This man simply does not know when to go away:

Paul, a libertarian firebrand known for making several attempts at the presidency, made the comments in a Reddit “ask me anything” session on Thursday where he advocated for the release of Manning from prison.

“He has been in prison for over 3 years as well as tortured,” Paul said, adding “I think he should be released now.”

…The Guardian article referenced says Manning’s 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, as well as being checked up upon every five minutes and stripped naked at night, amounted to torture.

In Thursday’s “ask me anything” session, Paul added he believes Manning’s goal “was to inform the American people of the truth about what was happening in the Iraq / Afghanistan wars” and has received “excessive amounts of punishment.”

So Paul thinks Bradley Manning was tortured…really? If that is the case, it shows just how little Paul actually knows about torture. I’m sorry, but solitary confinement, being checked up on, and having to sleep naked is NOT torture; what John McCain endured as a POW was torture. Having sharp objects forced under your fingernails, having your nails pulled out, having your bones broken and left to “heal” themselves, having acid poured on you, etc. THAT is torture. And while it was not torture, what Manning experienced is actually quite logical given his situation; he was kept in solitary confinement because he is a traitor to his country, and he doesn’t deserve the comfort of constant human companionship. And the reason he was constantly checked up on and made to sleep naked was to make sure that he didn’t commit suicide, its a common practice; its quite obvious why they took these precautions, and there is nothing torturous about them. If this is truly considered to be torture, then our country has wussed out as a nation.

And one more thing Mr. Paul; it doesn’t matter if Manning’s “goal” was to ” inform the American people of the truth about what was happening in the Iraq / Afghanistan wars.” Goals mean nothing if your method is treasonous. It is not as if Manning went to the NY Times and gave them the information; instead, he purposely went to a FOREIGN source and gave them stolen government secrets. To give stolen government documents to a foreign entity who then has the power to do whatever they want with them, is an act of treason at most, and espionage at least; and considering this is what he did, Mr. Manning’s goals make no difference at all in this case. Not to mention that the foreigner he went to then used this supposedly “non-dangerous information” to threaten the U.S. government, and then released said info in an encrypted file to thousands of people worldwide.  I mean, lets be honest,  if Manning had given government secrets to a foreigner during the Founder’s time, he would have been shot by now.

So I’m sorry Mr. Paul, but as usual, you are dead wrong on this issue. Bradley “Chelsea” Manning was not tortured, in fact, he was treated a lot better than he deserved; and the fact that you are supporting him and calling for his release is sad and disturbing, as it shows you really have no concept of the reality of the situation. He may have had good intentions, he may have only wanted to expose abuses the government had committed; but when he did so by committing treason against his nation, he did nothing to solve the issue, but rather, become part of the problem.