OBL was affiliated with AQ, was he not? While you're right that AQ is not a nation-state in the same way a country would be, it would be completely incorrect to

OBL was affiliated with AQ, was he not? While you're right that AQ is not a nation-state in the same way a country would be, it would be completely incorrect to say they're completely unorganized. For crying out loud, they require their "soldiers" to submit expense reports for travel! Someone in that organization has to receive and approve that expense report. I mentioned that Manning volunteered to fight the war in Iraq to point out that there is a certain lack of nobleness in his actions by your own standard. But the 'enemy' he aided was OBL as the article and myself both mentioned. Note that I never said OBL had anything to do with Iraq, or even that there was any justifiable reason for the U.S. to be in Iraq. But none of that gave Manning a reason to help AQ or the Taliban.