Is Bradley Manning A Hero or a Traitor?

With all these "leaks" of information just curious what everyone thinks about the other famous "leaker".


Is Bradley Manning a hero or a traitor?

Traitor.

Are these leakers endangering American lives in the field? As Robert Novak did to Valerie Plame? Are Libertarians torn by love of Country and love of Freedom? Or however they are now framing it.

Like I said in threads on Snowden, I think the hero/traitor dichotomy is too simplistic. It just another version of "us vs. them" and other types of black and white thinking that erase the nuances of humanity. I think Manning was more irresponsible and, perhaps, motivated more by personal grievances than Snowden is. That makes Manning's leaks less "honorable" than Snowden's, in my opinion. However, I am glad that I have the information that he leaked so that I have more specifics on problems with the U.S. government.

In sum, Manning might be a hero, a traitor, neither or both. The labels are too simplistic - they try to fit a variety of issues into a single box.

Gathering up secret files, publishing them and showing them to a foreign government is quite clearly espionage, which is frequently indulged in by traitors. I'd consider Snowden to be a traitor.

TheDemSocialist said:

With all these "leaks" of information just curious what everyone thinks about the other famous "leaker".


Is Bradley Manning a hero or a traitor?

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The Apache video gave the USA a swollen black eye and they're gonna get even. That video alone is justification for what Manning did. You have to wake up the citizens of this Country to the real world activities of our gov't acting in our name. He put the TRUTH on their Mass Media screens. The gov't doesn't want you to see the real world.

DaveFagan said:

The Apache video gave the USA a swollen black eye and they're gonna get even. That video alone is justification for what Manning did. You have to wake up the citizens of this Country to the real world activities of our gov't acting in our name. He put the TRUTH on their Mass Media screens. The gov't doesn't want you to see the real world.

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In days gone by, when the Apache video would have been a figment of Nostradomas' imagination, were these sort of USA government operations happening? Were they worse then Apache and Snowden? Has the USA not always behaved in this manner since pre-Monroe doctrine and the Louisiana Purchase? The only thing to change is the technical age we're now in and the increased percent of phony partisans.

TheDemSocialist said:

With all these "leaks" of information just curious what everyone thinks about the other famous "leaker".


Is Bradley Manning a hero or a traitor?

Click to expand...

Neither. Assuming he is guilty of what is claimed, he is a criminal.

:shrug: he took actions designed to harm his fellows in the middle of a war by equipping opposition with better knowledge. Anyone pretending that he did so out of any kind of moral outrage are either uninformed (as Manning had no idea of the content of what he was putting out there, he was just mass-downloading to CD's and sending them on with no screening whatsoever), or are desperately jumping through mental hoops to justify supporting someone who had a negative impact on an effort they disapprove of.

of the two - traitor. Shoot this idiot and be done with it.

Manning was in uniform and broke at least a couple of oaths. If he really wanted to change thing he should have completed his enlistment and became politically active and got the bad guys voted out. In no case could he ever reveal secrets. Manning is not honorable or noble in any way, he is a scummy traitor.