But to the U.S. government, he's a traitor who put the lives of U.S. troops and U.S. national interests in danger.

Jeffrey Gordon is a former spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense.

“We're in a 21st century conflict and a big part of that conflict is a battle of ideas. So if you can embarrass the United States, if you can make them look bad in the eyes of the world, that's actually part of war. It's asymmetric war. I think Bradley was a frontline warrior against his own country," he said.

The defense sought to portray Manning as a young, naive, and well-meaning humanist. Since his arrest three years ago, details have emerged of emotional problems and resentment against his own government that observers say raise questions about why the military put him in a sensitive position. Larry Korb is a former U.S. assistant secretary of defense.

“Before he deployed to Iraq, his commanding officer said, 'I don't know if we should deploy this guy. He's got all kinds of mental problems, but we're desperate,' so they put him over there. So basically, what happens if you take someone who doesn't belong there, you put them into a situation, you're asking for trouble," he said.

Korb and Manning's supporters believe the government went too far in charging Manning with aiding the enemy and in the end, the judge ruled the evidence did not support it. But the verdict also shows the government will convict those who leak information to expose alleged wrongdoing.