Wikileaks document suspect raged against US Army on Facebook page

WASHINGTON - The prime suspect in the leaking of the Afghan war files, Bradley Manning, is reported to have raged against his US Army employers and “society at large” on his Facebook page in the days before he allegedly downloaded thousands of secret memos.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Manning, a US Army intelligence analyst, who is half British and went to school in Wales, appeared to sink into depression after a relationship break-up, saying he didn’t “have anything left” and was “beyond frustrated”.

In an apparent swipe at the army, he also wrote: “Bradley Manning is not a piece of equipment,” and quoted a joke about “military intelligence” being an oxymoron.

Manning, 22, who is currently awaiting court martial, is suspected of leaking more than 90,000 secret military documents to the Wikileaks website in a security breach which US officials claim has endangered the lives of serving soldiers and Afghan informers.

Supporters claim the war logs leak exposed civilian deaths in Afghanistan which had been covered up by the military, and Manning’s family, who live in Pembrokeshire, said he had “done the right thing”.

The Pentagon, which is investigating the source of the leak, is expected to study Manning’s background to ascertain if they missed any warnings when he applied to join the US Army.

The postings on his Facebook page are also likely to form part of the inquiry.

Manning was arrested at the end of May on suspicion of leaking a video of a US helicopter attack, and quickly became the main suspect when the Afghan war documents were leaked earlier this week.

His uncle, Kevin Fox, said the soldier’s arrest and imprisonment in a military jail had taken its toll on his mother Susan, who lives in Haverfordwest.

“She hasn’t been well,” he said, adding that if Manning had leaked the documents: “I think the boy did the right thing.”

Another close relative, who asked not to be named, said: “His mum didn’t know anything about what he was doing and it’s come as a big shock. She’s very upset.”

Susan Manning, 56, moved to the US in 1979 after marrying Bradley’s American father Brian Manning, a former serviceman who was based at the Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy, near Haverfordwest.

Bradley Manning was born in Oklahoma but the couple divorced in 2001 and Susan Manning moved back to Wales with her son. (ANI)