Saving innocent people and exposing "bad guys" is what heroes do. Bradley Manning did just that when he leaked US government cables and videos to WikiLeaks. Its intent was to denounce the killing of innocent civilians as part of the war in Iraq and to inform citizens so they could take action. Now he is in prison facing twenty-two charges, which incriminate him as a traitor to the United States and which could lead to him serving fifty-two years behind bars. Manning believed that the United States government was committing war crimes and that the world should know the releases, including video footage, that provided evidence of such actions. He's not alone. He has many supporters who believe his actions were justified and defensible. Although Bradley Manning has been portrayed as a traitor to the US government for leaking classified information, he is actually a hero; a private first class officer tortured by the United States government for reporting acts constituting war crimes. The largest intelligence leak in US history is attributed to Bradley Manning (Knickerbocker) who is currently languishing in an American prison awaiting a second preliminary trial hearing set for April this year. Manning is accused of leaking U.S. intelligence documents to WikiLeaks in 2010. While stationed in Iraq, Private Manning accessed and downloaded over a quarter of a million classified documents and later leaked them, through others, to WikiLeaks who made them public. Manning was linked to Julian Assange, editor-in-chief and identifiable face of WikiLeaks, by a computer hacker, Adrian Lamo (The Forgotten Man). Many WikiLeaks whistleblowers believe they are hidden... middle of paper......o.uk/world/2012/mar/12/bradley-manning-cruel-inhuman-treatment-un>.—. “Striped naked every night, Bradley Manning recounts prison ordeal.” March 10, 2011. the guardian. Network. 13 March 2012. "The forgotten man". February 14, 2011. abc news. 4 corners. Network. 13 March 2012. .Van Buren, Pietro. “Obama's Unprecedented War on Whistleblowers.” February 9, 2012. Salon. Network. March 13, 2012. "What is FOIA?" January 2011. FOIA. Network. March 18, 2012. .Whitaker, L. Paige. “CRS Report for Congress The Whistleblower Protection Act: An Overview.” March 12, 2007. Congressional Research Service. Network. March 17 2012. .