WEIRDNESS AT THE INSTITUTE – AT 10:29 A.M. ET:  The story behind last week's leak of thousands of classified documents on Afghanistan is growing:

(CNN) -- Adrian Lamo, the former computer hacker who tipped off federal authorities to WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning, says two men in the Boston area have told Lamo in phone conversations that they assisted Manning.

Manning is an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, now being held on security-breach charges. 

Lamo said both men attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but he refused to identify them because, he said, at least one of them has threatened him. One of these men allegedly told Lamo they gave encryption software to Manning and taught the Army private how to use it, Lamo said.

Graduates usually refer to MIT as "The Institute."  This is a serious matter, and I assume MIT is fully cooperative with investigative authorities.  When I was in college, some of our engineering geniuses figured out a way around AT&T's long-distance billing system and made free calls...to Moscow.  It was a prank, and I think some of the guys actually wound up working for the phone company, employing their expertise.

This, obviously, is much more serious, and serious punishment is called for.

Manning, an Army intelligence analyst, is being held in solitary confinement at a Virginia detention facility. He is charged with leaking an airstrike video that the whistleblower website WikiLeaks published in April, and Pentagon officials say he is the prime suspect in last week's disclosure of thousands of field reports from the war in Afghanistan to the site.

Lamo claimed both men are working for WikiLeaks. Also, both men are Facebook friends with Lamo and Manning, and at least one continues to post Facebook messages on Lamo's wall, the former hacker said.

COMMENT:  It's now clear from news reports that some real damage was done by the release of those documents.  The documents name Afghans who are secretly working for us.  Their lives, and the lives of their families, are now in mortal danger.  The guy who runs WikiLeaks is a real America hater.  He claims to have other material that he wants to release.

The laws of the United States must be enforced in this case.  Classified information is the property of the American people, entrusted to our representatives and their appointees.  Manning, if guilty, should be convicted and given a life sentence.  The WikiLeaks chief is Australian, and may be outside the reach of our legal system.

August 2, 2010