

Manning apologizes, said he ‘hurt the United States’ - foobarbazqux
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/manning-apologizes-said-he-hurt-the-united-states/2013/08/14/e1de6cb4-0525-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html

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mcphage
"He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what
kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless
misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two
gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right,
everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory
over himself. He loved Big Brother."

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rgbrenner
Right.. because they already found him guilty.. so if he insists he didn't --
disagreeing with the court -- they'll point out he has no remorse about what
he's been found guilty of, and give him a tougher sentence.

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mpyne
The court didn't find him guilty of harming the U.S. though, they found him
guilty of charges that have zero requirement for actual injury.

So with that in mind there's no reason that Manning should _have_ to say that
he harmed the U.S. And as it turns out you'd have to be pretty blind to come
away with the idea that there was _zero_ injury to the U.S. So in this regard
he's only saying what is plainly obvious.

His _explanation_ makes sense though and certainly seems sincere. He's a
junior enlisted soldier, wickedly smart, trying to make a difference in the
world. He has his own personal issues. The military (and Army in particular)
are, despite his best efforts, practically in a different universe than he is.
And now he sees an opportunity (perhaps with a wee bit of coaching from the
IRC channels he was hanging in) to uphold his oath to the Constitution and
show the American people what their military was _really_ up to.

So far the only part that's different from any other junior enlisted soldier,
sailor, etc. is how exactly he chose to act out on his idealistic moment. Most
do something stupid but incredibly minor and go on to have a normal life.

In this case, Manning's defense team is exactly right: He should never have
been over there, because _his_ particular idealistic outburst had much wider
ranging effects than something like flying up to DC and walking to the White
House and demanding to speak to the Commander-in-Chief (which is something
that has certainly _never_ happened on one of my duty days).

So I feel sorry for him, I really do. I just wish he hadn't been led in the
direction he was, because I don't doubt that he _meant_ well.

Certainly his statement was designed to not piss off the sentencing judge. But
it meshes very well with his earlier statement from when he pled guilty, and
so I see no reason to doubt its truth or sincerity. He meant well, things
didn't go the way he expected they would, and so he offers his mea culpa.

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jamra
Does anyone else notice that the article's picture looks photoshopped? Look at
the right forearm of the person behind him.

~~~
fallinghawks
I thought it looked odd too, but then again all the stuff on his uniform looks
kind of 'shopped too.

