The Forgotten Man
Second only to Julian Assange, Bradley (today Chelsea) Manning is the most important figure in the Wikileaks controversy; alleged to have handed over hundreds of thousands of secret US war files and diplomatic cables. But, while the world watches Assange's trial with baited breath, Manning is already wasting away in solitary confinement; this is the story of his daring intelligence heist. We hear the only recording of Bradley Manning's voice and we listen to the logs of alleged conversations with the man who ultimately betrayed him. Manning, a US army private, claims that he released the cables because, "I was actively involved in something I was completely against". That is according to the Internet chat room logs that are the basis for his imprisonment. Manning's exact relationship with Wikileaks remains unclear and the source that uncovered him to the US government has been called into question. How did Private Bradley Manning steal the classified material? How did he relay it to WikiLeaks? Did he do this of his own accord or did Julian Assange conspire with him to take the information? It all becomes even murkier when you take into account that the informant is an attention-seeking hacker of questionable morals.
Starring Bradley/Chelsea Manning, Kerry O’ Brien, QUENTIN MCDERMOTT
Director ABC Australia