WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s tentative plea deal with the United States, which could soon bring an end to his years-long international legal saga, drew celebration and criticism, reflecting the divisive nature of his role in obtaining and publishing classified military and diplomatic documents.

       While Assange’s supporters saw him as a courageous whistleblower of government misdeeds, his critics saw him as a self-promoter oblivious to the harm that his leaks might cause. WikiLeaks’ publication of the Afghan War Logs, for example, did not obscure the names of Afghan civilians who had provided information to the U.S. military, an omission that dismayed human rights groups and U.S. national security officials.