What is the point of Manning's 35-year sentence?

See the recent BB post where he denies giving information to the Independent, stating specifically that he does not want to release any information that could put somebody in danger (ie leaking the existence of a secret military base in the middle east). That seems like a pretty reasonable reason to not release everything that he has in his possession. I’m not sure if it’s one I agree with or not (I think I do, but I can also see reasons to release the information as well), but it’s certainly an understandable one.