Conversations of the Yesterday
I find it quite amazing that Americans again were angry about the pardoning and commuting of sentences of individuals by the current President of the United States and his Administration.
I am sorry, once we stole defeat from the jaws of victory in the Middle East. Now, before you pile on and decide that I have no clue what I am talking about, I would invite you to read some of my prior posts about insurgencies and the counter insurgency required to defeat them.
Well yesterday the Obama Administration commuted the sentence of a Soldier who took an oath not only to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, but also to follow the orders of those appointed above them. This failure to follow orders and then blanket forgiveness is total BULLSHIT. This to me is against the very essence of good order and discipline required of members of the Military. To the retired members of the Military that I know this was a surprise. To me, fully expecting the Commander in Chief to provide a pardon for the former Secretary of State, with that as a highly likely probability, nothing surprises me with this Administration anymore.
The statement heard by me from more than one person is that Mr, Ms, of Ze Manning is a traitor, he, she, it betrayed their post and therefore ones country in a time of war. People died due to the information and knowledge provided by Manning. There is the problem, when one volunteers to join the United States Military, they give up some of their inalienable rights, this is required in the true service of others. What this commutation of sentence does is undermine good order and discipline within the ranks. This effort by the President undermines and actually could prove to be irreparable to sustain the good order and discipline required for establishment of an effective and efficient military. So a second and third order of effect of commuting the sentence of a transgendered traitor will be determined in the future, since being a TRAITOR now is no longer a death sentence during times of (proxy) war, what and who will be the next to feel they are more important than others, realistically ALL and therefore more important than the mission. So the new military is going to full of individuals who can now refuse to be part of the unit and it will all be ok. I personally CANNOT abide by this decision. I DISSENT.
To be quite honest though, I would be more open to a pardon of Snowden prior to PVT, MR, MS, ZE, Manning. Snowden was a hired contractor with no prior military experience and therefore could not and cannot to this day understand, comprehend and therefore appreciate the Culture that is the United States fighting forces. The commitment made to each other is not seen in our culture by most citizens, so it can also not be fully understood and comprehended.
I do not blame the Public for not being outraged of this commutation of Manning’s sentence, how can they understand the damage that this has done and will continue to do in the future. They cannot, because the American Public has not been part of something bigger than itself since the end of WWII.
If you look at the whole process, it comes down to equal justice under the law. It comes down to value. By commuting this sentence provided under military law, we have established that some lives are more valuable than others, not when you are just a number, which is what it comes down to with each of us. SSN? MIL ID? DL#? Library card? It comes down to Honor, Integrity and being part of Team. I do not know what the future holds, but I can state conclusively that when Honor, Integrity and the Team are compromised, we all take one BIG HIT.
This HIT will require medication, rehabilitation, and most likely surgery (most likely brain) for the survival of the greatest fighting force the world has ever know. Why? Two words. WEAK LEADERSHIP.
This would be own of those times that indecision would be better than a decision, especially to a Commander in Chief that claims to be at peace but yet lives continue to be LOST in an UNDECLARED AND THEREFORE UNLAWFUL WAR and our grandkids’ treasure continues to be spent. TYRANNY!! TYRANNY!! TYRANNY!!
Birds of a feather may flock together.
Traitors and Spies used to swing together.
Maybe they still do.
Time will tell.
Will have to see if PVT Manning, the Obama’s and the Clinton’s ever get together.
After all, it does depend on what the meaning of is, is, right Bill?