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In contrast to this board, I am general in favor of whistleblowers. A look through history:
1515-1552: Bartolomé de las Casas becomes the first noted whistleblower. He advocated to King Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor on rights for natives in the West-Indies
1777: Samuel Shaw blew the whistle on the torture of British POWs by Commodore Esek Hopkins, leading to the creation of the first whistleblower protection law
1893: Edmund Dene Morel brought to light the brutal conditions of Belgian King Leopold II's autocratic reign in the Congo (do NOT look this up if you don't want to have a bad day)
1933: Smedley Butler. I'm going to spend more time on this, because you deserve to know who this man was. When he died, he was the most decorated Marine in US history and advanced to the highest rank in the Marine Corps at the time (major general). He is an elite club of Medal of Honor winners. He is in the even more elite club of men who have won two Medals of Honor. He has 3 other medals for heroism, and 16 medals overall. Why is he on a list of "traitors?"
Before we get to that, let's go through a historical odd tale. In additional to what I'll talk about below, Butler went before a congressional committee and talked about the Business Plot. He claimed that wealthy businessmen approached him asking him to lead a fascist veterans association and overthrow Franklin D. Roosevelt in a coup. The scheme was concocted by Gerald C. MacGuire and Bill Doyle, and while never a credible threat to the country later historians did come to the conclusion the MacGuire likely did have such a scheme (though not the resources and ability to pull it off). But that is not what makes him a whistleblower.
He is on this list for his book "War is a Racket."
Back to your regularly scheduled broadcast:
1942: Jan Karski, Polish resistance fighter, meets with FDR, the UK Foreign Secretary, and the Polish shadow government to discuss witnessing concerning conditions for the Jewish people and the extermination camps. His report was not taken seriously.
1967: Peter Buxtun reveals the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. With the promise of giving away free healthcare, 600 black men in rural Alabama signed up for an unethical study by the Public Health Service and Tuskegee College. They were told they were being treated for bad blood, never being told they had syphilis and never receiving treatment or the free healthcare promised. Penicillin had been known as an effective cure for syphilis since the 1940s, and the program didn't end until 1972.
1971: Daniel Elsburg leaks the Pentagon Papers. This revealed that the US government had enlarged the Vietnam War by secretly bombing Cambodia and Laos, raiding north Vietnam, and other actions. It revealed a motive for the War of containing China, not helping our Vietnamese allies. It showed that four US administrations had misled the public. Eisenhower worked against the Geneva Accords, JFK knew of plans to dispose of Ngo Dinh Diem, Johnson had plans to expand the war while campaigning on ending it.
1971: Frank Serpico reports on systemic corruption in the NY police department, with millions in bribes and payoffs.
1971: Perry Fellwock reveals the existence of an ultra-secretive US organization and its worldwide surveillance network. That organization was the NSA.
1971: Vladimir Bukovsky reveals how the USSR used psychiatry to imprison political dissidents in mental hospitals.
1972: W. Mark Felt, aka Deep Felt, leaks information on Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal.
1973: A. Ernest Fitzgerald reports on cost overruns on Lochkeed's C-54 cargo plane. He later finds out about being the well known $400 hammer and $600 toilet seats.
1986: Mordechai Vanunu reveals Israel's clandestine nuclear program.
1992: Mark Whitacre reveals a price-fixing cartel at Archer Daniels Midland.
1996: Jeffrey Wigand shows that tobacco company Brown & Williamson deliberately manipulated nicotine levels to create addicts.
1998: Marc Hodler reveals the Olympic bid scandal for 2002 Winter Olympics.
I could go on to the many, many more in the 2000s and 2010s but I think that I have made this post long enough. Whistleblowers are usually hated and reviled upon blowing the whistle, but history almost always shows that if they are truthful their actions were justified and to greater good of the public. I believe this is the case with Chelsea Manning, and I believe the actions taken were appropriate. Of note, I draw a difference between Manning and Snowden/Assange.
Manning pled guilty. Manning's statement at the trial: "I am sorry that my actions hurt people. I'm sorry that they hurt the United States. I am sorry for the unintended consequences of my actions. When I made these decisions I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people." Manning did not flee the country, and accepted guilt. While I believe whistleblowing is usually morally right, I also believe it is legally right to accept the consequences for your actions if you break the law. Snowden fled the country to avoid prosecution and continued acting in Russia to the US's detriment. Regardless of the correctness of his leak, his actions afterward were wrong.
Assange published Manning's leaks, but he isn't even American (Australian). He's been accused of sexual assault and as far as I'm concerned there is a big difference between a US citizen whistleblowing because they believe it to be right, and a foreign citizen publishing that information because they believe it might hurt the US. Good will is vital. I do not believe Assange has that good will or the moral justification necessary for whistleblowers to be accepted.
Given the fact that Manning plead guilty and did serve time (in arguably inhumane conditions), I believe a commutation and not a pardon is acceptable. She was guilty, and still is. A pardon makes no sense, because the crime was real. But we should recognize the difference between her actions and those of whistleblowers that flee the country to avoid prosecution, and perhaps aren't acting out of the same altruism. If Snowden comes back or gets caught, he should expect to spend the rest of his life in jail, but we can acknowledge both the illegality of Manning's actions and the correct way she dealt with the aftermath.
1515-1552: Bartolomé de las Casas becomes the first noted whistleblower. He advocated to King Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor on rights for natives in the West-Indies
1777: Samuel Shaw blew the whistle on the torture of British POWs by Commodore Esek Hopkins, leading to the creation of the first whistleblower protection law
1893: Edmund Dene Morel brought to light the brutal conditions of Belgian King Leopold II's autocratic reign in the Congo (do NOT look this up if you don't want to have a bad day)
1933: Smedley Butler. I'm going to spend more time on this, because you deserve to know who this man was. When he died, he was the most decorated Marine in US history and advanced to the highest rank in the Marine Corps at the time (major general). He is an elite club of Medal of Honor winners. He is in the even more elite club of men who have won two Medals of Honor. He has 3 other medals for heroism, and 16 medals overall. Why is he on a list of "traitors?"
Before we get to that, let's go through a historical odd tale. In additional to what I'll talk about below, Butler went before a congressional committee and talked about the Business Plot. He claimed that wealthy businessmen approached him asking him to lead a fascist veterans association and overthrow Franklin D. Roosevelt in a coup. The scheme was concocted by Gerald C. MacGuire and Bill Doyle, and while never a credible threat to the country later historians did come to the conclusion the MacGuire likely did have such a scheme (though not the resources and ability to pull it off). But that is not what makes him a whistleblower.
He is on this list for his book "War is a Racket."
I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.
1942: Jan Karski, Polish resistance fighter, meets with FDR, the UK Foreign Secretary, and the Polish shadow government to discuss witnessing concerning conditions for the Jewish people and the extermination camps. His report was not taken seriously.
1967: Peter Buxtun reveals the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. With the promise of giving away free healthcare, 600 black men in rural Alabama signed up for an unethical study by the Public Health Service and Tuskegee College. They were told they were being treated for bad blood, never being told they had syphilis and never receiving treatment or the free healthcare promised. Penicillin had been known as an effective cure for syphilis since the 1940s, and the program didn't end until 1972.
1971: Daniel Elsburg leaks the Pentagon Papers. This revealed that the US government had enlarged the Vietnam War by secretly bombing Cambodia and Laos, raiding north Vietnam, and other actions. It revealed a motive for the War of containing China, not helping our Vietnamese allies. It showed that four US administrations had misled the public. Eisenhower worked against the Geneva Accords, JFK knew of plans to dispose of Ngo Dinh Diem, Johnson had plans to expand the war while campaigning on ending it.
1971: Frank Serpico reports on systemic corruption in the NY police department, with millions in bribes and payoffs.
1971: Perry Fellwock reveals the existence of an ultra-secretive US organization and its worldwide surveillance network. That organization was the NSA.
1971: Vladimir Bukovsky reveals how the USSR used psychiatry to imprison political dissidents in mental hospitals.
1972: W. Mark Felt, aka Deep Felt, leaks information on Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal.
1973: A. Ernest Fitzgerald reports on cost overruns on Lochkeed's C-54 cargo plane. He later finds out about being the well known $400 hammer and $600 toilet seats.
1986: Mordechai Vanunu reveals Israel's clandestine nuclear program.
1992: Mark Whitacre reveals a price-fixing cartel at Archer Daniels Midland.
1996: Jeffrey Wigand shows that tobacco company Brown & Williamson deliberately manipulated nicotine levels to create addicts.
1998: Marc Hodler reveals the Olympic bid scandal for 2002 Winter Olympics.
I could go on to the many, many more in the 2000s and 2010s but I think that I have made this post long enough. Whistleblowers are usually hated and reviled upon blowing the whistle, but history almost always shows that if they are truthful their actions were justified and to greater good of the public. I believe this is the case with Chelsea Manning, and I believe the actions taken were appropriate. Of note, I draw a difference between Manning and Snowden/Assange.
Manning pled guilty. Manning's statement at the trial: "I am sorry that my actions hurt people. I'm sorry that they hurt the United States. I am sorry for the unintended consequences of my actions. When I made these decisions I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people." Manning did not flee the country, and accepted guilt. While I believe whistleblowing is usually morally right, I also believe it is legally right to accept the consequences for your actions if you break the law. Snowden fled the country to avoid prosecution and continued acting in Russia to the US's detriment. Regardless of the correctness of his leak, his actions afterward were wrong.
Assange published Manning's leaks, but he isn't even American (Australian). He's been accused of sexual assault and as far as I'm concerned there is a big difference between a US citizen whistleblowing because they believe it to be right, and a foreign citizen publishing that information because they believe it might hurt the US. Good will is vital. I do not believe Assange has that good will or the moral justification necessary for whistleblowers to be accepted.
Given the fact that Manning plead guilty and did serve time (in arguably inhumane conditions), I believe a commutation and not a pardon is acceptable. She was guilty, and still is. A pardon makes no sense, because the crime was real. But we should recognize the difference between her actions and those of whistleblowers that flee the country to avoid prosecution, and perhaps aren't acting out of the same altruism. If Snowden comes back or gets caught, he should expect to spend the rest of his life in jail, but we can acknowledge both the illegality of Manning's actions and the correct way she dealt with the aftermath.
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