Reply #83: Assange did not have a book deal when Manning provided

[JDPriestly]

the data to him. Please stop spreading that lie.

There is no evidence to my knowledge that Assange knew anything about Manning before Manning blew the whistle.

Also, while I am very disturbed by breaches of loyalty, if Manning had evidence of war crimes, he was required by international treaties and law to disclose that I believe. If you know of some law that cancels out that international law about refusing to follow illegal orders and refusing to hide war crimes, please tell me what it is. I think that the duties of low-ranking members of the government and military were pretty well established during and after the Nuremburg trials.

I have mixed feelings when it comes to Manning's disclosures specifically. I just don't know enough about it. But I would remind you that if a person who covers up what is later deemed in a court to be a war crime becomes a sort of accomplice after the fact.

This is a really difficult case, and what happens to our country in the future will, to a great extent, depend on how this case is handled. If we as a nation have the integrity to acknowledge serious problems that have been made apparent from some of the Wikileaks, then we will be the better for it. If not, we will, as a country, pay a huge price. Cheaters are not free and cannot be.