It's probably unpopular here, but I think Manning leaked what he did not as a principled whistleblower, but as a confused/spurned/etc. kid. And deserves substa

It's probably unpopular here, but I think Manning leaked what he did not as a principled whistleblower, but as a confused/spurned/etc. kid. And deserves substantial punishment for betraying his oath as a member of the military and TS clearance holder for ultimately personal reasons (and doing it in a stupid way). Snowden, on the other hand, was quite principled. One might argue he went about it the wrong way (should have gone directly to Congress or a federal judge, or leaked less info), but I think what he did is quite defensible. So, I'd stand with Snowden, but I think Manning deserves to be in prison. I was expecting 20-50 years sentence, dishonorable discharge, etc. He got 35. I think 10-20 would have been fair, but the general sentencing based on other similar crimes pushes for higher. There should have been a greater reduction than 112 days for how he was treated in pre-trial detention, possibly a halving of his ultimate sentence. I also predict PFC Manning will serve less than 5 years, and not because he's released early.