Assange accuses US of exploiting Arab Spring for political gain

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, in a teleconference broadcast from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to the United Nations in New York, has said that President Barack Obama's speech to the United Nations General Assembly was used to prop up his political campaign, when the President cited instances of U.S. support for global democracy, particularly with regard to the Arab Spring movement. Assange called himself a "free man" despite having been detained for 659 days without charge. Assange also said that U.S. Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, accused of the largest leak of classified documents in U.S. history to WikiLeaks, was a hero who should be released by the United States. Manning faces life in prison if convicted.