Army PFC Bradley Manning has been highlighted by a variety of papers from around the world and even his hometown.  Manning is the alleged “leaker” of the “collateral murder” video, and has apparently been implicated in the latest “WikiLeaks” releases as well.

Interestingly, news reports continue to focus on his personality as non-religious, withdrawn, and needy:

Those who went to school with him say he was often frustrated that others didn’t listen to his views on politics or religion; those views often differed from those of his peers…

In a series of online conversations with a stranger, a fellow computer enthusiast, Manning wrote about feelings of isolation.

He said the feelings stem from growing up without religious views in a very church-based town. 

[A former peer said] “He had a hard time. He had different point-of-views and was very outspoken about them.”…She thinks he was looking for attention and acceptance.

The UK Guardian says outright what other news organizations have implied:

Mr Manning, who is openly homosexual, began his gloomy postings on January 12…he said he was “livid” after being “lectured by ex-boyfriend”…

It will be interesting to see what impact, if any, this has on the ongoing policy changes suggested for DADT.

Irrespective of the charges, it is evident Manning carried his frustration over his views on politics and religion into his military service.  Apparently, the need for acceptance and the feeling of significance may have made him vulnerable to overtures by WikiLeaks, according to Adrian Lamo, the former hacker who turned him in:

“[He] was made to feel important with his ongoing contact with Assange and special link to WikiLeaks, jumping ahead in the queue of people who were also leaking,” Lamo claimed.

Unfortunately, if the charges prove true, his alleged cry for attention may gain him far more than the “acceptance” for which he may once have yearned.  Admiral Mullen has said the leaker and WikiLeaks may have ‘blood on their hands,’ and the Taliban claims it is actively using the documents to root out informants and Western allies in Afghanistan:

“Mr. Assange can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he and his source are doing, but the truth is they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family,” Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference Thursday.

On other Sunday talk shows, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said WikiLeaks is “morally guilty of putting people’s lives at risk.”  Mullen also indicated the US was taking steps to protect those named in the released documents, because of a “moral obligation” to those persons.