Bradley Manning and Nobel Peace Prize

Uh... I don't know, probably what happens to most guys after they get out of prison. It's not like he's a threat to the government once he's out. Your paranoid insistence that he's going to have an accident is rather ridiculous. (And even if it does happen, well, the military has the whole "death before dishonor" thing, so it wouldn't even necessarily be anyone's fault but his in that case. That article also stated that they basically have a suicide watch on him to prevent just that while he's in prison.)

Best-case scenario for Manning is that everybody forgets he ever existed, which, given how the news hasn't talked about WikiLeaks or Assange and co. for years, seems to be going along nicely.

Hate to break it to you, but the US has a 67% recidivism rate. So most guys go back to prison after they get out(mostly because they have no skills/job prospects, and "return to crime")...

So...what's Bradley's skill set demand on the job market? If he was placed high enough to be able to get his hands on confidential data, he must have some techincal skills worth note.

I think part of this whole scandal is that he wasn't that high up. Wasn't he only a private?

I.e. the US Government security is shit. Which isn't surprising, given how often the CIA fucks up...

Well then, the next most common thing that happens to men once they get out of prison? I can't imagine that this is a typical crime for most people. *shrug* Mostly betting he goes on to live in obscurity, which after this debacle is over is probably what he would prefer.

@Flyboy He was demoted to private after assaulting anoter soldier, IIRC. Before that he was an SPC.

Define "assault."

It was stated earlier he punched an analyst in the face. It's apparently on his wikipedia page.

Huh. I bet they wish they had kicked him out then and saved themselves all this trouble.

News article about Manning talking about the assault.

He apparently punched a female superior in the face, though it makes no mention of his demotion, unfortunately. (I do remember it being mentioned in another article that I can't find right now)

edit: ninja'd

edited 12th Feb '12 10:08:16 PM by Acebrock

If the military is dominated by people who would allow civilian deaths and such, then maybe the strongest military in the world deserves to be knocked down a peg or three. A few movies and a visit with Oprah should make sure that the generals are more moral and do not allow fanaticism or murderous behavior in their ranks.

Abuses in a military need be exposed. Not covered up for ten or twenty years.

edited 12th Feb '12 10:17:11 PM by NickTheSwing

People are given them all the time(so long as their check of them being "trustworthy" checks out*

From what it looks like, based on all the information he was able to get his hands on, Manning was just a glorified secretary with a security clearance(they do have these in the military) rather than him having a technical job...

edited 12th Feb '12 10:22:41 PM by Swish

Reality Is Unrealistic. You have got to be kiddding me....A lady face-punching, officer assaulting, SECRITARY?! Got hold of classified US Military Data?!??!!

edited 12th Feb '12 11:17:26 PM by Natasel

"Got hold of"?

All the reports that were written(and taken by Manning) were filed somewhere. For future reference. But someone had to file them. That "shitwork" isn't for Generals, Lieutenants, or even Sergeants. It's for the file-clerk private. But that private needs a security clearance to even touch those papers. He's not supposed to read them, but most do(out of the curiosity of "why is this classified," more than anything else).

I don't know what Manning's actual job was... But based on the files he got a hold of, and gave to Assange, it was most likely secretarial. If so, he still shouldn't have known what was in the reports because even though he had the clearance to handle them, he wasn't supposed to read them. Let alone, make copies and give them to someone who doesn't have clearance to handle them to begin with....

edited 12th Feb '12 11:33:32 PM by Swish

I don't see how Manning could be reduced to a miserable existence post-jail. If he lets someone ghost-write him an autobiography, he'll never have to work a day in his life. It'll definitely sell.

That, or maybe he gets offered a job with Wikileaks, but if that were to happen, my guess is that they would have the presence of mind to at least have him move to some other country because in the US, getting a job from them after all this, he'd be prime target for nationalist fanatics.

I seriously do not think Manning will get out of jail alive. There would be far too many guys inside whatever jail he ends up in who would jump at the chance to solve a problem for the United States government in order to get either a reduced sentence or more privileges. Even if he spends all his time in solitary he isn't safe.

There are guys who would not need any incentive from the government. I am sure there are more then enough thugs willing to shank him for the point of infamy to their name.

I think the normal thugs would be told to back off. There are ways to ensure that no matter how tough the thugs are. Even bad guys love their mamas, after all.

Believe it or not, Tam, the US government probably doesn't go around paying people to assassinate others. Especially a guy that doesn't pose a continuing threat. He's done one thing, that he has ensured that he will never be able to do again due to never being able to get that kind of clearance ever again. Or indeed, being let near any kind of important government or military facility.

I am also pretty sure this guy is going to be in a military prison, separate from standard thugs.

edited 13th Feb '12 9:12:52 PM by AceofSpades

That doesn't make any sense.

At all. I'm really inclined to think you're trolling at this point.

Assigning complete malevolence to the US military/government is one thing, simultaneously assigning complete idiocy is just too hard to swallow as a valid point of view.

Makes more sense to me than any claim he will survive his sentence. And the fact that you can not be sure that the US government would not do it makes me wonder if you are trolling as you call it.

And who says U.S. governments cannot be completely idiotic let alone stupid? Ever heard of Vietnam? Or being led down the garden path by people claiming, falsely as it turned out, that Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime had massive amounts of chemical and biological weapons? We all know how that worked out.

So he will be around thugs with military training? Which I already knew. Oops.

edited 13th Feb '12 9:26:04 PM by TamH70

Of course they can be stupid. Obviously.

What I objected to was you calling them Stupid Evil.

Let me explain this out. If someone kills Manning, everyone and their friend hears about it. It's a disaster for the US. Even if it was an accident, it looks like an assassination. PR nightmare.

As is, Manning has already faded into obscurity. If I were a high-ranking US military officer, I'd try and make sure Manning was totally safe and healthy. Because it's in the military's interest that his jail time is uneventful. And that's why an assassination would be Stupid Evil.

Tam, you are being fucking idiotically paranoid about this. The man will not be killed in prison. He's going to be in reach of military guards at pretty much all hours of the day. The US government also isn't inclined to give any other military prisoner time off or anything else a prisoner might ask for in this case.

It simply isn't worth it, and you're assuming a lever of both stupidity and malice that doesn't exist. You're also comparing apples to oranges, because Vietnam and Wikileaks are in no way comparable. Nor is the search for chemical weapons in Afghanistan. (That was stupid, yes, but I believe Bush genuinely thought those were there. Still this isn't even remotely comparable to Manning's situation.)

Mm. Actually, Vietnam and WikiLeaks are vaguely comparable, given the Pentagon Papers.

I still don't think he'll be killed. Just blacklisted. Which is... probably just a peg lower, given how... incorporated the world is, but...