Military Times readers overwhelmingly disapprove of President Barack Obama's controversial decision this week to commute the prison term of Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning, who was serving 35 years for providing national secrets to the website Wikileaks.
Nearly 90 percent of those who responded to a nonscientific online survey indicated Obama's move was wrong. Just 7 percent expressed support for the decision, while the remaining 3 percent indicated that they were neutral or had no opinion.
Manning, a transgender woman known as Bradley Manning when arrested in 2010, is set to be released in May from the military's super-max prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter, an Obama appointee, joined congressional Republicans in opposing Obama's decision. In an interview on CNN, Carter said: "All I'll say about the Manning case is I did not support the direction the president went but he’s made his decision."
House Speaker Paul Ryan called the move "outrageous." "Chelsea Manning’s treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation’s most sensitive secrets," the statement reads. "President Obama now leaves in place a dangerous precedent that those who compromise our national security won’t be held accountable for their crimes."
Obama defended the reduction of Manning’s sentence, saying that his initial sentence was "very disproportionate" compared to those of other leakers.
"I feel very comfortable," Obama said, "that justice has been served and that a message has still been sent."
