This week President Obama commuted the controversial sentence of Chelsea Manning, the former army intelligence analyst-turned-whistle-blower convicted of leaking government secrets.
Manning received a 35 year prison sentence for her crime, but will now walk free in May this year. The commutation has been applauded by some as an injustice put right, whilst others have decried it. The Rev. Franklin Graham joined the chorus of condemnation yesterday, citing the "irreparable damage" done by the "convicted traitor" Manning. The whole situation is a complex and controversial one, but Christians in this instance should celebrate the triumph of truth, free conscience and mercy.
Christians should always celebrate the triumph of truth. Dark deeds must be brought into the light, and a government's security must surely be ultimately subordinate to its moral integrity. Manning committed a crime in revealing state secrets, but she also illuminated dire scandals that were previously unknown.
In 2010 Manning leaked hundreds of thousands of military logs from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to WikiLeaks. Revelations included abuses of prisoners by Iraqi soldiers overseen by American forces, files about Guantanamo detainees held without trial, and showed the civilian death toll in Iraq to have been grossly underestimated.
One damning cable leak provided "evidence that U.S. troops executed at least 10 Iraqi civilians, including a woman in her 70s and a 5-month-old infant, then called in an airstrike to destroy the evidence, during a controversial 2006 incident in the central Iraqi town of Ishaqi," as McClatchy summarised it. Manning's leaks raised serious questions about the deference usually shown to armed forces whose actions are usually beyond public awareness. Her reveal brought egregious war crimes into the light, which as Trevor Timm noted in The Guardian, "helped end the Iraq war."
Critics may protest that the leaks were still irresponsible, and put American lives, and national security, at serious risk. After all, the public could now read about the military's secrets, but so could Al Qaeda. Accountability is important, but the effectiveness of international operations often relies upon security and confidentiality. David French wrote for the National Review that Manning "knowingly and intentionally placed lives in danger by indiscriminately placing our nation's secrets in the public domain."
In defence of Manning, and as the government itself admitted, her leaks have not been tied to any deaths, nor was her intention to put anyone in harms way. Then again, good intentions don't grant a blank cheque to any ethical choice. Manning committed a crime under US law, and it makes sense if there is any sense of order, for her to face consequences for that.
Crime and punishment
Whatever the weight of Manning's crimes however, it was vastly outweighed by the punishment she received. The UN special rapporteur on torture described Manning as having been detained in a "cruel, inhumane and degrading way" for months before even being convicted. After attempting suicide, Manning was placed in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. Once convicted, Manning was given the sentence of 35 years, the longest punishment ever given for a leak conviction.
Is detainment without trial, let alone cruel conditions and alleged 'torture' something Christians can endorse for any individual? Surely not. Christians have historically led the way in criminal justice reform, promoting rehabilitation over punishment, and Jesus said that we would be judged according to how we treat prisoners.
This is a crucial cause for Christians, one of basic social justice. Whatever her crime, Chelsea Manning has been unjustly treated. President Obama's defense that Manning has served a "tough" sentence is surely an understatement. That she has now been granted clemency is good, but that her treatment was ever tolerated shows that criminal justice reform still has a long way to go.
Freedom of conscience
Ultimately, Manning's case raises important questions about freedom of conscience. Christians are called to live peacefully and obey the laws of the land in which we live. But at what point must injustice be addressed? Freedom of conscience is at the heart of the Christian, and particularly Protestant tradition. It is a teaching that underlines individual moral freedom that is never to be given up to any government or higher authority, one to be cherished by those who believe that only God is the ultimate authority.
Glenn Greenwald wrote about Manning on NPR: "[She] volunteered for the Iraq War believing her government's claims about what was taking place, only to get there and see a huge range of atrocities, and she believed that the American people had a right to know what the government was actually doing."
Manning made her choice, believing she was doing the right thing. Now President Obama, who hasn't been generous to whistle-blowers before, has made his own choice to let Manning go free. In doing so, Obama demonstrates the virtue of mercy, one that Christians should understand best of all.
The Manning case raises complex questions about freedom, information and security in a modern democracy. These issues are not simple, but Christians should at least celebrate the good in the Manning case: a hard-earned triumph for truth, justice, and free conscience.
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