*****BREAKING***** POTUS COMMUTES CHELSEA MANNING'S SENTENCE- TO BE REALEASED IN MAY !

[karynnj]

20. I have mixed feelings

Had she JUST put out the video of the atrocities in Iraq, I would have been extremely in favor of her being treated as a whistle blower - and had she still been tried and sentenced - for her commutation. The Iraqi tape gave credence to allegations well known both in the Arab world and the US, but the problem was the atrocities, not that a film of it was now in the public domain. Also, by the time it was released it was already old news.

However, after that - likely prodded by Wikileaks to give them more -- she dumped lots of raw State Department cables that were then put out by wikileaks. This meant that people who were sources for information in risky countries were identified. It also meant that raw reports were given a credibility, they never otherwise would have had. Some pieces of "information" would be quickly discredited when examined in the context of other information.

You could say that the leaks of the cable did embarrass Secretary Clinton on a few issues. Even more, you can draw a direct line - from the cables embarrassing Clinton on a few issues, to the reaction of the Obama administration being a motive for harming the Clinton campaign.

However, Manning could not control forces that she set in affect once she handed over the content of the cables. I do not see her as a hero, I see her as a very troubled person, who even after she is released will need a lot of help.