Bradley Manning did not release any Top Secret information. The Cables were not Top Secret.
That is not to say what he did was right, but how is it treason?
He released classified documents. The exact classification (ie: whether those documents were TS, SCI, S, C, or R) is irrelevant.
The act of illegaly disseminating classified information is treason.
So is giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Manning's "treason", as patriotism will always be labeled, is minor compared to that REGULARLY committed by the government trying him.
Actually, under the constitutional definition of treason, Manning would have to be proved to have done harm against the STATES, not the FedGov, and to have caused harm by giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Despite these arguments being deliberately absented at the show trial.
They have a better case for embezzelment than treason.
As for your comments about the proper chain of command, those are the very people that are outed by these leaks. Telling Al Capone that he's doing something questionable to his face is imprudent. Catch-22.
I'd like to think you aren't as ignorant of the facts as you appear. But I've unfortunately met a lot of you flag wavin' "my country, right or wrong" sorts, and you probably are. YOU are a bigger threat to the people of these former states than Mr. Manning, OR Julian Assange, who is NOT the "enemy". Last I checked, Australia (and all commonwealth nations) are formal allies of the US Imperial court.