@trelayne The kid leaked classified info. He is a criminal. He is certainly not a Daniel Ellsberg. The Pentagon Papers scenario is not comparable to this incident except in very broad strokes. Manning is no hero by a long shot. For one thing, the public opinion of the US Citizenry by and large will not be impacted one iota by the release of anything Manning had his hands on. We all recognize that there are terrible consequences when errors are made by those with heavy firepower. There is an inclination to want to cover your butt, but it is not up to the lowly analyst to make decisions about the dissemination of operational information.
Because of Ellsberg there are processes in place, along with a healthy bit of suspicion on the part of the public, that eventually illuminate the ugly events that happen from time to time. Manning should have kept it to himself.
He deserves punishment to the fullest extent of the law.
Discussion on:
Message 8 of 1
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
