The things that Bradley Manning is currently charged with are
here. The essence of it is that between Nov 2009 and May 2010, he used his access to the US classified secret network (SIPRnet) to download a number of things, move them to his personal unclassified computer, and then give them to other unauthorized parties (presumably including Wikileaks). The things he is is accused of thus misusing include:
- a classified video of a military operation in Baghdad
- a classified PowerPoint video
- more than 150,000 state department cables
He is also accused of uploading unauthorized software onto a SIPRnet computer (we don't know what software it was). He is also a
person of interest in the leak of dispatches about the Afghanistan war (and apparently
boasted to Adrian Lamo that he did so leak).
For the purposes of this discussion, let's assume that he did these things, or at a minimum, that his position as a
military analyst in Iraq, and his resulting access to SIPRnet, made it possible that he could have done these things. There is also
no indication at this time that Manning had any advanced hacking skills - all the coverage I've read indicates that he just downloaded this stuff and burned it onto CDs. Let's assume that's true also.
