In Free Bradley Manning by William Rivers Pitt in Truthout, Pitt argues that if Manning committed the crimes he is accused of, then Manning followed the constitution and the precedent set by the Nuremberg trial.
During the Nuremberg trials in the aftermath of World War II, accused war criminals were often heard to claim, "I was only following orders," as a means of justifying their savage and barbaric activities. The excuse was rejected out of hand, further enshrining the idea that soldiers and officers are more than mere automatons who are expected only to do as they are told. Criminal acts, even in a military situation, are not to be condoned, coddled or tolerated. Men were hanged by the judges at Nuremberg to emphasize the point.And here is Bradley Manning, who like every enlisted American soldier, swore an oath to support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against enemies both foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same. That same oath requires the oath-taker to follow the orders of the president and superior officers, but if those hanged men at Nuremberg prove anything, it is that unlawful orders are by definition void, and should not be followed if the oath sworn to the Constitution is to mean anything at all.
Put simply the orders given to Manning were/are unlawful. The documents he leaked show the unlawful orders of Presidents Obama and Bush as well as the unlawful orders and behavior of many in the DoD as well the CIA. Manning had a responsibility under his oath to the constitution and the precedent set by Nurenberg to disclose the documents providing evidence of the unlawful orders and behavior.
Manning should not only be freed, but be given a hero's welcome.