The sentence of thirty-five years in prison for Whistle-blower Bradley Manning was expected. The military judge, Colonel Denise Lind, had no choice than deter future whistle-blowers. The Commander-in-Chief, President Obama himself, had decided long time ago, in public, before the court martial had even commenced that Bradley Manning “broke the law”.

Military prosecuters had demanded no less than 60 years, so Lind seems to have considered mitigating circumstances. Manning will be 60 when released, long after all documents he had leaked to WikiLeaks would have been declassified. Many of these about 700,000 documents indicate war crimes, U.S. government wrongdoings and embarrassing decade-long diplomatic support for brutal dictators in the Middle East and elsewhere. The documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will keep historians busy for decades.

The role the Obama administration possibly played in last month’s military coup in Egypt, it’s hard to tell without whistle-blowers. On the other hand, his eiertanz about not calling a coup a coup and paying or not paying military aid to the Egyptian junta, after all tax payers’ money, tells volumes. Obama the loser. Manning will keep his chin up.

Sign the petition on We the People, Restore the United States’ human rights record and grant clemency to Pvt. Bradley Manning!

21 August 2013 @ 5:50 pm.

Last modified August 21, 2013.