| − | Manning was assigned to an unit based near [[Baghdad]], Iraq. He had access to databases used by the United States government to store classified information. He was arrested after Adrian Lamo, a computer hacker, and journalist, informed the FBI that Manning had confided during online IRC chats that he had downloaded material from the confidential databases and passed it to WikiLeaks. The material leaked included videos of American airstrikes, and hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables. It was the largest set of restricted documents ever leaked to the public. Much of it was published subsequently by [[WikiLeaks]] or its media partners between April and November 2010. | + | Manning was assigned to a unit based near [[Baghdad]], Iraq. He had access to databases used by the United States government to store classified information. He was arrested after Adrian Lamo, a computer hacker, and journalist, informed the FBI that Manning had confided during online IRC chats that he had downloaded material from the confidential databases and passed it to WikiLeaks. The material leaked included videos of American airstrikes, and hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables. It was the largest set of restricted documents ever leaked to the public. Much of it was published subsequently by [[WikiLeaks]] or its media partners between April and November 2010. |