Various media outlets are saying that Bradley Manning has been acquitted of the most serious charge against him in his espionage trial. Even as we drove to work just now, the radio news reported that Manning had been acquitted.
That may be so, but Manning is going to be behind bars for a long, long time; the Herald reports:
A military judge acquitted former US intelligence analyst Bradley Manning of the most serious charge against him, aiding the enemy, but convicted him of espionage, theft and computer fraud charges for giving thousands of classified secrets to the anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks. He faces up to 128 years in prison.
The judge deliberated for about 16 hours over three days before reaching her decision in a case that drew worldwide attention. Supporters hailed the 25-year-old Manning as a whistleblower. The US government called him an anarchist computer hacker and attention-seeking traitor.
The WikiLeaks case is by far the most voluminous release of classified material in US history. Manning's supporters included Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, who in the early 1970s spilled a secret defence Department history of US involvement in Vietnam that showed that the government repeatedly misled the public about the war.
Manning's sentencing begins on Wednesday. The charge of aiding the enemy was the most serious of 21 counts and carried a potential life sentence.
His trial was unusual because he acknowledged giving WikiLeaks more than 700,000 battlefield reports and diplomatic cables, plus video of a 2007 US helicopter attack that killed civilians in Iraq and a Reuters news photographer and his driver.
In the footage, airmen laughed and called targets "dead bastards."
Manning has said he leaked the material to expose the U.S military's "bloodlust" and disregard for human life, and what he considered American diplomatic deceit. He said he chose information he believed would not the harm the United States, and he wanted to . He did not testify at his trial.
Manning pleaded guilty earlier this year to lesser offenses that could have brought him 20 years behind bars, yet the government continued to pursue the original, more serious charges.
Defence attorney David Coombs portrayed Manning as a "young, naive but good-intentioned" soldier who was in emotional turmoil, partly because he was a gay service member at a time when homosexuals were barred from serving openly in the US military.
Coombs said Manning could have sold the information or given it directly to the enemy, but he gave them to WikiLeaks in an attempt to "spark reform" and provoke debate. A counterintelligence witness valued the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs at about $5.7 million, based on what foreign intelligence services had paid in the past for similar information.
Coombs said Manning had no way of knowing whether al-Qaida would access the secret-spilling website, and a 2008 counterintelligence report showed the government itself didn't know much about the site.
The lead prosecutor, Maj. Ashden Fein, said Manning knew the material would be seen by al-Qaida, a key point prosecutor needed to prove to get an aiding the enemy conviction. Even Osama bin Laden had some of the digital files at his compound in Pakistan when he was killed.
There are two schools of thought with regard to Manning. Some people see him as a hero, for taking on the establishment. Others regard him as a traitor for leaking confidential information gathered during his time in the military with the specific aim of embarrassing the US Government.
Bradley Manning will have plenty of time to reflect on his actions as he languishes in a military prison for a very long time. He violated his Oath of Office by stealing confidential military information. We find it somewhat ironic that although he lawyer argued that Manning wanted to "start a debate on military and foreign policy" he chose not to testify at his trial.
Actions have consequences. Bradley Manning is about to face the consequences of his actions, and they are unlikely to be pleasant.
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