Skeptic Bob
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2014
- Messages
- 16,626
- Reaction score
- 19,488
- Location
- Texas
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Libertarian - Left
Any proof of that or is that like the catch all 'National Security' garbage bin... eace
I can give one first hand account. For the record, I think overall we are better off for the leak and I supported commuting her sentence, though not a pardon.
I was working at the US Embassy in Tripoli, Libya at the time of the Manning leaks. In the leak were some cables that our Ambassador allegedly wrote that painted Qaddafi in a less than favorable light. The host country is responsible for ensuring the safety of Ambassadors. After the leaks the security assigned to our Ambassador began allowing dangerous individuals to get close to our Ambassador. In fact obviously staged events that were meant to intimidate our Ambassador began happening. In the end the State Department was forced to recall the Ambassador back to the states for his own safety, leaving us without an Ambassador.
In fact, we still didn't have one when the revolution happened and we had to orchestrate an evacuation from Libya for all the Americans. Pulling the strings we had to pull to make the evacuation happen was an order of magnitude more difficult without an Ambassador. Had it been delayed by another 36 hours we likely would have been captured as that is when armed men took over the embassy.
No, nobody reportedly died as a result of the leaks. But my family and I likely came within 36 hours of death or being taken hostage as a result.
And I encountered less serious issues that cost money and man hours as a result of the leaks. And I was just one warrant officer.
My main problem with Manning's actions is she did a bulk leak. She leaked things she didn't even read. Bad unintended consequences are a danger even when you know what you are leaking. They are almost guaranteed when you blindly leak.