Wikileaks slam US diplomatic efforts
So Bradley Manning, the wikileaker, really did it this time. Now it turns out that his document dump earlier this year before his arrest included communications from the Obama State Department. No one except the anti-war crowd got upset over the “collateral murder” video, we all collectively ignored the second dump, but now, heavens to Betsy, he’s whittled away the facade of smart diplomacy.
The New York Times outlines some of the communications which include Saudi Arabia eager to convince the US to attack Iran, bribes to isolated kingdoms to take Guantanamo prisoners, the reticence of our partners in the war against terror to shut down terror cells in their own countries.
Here’s a video from Fox News;
All because Bradley Manning broke up with his boyfriend. A private first class with a troubled past had this kind of access to classified material. Clearly, military clearances need to be reviewed more often than they are, especially among first-termers and lower enlisted ranks. And potential drama queens that have access to millions of classified documents that they might release to super-gay looking hackers when their main squeeze takes away the lovin’.
Category: Antiwar crowd, I hate hippies, Shitbags
Ass-mange and Manning should be executed immediately, IMHO. 2 seconds after Manning is convicted he should be taken out back of the courtroom and have a double tap to the base of his skull. Assange should have a fatal “accident”. But that’s just me and probably why I’m not in charge.
“A private first class with a troubled past had this kind of access to classified material.”
The tranny chasing private’s troubled past involved assaulting an officer. Why this turdburglar had a top secret clearance & intel job after this instead of a general discharge most ricki-tic is beyond me.
Are all these documents really from Manning’s leak?
Answering my own question this morning (sorry):
According to this, yes:
Oh no he di’int, he di’int just make the O look bad did he?
Now maybe they’ll do something about the rapist….
Manning commited treason and esbionage.
Under the UCMJ Article 106 A sub section C the members can rule for death if:
(2) In the commission of the offense, the accused knowingly created a grave risk of substantial damage to the national security.
(3) In the commission of the offense, the accused knowingly created a grave risk of death to another person.
Right there there is at least two reasons he should die. Unfortunately the definition of espionage is a little murky, it seems to point to militaries or governments so. . .
I would also like to point out the “aiding and abetting and enemy” applies, as does a host of other statutes. Asange, for his part even though he is a civilian is still guilty of capitol offenses against the United states. what gets me is how it was all well and good when it was Bush era documents, but not that it’s Obama’s white house. . .
Honestly there are serious “enemy of the state” issues here. its one thing to publish things that make us look bad but to publish things that literally put lives in danger, that crosses the line and i think he should be grabbed tried and executed.
25 years ago the Navy had the Walker/Whitworth spy ring. As best as I can recall, all those fuckers are still UNDER the jail, with the exception of the son who did about 15 years, and to my knowledge, his ass still hasn’t closed up yet.
And the Wikileaks makes this pale in comparison.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again–why either one of these fuckers is still drawing breath is still beyond me.
True dat, Sparky, true dat.
Boy, for us having the greatest military in the world, it really tends to sh!t the bed quite often. I mean, really? That little dirtbag was not only in position to see this intel, he was able to send it to Assrangler in such a huge freekin amount?
WTF is going on with our military?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/28/how-us-embassy-cables-leaked
Someone should have known something when this asshole started bringing Lady Gaga CDs to work. And oh yeah, thanks to him, I’m sure policies will be felt in DoD and well beyond about the draconian measures which will now be undertaken regarding digital media storage devices and how pretty much EVERYONE is going to get the TSA “fisting treatment.”
I know that my posting is most likely going to bring about a sh*tstorm of comments from you guys…especially because you seem to feel just as passionately as I do…only in the opposite direction. But I just have to say it….
Hillary Clinton said the document leaks “tear at the fabric” of responsible government. Of course they do, because they prove that the U.S. doesn’t operate with a responsible government.
Now the government wants to blame Manning and Wikileaks for putting lives in danger. But I say good for Wikileaks, and for Manning for being brave enough to bring the truth to light. The lives they supposedly may have put in danger are nothing compared to the lives that our government puts in danger. If Manning deserves execution, then I can think of quite a few current and former government officials who do too…but then again, they have immunity against the crimes they have committed.
You’re right, anon in jax, it will bring a shitstorm of comments. Let me be the first: Fuck off
There, now we can both feel better about what you said.
Newsflash, Jax–ALL governments operate in their own self interests. I’m just fortunate to live in a country where, most of the time, at least, the self-interests of its citizens are what this government cares for more than itself, or any particular ideology. Although that tipping point of acting in its of interest of preservation of power over that of the citizenry isn’t far away.
And oh yeah–fuck off.
“The lives they supposedly may have put in danger are nothing compared to the lives that our government puts in danger.”
Seriously? Did you fucking read what you had actually written before you hit the “submit comment” button? Would you like a history of examples, or will the last 10 years or so suffice?
I don’t know what country you live in, Sparky, but the U.S. that I live in already puts the preservation of power over the citizenry.
No Anon, what you have here are honest assesments made by State Dept staffers and intelligence officers that are only embarassing when they come to light and serve only to embarass the US, not for some noble purpose but just for the sake of doing it. I want these people making honest assesments, not saying things people want to hear.
Kinda like when your wife asks you if that dress makes her ass look big…of course it does, she has a big ass but you know better than to tell her that…don’t you?
Well then anon, might I suggest you turn off your television, get up off your dead ass, and DO SOMETHING about it.
Anon,
What, of anything, has been shown through any of the leaks that were not already known by any rational person? These are the shocking headlines coming from this recent release:
– The U.S. government provides monetary aid to other countries to try to cur favor
– The government keeps track of other diplomats and takes notes on personal behavior and traits.
– Countries deal with allies by making deals with other allies.
– Other countries are worried about Iran and were assessing strikes.
– Wargaming to prepare for a possible re-unification of Korea.
In any of the 3 leaks that have occurred, nothing criminal or illegal has come to light. Nothing has changed policy or procedures in the government and no charges have been filed against anyone. All it has done is shown internal memos and data supporting widely known facts. The liberal media continues to tout the “whistle blowing” aspect of this but what is truly being exposed?
Likewise, I don’t understand the support for Manning in all of this. I could understand praise if he had of indentified a true crime and brought it to the attention of authorities or the media, but he did nothing of the sort. Instead he grabbed as much information as he could without a single bit of analysis and just published for the sake of publishing it. That is not only criminal but reckless.
I used diplomatic channels on a MiTT team in Iraq to relay my personal assessments of certain Iraqi Generals to policy makers. By using secure channels I was able to make truthful, sometimes unflattering, assessments so the policy makers could have all the information necessary to make a proper decision. I can definitely assume that if the Iraqi Generals knew what I wrote our working relationship would have been destroyed. I don’t see why my secret documents were “lies” or signs of a “shadow government” that needed exposure; they were working documents to provide as clear a picture as possible to decision makers.
In Manning’s defense, Manning published nothing. He turned it over to journalists who, in turn, published it.
Sparky, your comment is laughable to me, seeing as how you don’t know me and yet you tell me to get up off of my “dead ass.”
I can understand some of the points made. For example, Daniel’s comment about not wanting Iraqis to see your truthful assessments of them. But, if all this information is just embarrassing at best, then why is everyone claiming it is putting lives at risk? And seriously, does all of this warrant calling Wikileaks a terrorist organization? Get real! It seems to me that any organization that wants to go against the current U.S. policy automatically becomes a terrorist organization. According to Robert Gibbs (White House Spokesman), “WikiLeaks has put at risk the cause of human rights” Puh-leeze. Someone please explain that to me, cause I really don’t get it and I am an educated woman. Maybe I missed something there ???
How about this excerpt of the Wikileaks from the NYT- “the American officials sharply warned Germany in 2007 not to enforce arrest warrants for Central Intelligence Agency officers involved in a bungled operation in which an innocent German citizen with the same name as a suspected militant was mistakenly kidnapped and held for months in Afghanistan. A senior American diplomat told a German official “that our intention was not to threaten Germany, but rather to urge that the German government weigh carefully at every step of the way the implications for relations with the U.S.””
The only way that Wikileaks has put at risk the cause of human rights is by shedding more light on the U.S. government’s lack of concern for the rights of human beings. Our gov’t kidnaps citizens of other countries and then bullies the gov’ts of those countries to shut up and sit down. We should be sooooo proud
Anon in Jax:
#11 “Now the government wants to blame Manning and Wikileaks for putting lives in danger. But I say good for Wikileaks, and for Manning for being brave enough to bring the truth to light. The lives they supposedly may have put in danger are nothing compared to the lives that our government puts in danger.”
I’m sorry… Brave? As in some noble cause? The greater good? I think not. Clearly the actions of Assange and Manning were nothing more than self-serving. To clarify that, their actions benefitted NO one, no one at all but themselves. Both were playing what boils down to being a childish game, whether in foolishness or ignorance, to garner attention to themselves, not to bring the truth to light. Truth means absolutely nothing without honour and integrity standing beside it.
#18
“In Manning’s defense, Manning published nothing. He turned it over to journalists who, in turn, published it.”
No… he did not publish anything, he just STOLE private (YES, it would be considered private NOT public), confidential and sensitive information, and treated it like candy.
“But, if all this information is just embarrassing at best, then why is everyone claiming it is putting lives at risk?”
I would very much like to address this in a precise, somewhat eloquent manner, however, after reading TAH today, I seem to have lost my usually never-failing patience. #17 should have been a clear enough explanation on its own, however perhaps he should have filled in the space between spaces to accommodate those who may not comprehend.
Lives at risk?
Yes, the Taliban stated they were poring over the initial batch of documents, in order to execute any “collaborators.”
Just one example, but given that many were named in that batch, many now have death sentences.
Manning, just a middleman?
Nope, he went through many briefings that warned him that even keeping a copy for himself was a crime.
Assange, just a publisher?
Nope, he published this shit for money and profit, as well as for his political purposes. He was well aware that it would cost lives and was illegal.
The Military, guilty of its own downfall?
Nope, the criminal is resposible for his own actions, no matter how naive the victim. If a woman walks down the street naked and is raped, the rapist is guilty, not the temptress. Being stupid, even institutionally is not a crime nor punishable by a crime.
Once upon a time, the Military asked if someone were a rump-ranger. Once upon a time, it was asked by security clearance investigators. Once upon a time, rump-rangers were not given access to sensitive information. In this case, a rump-ranger was given a TS clearance, as are many PFC’s. The problem is not that a PFC had a clearance, but that he used his access to betray his Nation. More PFC’s have acted responsibly with their access than have rump-rangers, as proven by the fact that there have been more PFC’s with access than there have been rump-rangers.
Sparky, your comment is laughable to me, seeing as how you don’t know me and yet you tell me to get up off of my “dead ass.”
All I’ve heard you do so far is piss, moan, bitch, and whine while supporting a butt-pirate who has and will likely eviscerate our standing abroad, get good people killed, all for being butt-hurt.
Take your laughability and go die in a fucking fire. I may not know you personally, but I know your type. That’s all I need to know.
Once again, and pretty please with sugar on top, fuck off.
Anon: Manning is not an innocent victim in any of this. He turned over classified information to unauthorized personnel, that makes him guilty, whether any of it was published, or not. He is a traitor and his treasonous act requires him to be brought to room tmeperature, period, end of story.
When I handled classified material, I knew who was authorized to see it and who wasn’t. No one that was unauthorized ever got to see it, period, let alone handle it. Had I given it to someone, I would have expected to reap the full load of UCMJ charges and probably never see daylight again. That’s reality and that is what Manning is going to have to deal with. His smug ass thought he was above the law and smarter than everyone else, but he isn’t as smart as he thought. With the amount of material and the sensitivity of it, his ass should be swinging from a fucking rope.