New docs reveal the alarming scope of NSA data collection. But half of Americans see the spying as 'no big deal.' They are allowing government to chip away at freedoms that others, especially in the Arab world, are giving their lives to build.
Although Manning was convicted of the majority of the charges against him, and although he will almost certainly spend decades in prison for his deeds, much of the early media narrative focused upon his acquittal of aiding the enemy.
As news of the government's broad surveillance programs develops, a host of unanswered questions arise. This fact sheet answers many of those questions, examining the legal and practical steps the government may have taken to secretly collect data.
If there’s one lesson to learn from Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden, it’s that America’s classification system is broken. Officials concede that between 50 and 90 percent of the nation’s secrets are not worthy of their classification label.
The size and scope of America’s secrecy state is staggering. Agencies spent nearly $10 billion in 2012 managing and protecting classified information all while ongoing budget cuts are making life more difficult for federal workers and the millions of Americans they serve.
