Earlier: Far from the courtroom in Virginia where a judge will decide Pfc. Bradley Manning's fate today or tomorrow--the government officially asked for a 60-year sentence yesterday--another sentencing procedure has begun. It's out in the state of Washington and the Army man in trouble in this case is Staff Sgt. Robert Bales. Oh, you remember him, he pleaded guilty (to avoid the death penalty) to killing 16 innocent Afghans, mainly women and children. Prosecutors promise to play a tape of his phone chat with his wife where they laughed about the charges. Still, it's not inconceivable that his sentence will be no longer, and possibly less, than the one for Manning, if that latter does indeed get virtually life in prison. The worst case scenario for Bales still makes him eligible for parole in 20 years.
After the killing, the U.S. had to halt operations in the country for weeks, and there were many other ill effects--far more than documented in the Manning case, it seems.
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