"High Crime!"

Have any of you ever been betrayed by a friend? Has a buddy or girlfriend ever betrayed a confidence, or gone behind your back and deliberately hurt you? I remember in the "Godfather Part II", Freddo, Michael's brother, setting up Michael for assassination by an organized crime rival. Michael was crushed by the fact that his own brother could commit such a treasonous act against him. When I was sworn in to the Army, my oath said to follow lawful orders, and protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. This oath should not be taken lightly by a prospective soldier, sailor, airman, or marine. Every act you take in uniform is supposed to protect America and your fellow service persons.

United States Constitution:

Section 3: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them AID and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

I recently wrote about the Wikileaks Chief, Julian Assange, a self proclaimed genius, and social activist. His irresponsible organization has put the lives of all of our fighting men and women in jeopardy because of the leaks of confidential information to the ENEMY! He is not a citizen of the United States; he perpetrates this criminal behavior from the safety of a foreign land. Those men and women who will die because of his acts are his responsibility, yet he will probably never answer for their sufferings and deaths. He is not an American! He has no allegiance to this country; he's taken no oath.

Bradley Manning, 22 years old, Private First Class, working for intelligence in Baghdad, handling secret and sensitive security information for America, has been linked to the Wikileaks scandal. He is alleged to be Wikileaks contact and "leaker" to those sensitive, secret documents that were stolen from our country and given to our enemy.

The question I am raising: is Private Manning guilty of espionage or treason? If he is guilty, will the Army prosecute him for these crimes? Did these acts give AID to our enemies? It is reported that radical Muslim groups are already going through these document, searching for names of American sympathizers. If they are found, their lives will most certainly be forfeit.

There are some people who are so foolish, they believe Manning to be some kind of hero; in reality, Manning used his position of trust to betray the good people of the United States of America. I know he is only 22 years old, a shame, but age has no bearing on the gravity of his offense. Private Manning should be charged with treason; his acts gave AID TO THE ENEMY! I have no doubt that American lives will be lost because of Private Manning's treasonous acts. Ask yourself this question: in 1943, what would have been the fate of someone in the military for giving information to the NAZI regime? We are looking at a comparable act!

An example must be made of this soldier. Too young; sorry about that; you were young when you committed the crime. Some things are called "high crimes", treason is a high crime; especially from someone who has sworn to protect our nation. The maximum punishment must be sought in this instance. Perhaps, the next potential traitor will think twice!