There is a lot of talk about the potential for a presidential pardon for poor Bradley Manning. Personally I think there are two hopes of that happening, and one of them is Bob.
There is also some discussion about the potential sh@t tsunami of GOP Faux Nooz BirchBagger outrage Obama would face should he follow that highly unlikely path and actually do the decent thing.
But hey.....maybe someone should give your dear university star pupil Pres a reminder of history.
After all, its not like there aint precedent cases
Back during the black and bleak days of the Vietnam War, and during a conflict marked by outrages committed by both sides against the civilian population of Vietnam, (and Cambodia and Laos), one of the blackest incidents of all was the infamous My Lai Massacre.
On March 16 1968 American infantry soldiers walked into the villages of My Lai and My Khe and massacred between 350 and 500 men women and children in cold blood. The images taken in the aftermath are almost inevitably included in any documentary or book on the war, so horrific was the slaughter that it has been burned indelibly into history.
Eventually, after a failed attempt to cover the incident up and deny it happened, the US Army took action, and following the half hearted investigation they finally singled out 26 soldiers for prosecution in a military court. As usual the top brass were exonerated, while the grunts on the ground faced the music. and eventually, of the 26 charged, only one was actually convicted of these acts of atrocity - 2nd Lt William Calley. Here is what Calley said in his defense:
"I was ordered to go in there and destroy the enemy. That was my job that day. That was the mission I was given. I did not sit down and think in terms of men, women and children. They were all classified as the same, and that's the classification that we dealt with over there, just as the enemy. I felt then and I still do that I acted as I was directed, and I carried out the order that I was given and I do not feel wrong in doing so."
His attempt to use that old soldiers defense failed, and following the Nuremberg principle of "following orders is not a defense", Calley was convicted of 22 counts of pre-meditated murder, and was initially given a life sentence.
And that is where the POTUS stepped in - good old Tricky himself - President Nixon. Nixon, the day after Calley was sentenced, ordered Calley transferred from Leavenworth to his own home pending an appeal. The political pressure continued, and Calley's sentence was first reduced to 20 years, then 10. Then finally in 1974 Nixon issued Calley a Presidential Pardon. Calley walked away, having served 3 1/2 years of house arrest.
Calley expressed no remorse. None. It wasn't until sometime in 2009 that he issued some form of half arsed apology that still played on the old "I was only following orders" cackola excuse for his actions.
There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai. I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry....If you are asking why I did not stand up to them when I was given the orders, I will have to say that I was a 2nd Lieutenant getting orders from my commander and I followed them—foolishly, I guess
Despite the fact there was an outcry by the left at Calley's pardon, and resistance by judicial and military personnel as well, Nixon went ahead and pardoned the unremorseful and unapologetic Calley. That was Tricky though....always happy to deliver a hearty F.U.! to his critics. And a loud and vocal segment of the electorate was also cheering him on, and Tricky did love the applause.....
NOW
Unlike Calley and his men, on whose hands the blood of 500 innocent civilians still rests, the actions of Bradley Manning, by the admission of his own prosecutors, resulted in not one single death and negligible tangible harm. More embarrassment really at getting caught pissing in the mayo with a sneer and covering up the actions of modern day Calley's operating in current theaters of war. Not that the exposure seems to have actually resulted in any real policy changes....just a temporary red face or two.
Unlike Calley little Bradley actually has expressed remorse for his actions and has apologized....many times over.
Unlike Calley and his murderers poor Bradley has spent 3 years behind bars getting mentally and physically tortured by his brutal and uncaring captors, and now faces a lot more years in the same conditions.
SO
Is it so much to ask of a so called progressive President like Obama that he gathers a little Tricky Dicky mojo, puts pen to paper and releases Manning for time served? Especially as he sat there and let the military put Manning through the living hell of Gitmo Lite on US soil for the last 3 years?
Sure he is going to face screams of outrage from the GOP goobers, Faux Noodles and everyone else with Obama Derangement Syndrome. But lets face it, if Obama ordered that Manning be hung, the same hate screechers would bitch about how Obama and the lefties didnt order that he was hung with piano wire or thrashed with birch switches first.
I suggest, my US chums, you take a leaf out of history and deluge the White House with letters, calls, emails and petitions. Remind Obama of Calley and Tricky. Call, write and mail.... but do it now.
After all.....It worked for an unrepentant cowardly murdering scumbag like Calley.