You seem to think that I (and everyone else defending Manning) expected the prosecutors and the judge to have mercy and let him go with a pat on the head. You've got it wrong. Asking the military to set Manning free is as pointless as asking a hot iron not to fall on a child's face when the cord is tugged. Any curious toddler can be expected to yank on a cable, and any decent adult should be expected to expose concealed atrocities. The thing is, we're asking why the the iron was left out unattended, and you're going "uh, stuff hurts when it falls on you, it's the law of gravity." You're missing the point. Manning's fate isn't the disease, it's the symptom.