[Tupelo]

I find this case very puzzling. I have heard Manning’s rank listed as Private and as Private First Class, so I don't know which is correct. BUT a Private is an E1 and a PFC is an E2. The two lowest ranks in the US military. Private the day you join and PFC upon graduation from basic training. What really puzzles me is, how in God's name did an E2 get the security clearance to access the stuff Manning is supposed to have leaked?
This whole thing has a funny smell. At least to me.

[ex 98C MI Dude]

Manning’s highest rank attained was E-4 (Specialist). He was busted down 1 grade for assaulting another soldier. He is now a PFC (E-3).

Rank has no bearing on whether or not you have a clearance, but it does have bearing on what you can access. Now it seems nobody is minding the store. Having any kind of uncleared recording media in a SCIF is a huge no-no. Cell phones, iPods, iPads, Crackberrys are all verboten. Thumbdrives and rewritable cd/dvds have to be marked for proper classification and checked before going in and coming out. And this traitor wouldn’t have had the courier orders necessary to do that anyway.

Another thing that bugs me is the fact he even had a clearance. His anti-DADT activities were known prior to his enlistment, but didn’t seem to turn up in the DIA investigation (which would have precluded him from getting a clearance).

So nothing seemed to have worked right. I just don’t get it. And then the government took forever to seal up the security breach! Whiskey tango Foxtrot, over?!