Bradley Manning was the US soldier who allegedly leaked the trove of US
intelligence data that shot Wikileaks to fame. A history of mental
instability suggests he should never have been drafted into the US army.
"Low
flying planes could see that kid wasn't suitable; he was a wreck", a
soldier who trained with Manning tells us. A young man totally unsuited
to military life, he had enlisted just to get a university education. He
was targeted for his size and sexual orientation, and ultimately lost
his way amongst the boredom and isolation of his base in Iraq. Military
psychiatrists called him, "a risk to himself and others". So why was
Manning given access to so much classified information? He was kept on,
despite advice that he be discharged, because the US Military was short
of soldiers in Iraq. Numerous incidents were reported but still Manning
was retained, until he punched a female soldier in the face. At this
point he was demoted and told he would finally be discharged. Left
without a job, friends or any chance of university education, Manning
turns to his last refuge: his computer friends. "I'm not sure whether
I'd be considered a type of 'hacker', 'leaker', or what", he confides to
famous hacker Adrian Lamo, who 24 hours later will inform US
Intelligence of Manning's confession.