And by then the soldier's personal mission had resulted in something unique - a diary of the SAS in WWII.

BBC: The SAS secret hidden since World War II

He himself wrote a diary of remarkable maturity while serving in Helmand, questioning many aspects of the mission.

BBC: Defence correspondent, BBC News

Daniel Domscheit-Berg, a longtime volunteer and spokesman for WikiLeaks who recently quit his job, told CNN that Assange's personality was distracting from the group's original mission: to publish small leaks, not just huge, splashy ones like the Afghan War Diary.

CNN: The secret life of Julian Assange