Perhaps Bradley Manning Should Be Personally Thanking Edward Snowden

Reports on Bradley Manning’s defense team’s strategy in the early stages indicate it was to portray him as an unbalanced young man to whom the military should never have entrusted the job he had, because the military knew he was unbalanced. That’s when I stopped following the Manning proceedings very closely. Now look at the actual closing arguments recently from his attorney:

In his closing arguments, defence lawyer David Coombs said Manning was simply a "young, naive and good-intentioned" whistleblower.

He said Manning was not seeking attention and is willing to accept the price for what he has done.

Mr Coombs said Manning was dismayed by what he saw in Iraq and hoped his leak of secret files would ignite public debate.

"He was hoping to spark worldwide discussion... hoping that things would change based on that information," he said.

During his final argument, Mr Coombs played a video Manning leaked of an Apache helicopter crew gunning down Iraqi civilians.

The video shows the Apache opening fire on unarmed men retrieving a wounded Iraqi, with the crew joking afterward.

Mr Coombs implored the judge to understand it from the perspective of "a guy who cared about human life".

[...]

"He was hoping to spark worldwide discussion... hoping that things would change based on that information," he said.   ABC

Pathetic. Taken right out of the Snowden headlines. And what they should have been arguing from the beginning if it's true. (And even if it's not.)

Manning is not as smart as Snowden, and he went to the wrong people beginning to end.  But he certainly has shown a great deal of stamina and ability to withstand the government's turning of the screws on him, and hold up under overwhelmingly negative public and political  opinion.

Now let's see what the judge decides.