Statement on President Obama’s Commutation of Chelsea Manning’s Sentence

Attributable to Matthew Keys

Rec’d 1/17/2017 8:35:39 PM

I applaud President Barack Obama for commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manning, a former soldier whose decision to disclose thousands of documents, videos and other media related to America’s global affairs contributed shed new light and contributed significant discourse to the country’s geopolitical involvements — and at great sacrifice to her own person.

Ms. Manning’s decision to leak the material — and confess to an individual masquerading as a “journalist” who would later turn against her for his own personal gain and celebrity — has needlessly cost her much of her own life. Her decision to release material she felt would contribute to a greater understanding of America’s affairs in the international sphere came as no small sacrifice to the life and time she has spent behind bars.

President Obama was right to recognize Ms. Manning’s contribution to history, and was right to recognize that said contribution far outweighs any perceived harm that may have been caused by her decision to release the material in an open forum.

In particular, Ms. Manning’s leaking of a 20-minute long video filmed from a military airship was instrumental in providing new and accurate details on what caused the death of two Reuters photojournalists during combat operations in Iraq. The video, which remains classified today, has never been released publicly by the U.S. Government — despite numerous official and unofficial requests from, among other people and organizations, Reuters. Had it not been for Ms. Manning, the American public, and indeed the world, may never have known the full scope of what happened that day, and it is unlikely there would have been any consequences for it.

That example is just one of many in which Ms. Manning’s actions helped contribute to a greater understanding of America’s affairs on a topic that has largely been — and is still largely — shrouded in secrecy. As President Obama enjoys the remainder of his time in office, I strongly encourage him to consider taking action on behalf of other individuals who have followed in Ms. Manning’s footsteps.