LONDON — Bradley Manning, the prime suspect in the leaking of the Afghan war files, raged against his Army employers and "society at large" on his Facebook page in the days before he allegedly downloaded thousands of secret memos, a U.K. newspaper reported Saturday.The U.S. Army intelligence analyst, who is half British and went to school in Wales, U.K., appeared to sink into depression after a relationship break-up, the Daily Telegraph said. It quoted Manning as posting he didn't "have anything left" and was "beyond frustrated."
In an apparent swipe at the Army, Manning also wrote: "Bradley Manning is not a piece of equipment," and quoted a joke about "military intelligence" being an oxymoron, the Telegraph said.
The Facebook revelations come as The New York Times reported that Army investigators were broadening their inquiry about the recent disclosure of classified military information to include Manning's friends and associates who may have helped the alleged leaker.
Mr. Manning has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and so I will honor that by no assuming his guilt. But if he is guilty, this is a shocking revelation.
The whole Wikileaks controversy could be the result of one Army soldier who had a grudge and was looking to get back at the world for whatever reason. The lives of American servicemen are now at great risk, as news reports of the Taliban threatening to target those named in the leaks indicates. To do something like this simply to get back at someone is not only wrong, it's absolutely reprehensible.
Again, this would only be true if Manning is guilty, and since that has not been established yet, I will not attempt to presume it. But I must say this; if this turns out to be true, Wikileaks is doing a great disservice to this country by continuing to publish the leaked documents, thereby ensuring great danger for American servicemen in Afghanistan.
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