I think it would help, because it would make it a lot harder for others to associate them with spies or something without getting ridiculed.
I'm also hoping the next US president commits to giving Manning (and Snowden depending on the situation then) pardon. If I was a civil libertarian running for president, and I'd want to show real proof that I'm committed to a much more transparent government, and the roll back of the surveillance state - I'd start with that promise, and use it in my campaign, and say my first task as a president would be to pardon Manning.
I don't fully agree regarding Manning. He revealed diplomatic cables, which was basically a work of U.S. diplomats, who have been writing "honest" assessments from inside those countries, under the condition that it remains secret. In my opinion, it was unfair to the U.S. gov that it was published - and I say this as a non-American. If leaking this should be automatically pardoned, we would first need a completely different model of how foreign diplomacy should work. (But I agree the life-time sentence is too harsh).
Snowden case is different. (I also don't like that those two guys are mentioned together).
Agreed. It seems to be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but what Snowden did and what Manning did are entirely different, and lumping Snowden in with Manning detracts from the careful and considered manner in which Snowden has conducted the leaks.
I'm also hoping the next US president commits to giving Manning (and Snowden depending on the situation then) pardon. If I was a civil libertarian running for president, and I'd want to show real proof that I'm committed to a much more transparent government, and the roll back of the surveillance state - I'd start with that promise, and use it in my campaign, and say my first task as a president would be to pardon Manning.