"the prosecution's argument - that releasing such information onto the internet counts as aiding the enemy - has serious implications for anyone leaking classified information in the future".
Manning's trial has been decisive; some people claiming he is a traitor while others firmly believe he is a hero for blowing the whistle on alleged war crimes, civilian casualties and torture. These include a video of an Apache Helicopter attack carried out against a journalist and two Reuters employees carrying cameras that were mistaken as anti tank grenades by the helicopter crew who also opened fire on a van that stopped to assist the men who were hurt, wounding two children inside and killing their father.
According to the BBC's website Manning became disillusioned in late 2009 and began collecting documents that he thought "would make the world a better place if public".
However NPR.org quotes Elizabeth Goitein saying
"I think this case really does illustrate one of the harms of overclassification, which is that when people, day in and day out, who are working with classified information see that there are so many documents that are completely innocuous that are classified, they lose respect for the system," and the world never changes as Manning's court case is steeped in secrecy. Later in the article NPR quotes Michael Ratner, of the center for constitutional rights, in saying "It's hard to hear sometimes. You get no access to any of the court documents, none of the court orders, none of the motions filed — nothing,. "And I'm a lawyer, and I sit in that courtroom and it seems like a completely secret proceeding to me."
the trial is expected to last through the summer and supporters of Manning have already gathered to protest against his court martial.
the Baghdad airstrike video from youtube.
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