SPC Bradley Manning is a 22-year-old US Army intelligence analyst who was arrested after reportedly telling Adrian Lamo he had leaked the collateral murder video along with a video of the Granai massacre and around 260 000 diplomatic cables to Wikileaks. The 5-foot-2 and 105 pound Manning had just been through a break-up with his girlfriend, had been demoted for assaulting another soldier, and was feeling lonely and unsupported by his family. As of June 7, Manning had not yet been formally charged.

Manning reportedly said that the diplomatic documents expose "almost criminal political back dealings" and that they explain "how the first world exploits the third, in detail". He said that he hoped the release of the videos and documents would lead to "worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms". Manning reportedly wrote, "Everywhere there’s a U.S. post, there’s a diplomatic scandal that will be revealed." Wikileaks said "allegations in Wired that we have been sent 260,000 classified US embassy cables are, as far as we can tell, incorrect".

Wikileaks have said that they are unable as yet to confirm whether or not Manning was actually the source of the video, stating "we never collect personal information on our sources", but saying also that "if Brad Manning [is the] whistleblower then, without doubt, he's a national hero" and "we have taken steps to arrange for his protection and legal defence". Wired released apparent excerpts from the chat logs between Manning and Lamo on 10 June 2010. In the logs, Manning explains his growing disillusionment with the US Army and foreign policy.

He gives one example of being assigned the task of evaluating the arrest of Iraqis for allegedly publishing "anti Iraq" literature, only to discover that the writings were in fact scholarly critique of corruption in the cabinet of Iraq Prime Minister Al-Maliki titled "Where Did the Money Go?". He reportedly said to Lamo, "I immediately took that information and ran to the officer to explain what was going on. He didn’t want to hear any of it.

He told me to shut up and explain how we could assist the FPs in finding MORE detainees." Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg stated in an interview that "If [the alleged leaker, Bradley Manning] has done what he is alleged to have done, I congratulate him. He has used his opportunities very well. He has upheld his oath of office to support the Constitution.

It so happens that enlisted men also take an oath to obey the orders of superiors. Officers don’t make that oath, only to the Constitution. But sometimes the oath to the Constitution and oath to superiors are in conflict" while Wikileaks "is serving our democracy and serving our rule of law precisely by challenging the secrecy regulations, which are not laws in most cases, in this country." On the issue of national security considerations for the U.S., Ellsberg added that

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