A year after the entire Wikileaks explosion, the conversation that started it all -- a chat between hacker Adrian Lamo and intelligence analyst Bradley Manning -- have been released by Wired.
Far from being the intelligence win or ammunition in a national security case, what these logs reveal is the sad, troubling humanity of both of these young men. Throughout history, though, it's always been the case that men were willing to betray their countries for small things, the personally troubling issues that they needed to resolve somehow.
Treason can often be terribly banal, and yet still so damaging.
While the logs make you feel for both Lamo and Manning, it must still be said that whether or not Manning was hurting inside, he still betrayed his country and still needs to be punished for that action. There were other ways -- beyond putting national security at risk -- that he could have sought help and attention.
Sigh.
Read also:
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- Should America tolerate Wikileaks or destroy it like any other national security threat?
- Revisiting Wikileaks/Lamo and why antiwar fascists suck
- Adrian Lamo, Wikileaks, and what it means to be a patriot
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