A Question Of Integrity, Ctd

Jacob Stokes draws a correlation between Pfc. Bradley Manning's suppressed sexual identity and his decision to go to Wikileaks:

This argument is not to excuse what Pfc. Manning allegedly did, which was against the law and almost surely endangered the lives of Americans and Afghans in the field while revealing little new information about the war in Afghanistan. Nor am I saying that the DADT policy was the sole driver behind Pfc. Manning alleged decision to leak the information. It’s clear that there were a number of factors and motivations at work.

But the [NYT profile] clearly states how Pfc. Manning’s homosexuality isolated him within the force. Manning had joined the army, as the article says, “to try to give his life some direction and to help to pay for college.” He sought guidance from the military and was met with institutional discrimination. Surely the imperative to hide his homosexuality pushed Pfc. Manning further and further into isolation, and he eventually (allegedly) cracked. Pfc. Manning did what he could to gain acceptance within the community of hackers who had befriended and accepted him when the military wouldn’the leaked the material.