(1) Tragic that this is being tried as non-capital case; IMHO, Manning deserves to be executed; (2) for those readers not currently in government and thus not dealing with government computer systems on daily basis, it's impossible to adequately convey how much Manning's treachery has cost us in terms of lost functionality, lost access to information, and increased hassle; (3) further IMHO, Manning is worse that Jonathan Pollard and deserves the worst law permits us to do to him, which is maybe consign him to solitary confinement in supermax facility for rest of his life.
Soldier to Face More Serious Charges in Leak
By SCOTT SHANE
New York Times: March 1, 2013
EXTRACT
Perhaps the biggest battle in what is expected to be a 12-week trial will be over the prosecutors’ attempt to prove the rare charge of aiding the enemy — in the words of the charging document, that Private Manning did “without proper authority, knowingly give intelligence to the enemy, through indirect means.” That charge can carry the death penalty, but since prosecutors have ruled that punishment out, he would face a maximum sentence of life without parole if convicted.
Phi Beta Iota: There are three questions in this case. 01 Was the release of the information in the public interest or not? 02 Was the government itself derelict in failing — after repeated warnings in the 1990's — to provide a communications system that could protect all classified materials from being carried out the door as they were? 03 Has the government lost standing to prosecute this case beyond the 10 admissions?
See Also:
1994 Sounding the Alarm on Cyber-Security
Review: WORM – The First Digital World War
