[3pt14159]

Having done this type of work before for a legitimate purpose, it is almost certainly a python or perl script with a nice library in front of it that makes it easy to follow links.

wget is too brittle, not extensible enough, and not as maintainable as a nice python script.

[jrochkind1]

I believe Manning actually used Windows batch scripting to automate wget, or so the government alleged from forensics at the trial. (I observed a couple days of the trial).

Manning did not have the tech skills of Snowden though, she wasn't neccesarily doing things in the most effective or elegant ways, but it worked.

[emmelaich]

Probably; but could be something like lftp. It's name belies its capabilities.

Or maybe Kermit? Half-smiley; only if he's a masochist. http://www.kermitproject.org/ckscripts.html

[wslh]

Wget is also single threading which is a slow strategy to download pages.

[Fasebook]

that's what xargs -n x is for

[wslh]

Can you elaborate?