A New Perspective on Private Manning

[Valin]

Power Line:

John Hinderaker
7/31/10

Pfc. Bradley Manning is the only suspect in the Wikileaks scandal that may have endangered both American soldiers in Afghanistan and their Afghan allies. He is now in custody awaiting court martial. Manning worked in intelligence and was stationed for a time outside Baghdad. I have no insight into whether Private Manning is guilty or not; presumably the facts will come out in his court martial. I am struck, however, by the lack of curiosity the American press has shown about Private Manning.

Manning's mother is British. She married an American and lived in the U.S. for some years; Bradley was born here. His parents divorced and she brought him back to Wales in 2001. The Telegraph took the trouble of interviewing some of Manning's friends and family members in the U.K., and checking out his Facebook page. The results are interesting.

First, Private Manning is openly homosexual. Did you know that? I didn't; if the fact has been reported in the American press, I've missed it. Moreover, Manning was an activist who demonstrated against Congress's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. His Facebook includes a photo of him at a gay rights rally, holding a sign demanding equality on "the battlefield." Further, he has posted anti-military comments on his Facebook page. An uncle describes him as "an introverted kid who loved computers and was fired up politically." That's a tantalizing reference that is left hanging. Whether he was fired up about something other than gay rights remains unknown, for the moment. ........(Snip)

From the The Telegraph


We've all seen this

Have we seen these?


Bradley Manning on a gay pride march.


Bradley Manning with sister Casey, Thanksgiving 2006.


Bradley Manning holding up a placard demanding equality on 'the battlefield'



Don't Ask....Don't Tell?

[pollyannaish]

You've got to be kidding me.

 

So this guy is doing this to what....help gays in the military? I swear, sometimes I think activists are idiots. If he wants to help gays become part of the military he should work hard to become a heroic/honorable soldier, not sabotaged the institution he was a part of.

 

If his whole mission was to pull the military/country down, he isn't even good at that because he didn't get high enough in the organization to do the kind of damage he could have done had he had a little discipline.

 

Sorry buddy, but you are also a failure as an activist. You are a too bit punk, with a chip on your shoulder and it create a rebel without a strategy.

 

I am sad for any gays in the military who understand honor and duty and love their country—because this guy just confirmed every negative stereotype of that community there is (that for them life is focused only on sex and sexual identity). By doing that, he made the lives of those who do not contribute to that stereotype worse. It's truly a shame.

[Valin]

You've got to be kidding me.

 

So this guy is doing this to what....help gays in the military? I swear, sometimes I think activists are idiots. If he wants to help gays become part of the military he should work hard to become a heroic/honorable soldier, not sabotaged the institution he was a part of.

 

If his whole mission was to pull the military/country down, he isn't even good at that because he didn't get high enough in the organization to do the kind of damage he could have done had he had a little discipline.

 

Sorry buddy, but you are also a failure as an activist. You are a too bit punk, with a chip on your shoulder and it create a rebel without a strategy.

 

I am sad for any gays in the military who understand honor and duty and love their country—because this guy just confirmed every negative stereotype of that community there is (that for them life is focused only on sex and sexual identity). By doing that, he made the lives of those who do not contribute to that stereotype worse. It's truly a shame.

 

 

No real disagreement here.

 

As someone who spend sometime working around and with classified materials, I do have some questions however for the Army.....ie. What the hell were you guys doing!

[pollyannaish]

No real disagreement here.

 

As someone who spend sometime working around and with classified materials, I do have some questions however for the Army.....ie. What the hell were you guys doing!

 

 

Absolutely. I understand that there is probably some pressure to keep recruitment numbers up....but....

[pinz]

(Why worry about secrecy in the military, as long as diversity is maintained???)^sarcasm

[ErnstBlofeld]

The person who gave Private Manning his classification clearance must have been out of his/her mind. Has the military's standards have degenerated so much that they are giving clearance to anyone,especially those who were security risks like Private Manning? With his history,attitudes toward the military and his open homosexuality in the military he should been given a security clearance of a dishwasher. I would thrown him out immediately,no questions asked.He was a ticking time bomb. I blame the Obama administration of their attitudes of allowing lax security clearances to be given out.

[Valin]

Weekly Standard: Pentagon: WikiLeaks Founder Lied About Doc Review

John Noonan

7/30/10

 

Though this is a little late in the game for fact checking, the Defense Department just fired out an important clarification in the WikiLeaks case:

 

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2010 – A claim by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that the U.S. government had an opportunity to review stolen military documents published on the group’s website is untrue, a Pentagon spokesman said today.

 

“It’s absolutely false that WikiLeaks contacted the White House and offered to have them look through the documents,” Marine Corps Col. David Lapan said.

(Snip)