Did he work with them or the rest of Wikileaks?
the biggest leak dump was a joint effort with the Times, Guardian, and Post.
he got pissy with the Times, because they published a few unflattering articles about him, so he decided to exclude them. The Guardian, being ethical however, decided to send to the Times what Assange sent to them prior to publication. "A deal is a deal," was their motto.
So, yes--he collaborated with major western media to release the documents. He held several press conferences prior to release.
But I do agree with you that is intent is way less than noble. He is megalomaniac. I don't think he wishes the utter destruction of the US or to have it fall victim to its enemies. He certainly hopes to embarrass the US and expose a lot of the hypocrisy behind what
he believes to be our core values.
He is certainly a vain asshat of the highest calibre, but he's not a terrorist. I think the root of his cause is necessary to a certain degree, but he has shown himself to be a dangerous, careless, and utterly callous individual.
Imagine the shit-storm if after having revealed the intel regarding the Abottobad compound prior to the raid actually compromised that operation.
None of us would have ever known about it, of course; but we would have also experienced a "disappeared" Assange shortly after that.