talk a lot about 'rules' and how different the military is. Are you saying that crimes against humanity are of no concern to the US Military??

[JoePhilly]

53. What illegal order was Manning not following?

Manning was not given an illegal order that he refused to follow. That claim in nonsense.

Manning was not order to "look the other way", about anything. That's you making things up.

Manning could have reported his concerns up the chain of command. He didn't. He released the video and MUCH MORE to a 3rd party, outside the military.

And that's how he broke the law. In no way did he "disobey an illegal law" as you argue.

The laws one is subjected to under military law are more demanding. You acknowledge that fact in your very first sentence.

Then you demand them to be less so in your final sentence.

Manning has the right to report what he saw. And he broke the law via the manner in which he reported it (it and many other things NOT related to the specific crime you mention).

It really not that complicated.

[woo me with science]

47. Thank you.

As you wrote in your next post:

Whistleblowers are supposed to be protected in this country.

Obama has Prosecuted More Whistleblowers than All Other Presidents COMBINED
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/04/obama-has-prosecuted-more-whistleblowers-than-all-other-presidents-combined.html

Obama administration wages legal battle against the whistleblower and union protections of hundreds of thousands of federal employees
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022672473

A broader, outrageous interpretation of the Espionage Act.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023365713

The promises were lies. They are dismantling the Constitution and eliminating the avenues for exposing and addressing government corruption and abuse.

Obama Promises, Including Whistleblower Protections, Disappear From Website
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014549454
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023344766

[sabrina 1]

50. Thank you!

[okieinpain]

48. lol. n/t.

[cali]

8. thank goodness.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

14. Thank Goddess

[hrmjustin]

11. I hope the judge is merciful.

[DirkGently]

15. A sliver of good news. He could still get 50 years.

[William769]

16. Finally a little justice!

[CakeGrrl]

17. The Evil Empire didn't vaporize him.

and he will face consequences of his actions accordingly.

Fancy that.

[msongs]

18. never too late for the executioner in chief to off another inconvenient truth eh? nt

[Hubert Flottz]

19. Good!

Now maybe he will, "Get With The God Damned Program!"

Now let's try Bush, Cheney and Rummy, for knowingly aiding enemies of the U.S., when they made up lies to invade Iraq and causing Osama Bin Laden's crew to move into Iraq and set up operations, shortly after the invasion of Iraq. Or how about the US torture program that inflamed the entire planet and probably helped Al-Qaeda recruit hundreds of kids throughout the Middle East, to join them in their counter war on "terra?"

Let's try congress for letting/helping turn the middle east into a simmering cesspool of terrorism, by voting for every power grab Bush put under their noses for eight years. The Do Nothing Congress, is better than the do anything Bush could scare them into doing congress, who fell in line with the neocon war criminals in charge at the time.

The question I have now is, why is Obama walking down so many of the same destructive paths that the neocons had taken, before him?

[midnight]

20. K&R

[ljm2002]

21. Hallelujah!

Hoping for a light sentence for Bradley.

K&R

[Spitfire of ATJ]

23. There are people in the media who act like the responsibility of the media is to be stenographers...

Back during Vietnam they called the briefings "The 5 O'Clock Follies" because they were a total fiction and a waste of time.

Anyone in the media who calls Manning a "traitor" should not be in the media.

[Warpy]

24. I'm shocked, actually

I thought this would be a kangaroo court devoted to making an example of him to other would be leakers and that he'd spend the rest of his short life in solitary with his balls roasted. Instead, I'm left with respect for military justice.

Now at least we know they won't execute him for treason.

[Mnemosyne]

25. Some justice for a change. nt

[NightWatcher]

27. But guilty of espionage... He spied on the American government for the American people.

[malaise]

35. K & R

although I'm sure he's going to end up in prison for life.

[rhett o rick]

37. As we can see above this decision hasnt set well with some here that would prefer

to see Pfc Manning lynched. They would like to see swift and harsh punishment for anyone that dares speak truth to power. Well they can take heart, he will undoubtedly be imprisoned for a long time. We must preserve the authoritarian state at all costs.
I am disappointed at the lack of empathy from supposedly "politically liberal" people.

[Scurrilous]

40. This verdict has something for everyone!

[NealK]

43. K&R

[Initech]

45. Now lets go after the real enemies of the state: the military industrial complex.

[TriplD]

46. We still don't know who gave the order for the helicopter gunship to fire on the rescuers

or how high up those orders came from.

That it was done so casually suggested it was standard procedure to kill whoever would show up to help the injured.

Unlike Snowden, they were able to make the Manning the story and deflect attention away from what revealed.

He provided prima facie evidence of war crimes that have never been investigated. It is a violation of the Genva conventions to fire on people who aren't taking part in hostilities, such as civilians and aid workers.