Military investigators are checking computers used by Bradley Manning, a U.S. Army intelligence analyst charged this month with leaking classified information, to see if he is the source of thousands of military documents published Sunday by WikiLeaks.
The material released by WikiLeaks relates entirely to the war in Afghanistan, while Pfc. Manning was stationed in Iraq. But investigators are trying to determine what material he was able to get access to and what material he transferred.
Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said investigators are looking broadly to determine where the material was taken from, but acknowledged that Pfc. Manning was a person of interest in the investigation. “He is someone we are looking at closely,” Col. Lapan said.
WikiLeaks Sunday published thousands of secret U.S. military documents spanning more than five years. The information is in part humdrum and also dramatic, showing in raw detail the intelligence reports sent from personnel in the field. Among other things, the documents discuss civilian casualties, Pakistan’s role in aiding the Taliban and the weapons capabilities of the Afghan insurgency.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, at a news conference in London Monday, declined to comment on the identity of the source who leaked the documents, or on how the source managed to copy and leak them. Asked about Mr. Manning, Mr. Assange said: “There is no allegation as far as we can determine” that the documents posted on WikiLeaks Sunday are “connected to Bradley Manning.”
Right.
He said WikiLeaks has nonetheless “committed funds” to Pfc. Manning’s legal defense, offering his military-appointed legal team money in case it wants to hire civilian counsel.
……In early July, the U.S. military announced it would press criminal charges against 22-year-old Pfc. Manning for allegedly transferring classified military information to his computer and “delivering national defense information to an unauthorized source.”
……According to a U.S. military charge sheet, Pfc. Manning improperly obtained secret information, including classified State Department cables and video footage of a July 2007 military operation, while stationed at a base east of Baghdad.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704700404575391523088194344.html
Some of the documents simply affirm what we already know:
Reports Bolster Suspicion of Iranian Ties to Extremists
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703700904575391664183556930.html
Pakistani Intelligence Possibly Aiding Taliban
http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/5biggestrevelationsofwikileaksdocuments4453
More on the Pakistan duplicity:
The documents contain allegations of ISI involvement in plots to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai, to supply children and motorcycles for suicide bombings in Afghanistan and even to poison allied troops’ beer. Some analysts warned, however, that much of the intelligence was of questionable value.
General Hamid Gul, a former ISI director frequently mentioned in the documents, said “the report of my physical involvement with al-Qa’ida or Taliban in planning attacks on American forces” was “completely baseless”.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/pentagon-hunts-for-source-of-leaks/story-e6frg6so-1225897736924
Some information is mundane:
30 Years Later, Taliban Still Have Stingers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/5biggestrevelationsofwikileaksdocuments4453
There’s also some “matchmaking” by Bin Laden in exchange for planting IEDs:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/afghanistan/warlogs/77482ACF-2219-0B3F-9F081FFA1C1AAC05
Some is presented as *shocking* information on civilian casualties:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/10/07/assessing-wikileakss-raw-data/60376
More pissing from leftwingnut WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, over whether commando units hunting down and killing enemy combatants is a “war crime”:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_military_strikes_wikileaks
Which prompted a Congressman to reply:
“This is a war. The enemy is shooting at us, and we’re shooting at them,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash. “Are we really suggesting that while the Taliban plant suicide bombs, we shouldn’t try to kill anybody?”
Well, the Left doesn’t seem to think so.
According to reports, WikiLeaks dumped aproximately 90,000 classified documents into the internet, thanks to one or more intel analysts who violated national security and their oaths. The timeframe for this information covers 2004-2010. It will take a while for interested parties to pour over all the documents and publish what they think is relevant to their narrative.
Site like WikiLeaks and MSM like the New York Times will gleefully publish any classified information damaging national security and undermining war efforts. They have a visceral hatred of America and the military. Their response to criticism is to hide behind the skirts of the 1st Amendment, as if it’s a license for treason. What remains to be seen is how much they divide their animosity between George W. Bush and the failed messiah Obama.
The JAG departments of the military need to get serious and make examples out of cockholsters like Manning. Prosecute them to the fullest extent of the UCMJ in a Courts Martial, and put their asses under Leavenworth, for life.
Or better yet, take them out and put a .60 cal round through their skull.
Related post:
http://sfcmac.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/us-soldier-arrested-for-leaking-classified-information/
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u know whoever places this classified shit down deserves to be found and killed on sight united states lock up information for a reason to protect people from these dangers
Prosecute the man to the full extent of the law. He is clearly a traitor.
Having said that, it is perhaps noteworthy to point out that wikileaks has never published any classified information that does not have direct implications into how governments make decisions. So I can half way see where these Wikileaks folks are coming from.
Having said this, this is no excuse for publishing the information mentioned in this article- since such information also has dual implications into operations that place our men and women’s lives on the line.
This is WHY we created the congressional intelligence oversight committee. If you think representatives of your government are making illegal decisions, or terribly poor decisions, then report the classified material to the proper oversight authorities. . . but for god sake. . . don’t fucking leak it and then put the lives of your own countrymen at risk!!!! THINK goddamnit. These are peoples LIVES.
Stupid fucking PFC. I swear. . .
And if its someone elses government that is misbehaving? Then make recommendations to YOUR government (through the proper channels) on how to deal with the bad behavior. If you are not satisfied with how your government is dealing with another government’s bad behavior then report it to the intelligence oversight committee. And if you aren’t happy with the intelligence oversight committee’s reasoning or decision for some reason then YOU sir/ma’am are by clinical definition a NARCISSIST.
And we ALL want to throw your ass in prison. Trust me. . . we really do.
On top of all this………Manning is gay………Still want queers in the military?
ISNT IT DIFFICULT ENOUGH HAVEIN AN ENEMY IN FRONT OF YOU NOT KNOWING THAT ONE OF YOUR OWN IS THE ENEMY BEHIND YOU? SWIFT JUSTICE AS A RESULT OF OVERWELMING EVIDENCE AGAINST THE TRAITORS INVOLVED. THE DEATH PENALTY CAN BE THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE PUNISHMENT.
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