US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley resigned today after reports he called the Pentagon's treatment of a US soldier accused of leaking secret documents to WikiLeaks “stupid.”
"It is with regret that I have accepted the resignation of Philip J. Crowley as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement.
"Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Spokesman for the Department of State," Mr Crowley said in the statement.
A BBC correspondent reported that Crowley told a small audience at a university in Massachusetts the treatment of jailed former intelligence analyst Bradley Manning "is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid."
The US military brought 22 new charges against Mr Manning last week. He is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of sensitive US government documents that were later published by the website WikiLeaks.
Bradley Manning, a former intelligence analyst suspected of obtaining the documents while serving in Iraq, is being held at a Marine base in Virginia as US officials investigate last year's publication of State Department cables and military documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The US army's new charges against Mr Manning, the result of a seven-month investigation, include "aiding the enemy" and "wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet," the military said in a statement.
Mr Manning (23) had previously faced a host of charges including downloading and transmitting to an unauthorised person a classified video of a 2007 helicopter attack that killed a dozen people in Baghdad, including two Reuters employees.
The WikiLeaks affair was a major blow to the United States as allies and adversaries around the world saw themselves mocked or second-guessed in secret diplomatic cables.
It also raised questions about the Obama administration's ability to keep a lock on electronic information.
The military will not seek the death penalty against Mr Manning, it said in its statement, even though an "aiding the enemy" charge is a capital offence under military law. But Mr Manning could face life in prison if convicted.
The private's trial has been delayed as a panel looks into his mental state. Depending on the results of that panel, a grand jury may be convened.
Julian Assange, the Australian computer expert behind the WikiLeaks website that has been strongly condemned by the Obama administration, has denied knowing Mr Manning. But he has accused the United States of using the jailed soldier to build a case against him.
Reuters