This BBC footage explains in 80 seconds all the story.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video by clicking on the picture below or the BBC link above and answer the questions about it.
The activity is suitable for intermediate students.
1 How old is Bradley Manning?
2 What job did he do in Iraq?
3 What was published on the internet in 2010?
4 How long has Bradley Manning spent in prison?
5 What does 'ten' refer to?
6 Why did Manning leak the material?
7 What might the sentence be if he's found guilty?
To check your answers you can read the transcript below.
Bradley Manning is a twenty-five-year-old private in the US Army. He works in Iraq in 2009 and 2010 analysing intelligence, and there he found a stash of secret material he wanted to share with the world. He gave it to the Wikileaks website and there had never been a leak like it. More than 700,000 confidential military and diplomatic documents were published on the internet in 2010. The Pentagon saw its confidential battle plans and footage released including a helicopter attack in Bagdhag that killed several civilians.
The Pentagon soon found the source of the leaks and Bradley Manning has now spent more than three years in military custody, much of it in solitary confinement. In March 2011 he was charged with 22 offences, and in February of this he pleaded guilty to ten of them. In court he said he had leaked the information in order to spark a debate about US foreign policy.
Manning supporters see him as a whistle-blowing hero and think he is being treated far too harshly. But the government wants to prosecute him for helping America’s enemies, a charge that could put him in prison for the rest of his life if he’s found guilty.
