Is WikiLeaks founder a Target of a smear campaign?

 As soon as someone is in the news it seems that they are fair targets. Julian Assange may or may not be guilty of anything, but somehow, someone found a way to sully his good name. Today's world of instant communication makes this all too easy.
  . . . June


WikiLeaks founder says he's been targeted by smear campaign - CNN.com: 

"Stockholm, Sweden (CNN) -- WikiLeaks founder and editor Julian Assange said Swedish authorities reached 'the height of irresponsibility' by issuing an arrest warrant alleging rape against him, then revoking it less than a day later.

'It is clearly a smear campaign,' Assange told Arabic news network Al-Jazeera in a live telephone interview Sunday. '... The only question is, who was involved?'

Asked who he thinks was behind the accusations, Assange told the network, 'We have some suspicions about who would benefit, but without direct evidence, I would not be willing to make a direct allegation.'

Meanwhile, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in an update on its website that Assange's name was leaked to the media, and the authority -- which does not normally publish the names of suspects -- 'did not in this case initiate publication.'"

However, the office did confirm Assange's identity and later published his name in statements about his arrest and the subsequent revocation.

An arrest warrant was filed against Assange in absentia on Friday. Swedish media, citing unnamed sources, reported that two women, ages 20 and 30, reported the allegations to police, leading to the warrant being filed.

The AftonBladet, a respected Swedish daily, said the 30-year-old told the newspaper that the younger woman had approached her with a story similar to hers -- that she had consensual sex with Assange but that the situation had turned abusive. Karin Rosander, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, would not confirm the reports.

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Did The Pentagon Ask WikiLeaks For The Afghan files back?

There really seems to be a lot of waffling here. According to the following article, the Pentagon admit that the made a request for contact, but that the lawyer for WikiLeaks was a no-show. I assume that there is willingness on both sides  to solve this mess.


June


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Ohio.com - Pentagon wants Afghan files back

 "STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Wednesday the Pentagon has expressed willingness to discuss the online whistleblower's request for help in reviewing classified documents from the Afghan war and removing information that could harm civilians.

''This week we received contact through our lawyers that the General Counsel'' of the Pentagon ''says now that they want to discuss the issue,'' Assange said by telephone.

The Pentagon denied it was willing to collaborate with the group, but acknowledged that it had arranged for a phone call last Sunday between its general counsel and a person claiming to be a lawyer for WikiLeaks.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the lawyer, Timothy Matusheski, was a ''no-show'' for the call.

The Pentagon followed up with a letter to Matusheski on Monday demanding that WikiLeaks return the war files."

''The Defense Department will not negotiate some 'minimized' or 'sanitized' version of the release by WikiLeaks of additional U.S. government classified documents,'' wrote Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's top lawyer.

Whitman initially told reporters there had been no ''direct'' contact between the Defense Department and WikiLeaks. He said he still stands by that assessment, because the call between Johnson and Matusheski never took place.

In a brief phone call, Matusheski said Wednesday that he had received a fax from the Defense Department. He did not answer any other questions.

Assange said Wednesday that ''contact has been established'' but added it was not clear whether and how the U.S. military would assist WikiLeaks.

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WikiLeaks Refuses To Bow To Pentagon Warning

WikiLeaks And The Pentagon We will not tolerate Pentagon's threat: WikiLeaks August 17, 2010 at 12:24 AM Stockholm, August 17: Julian Assange, the founder of whistleblower WikiLeaks, told that the site will not tolerate threats from the US' department of defense. During an interview with... WikiLeaks: We will not be threatened by the Pentagon August 16, 2010 at 5:52 AM Whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks is standing firm in its fight against the Pentagon, with spokesperson Julian Assange saying that the site will not tolerate threats from the US' department of... WikiLeaks 'Will Not Be Threatened' by U.S. August 15, 2010 at 10:08 PM Associated Press STOCKHOLM—WikiLeaks will soon publish its remaining 15,000 Afghan war documents, despite warnings from the U.S. government, the organization's founder said Saturday. View Full Image Reuters Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks a news conference at the Frontline Club in central London. The Pentagon has said that secret information will be even more... WikiLeaks prepares to release more Afghan war files August 15, 2010 at 8:45 PM 11:19 AM Monday Aug 16, 2010 Email Print LONDON - WikiLeaks spokesman Julian Assange said his organisation is preparing to release the rest of the secret Afghan war documents it has on file. The Pentagon warned that would be more damaging to security and risk more lives than the organisation's initial release of some 76,000 war documents. That extraordinary disclosure, which laid bare classified military documents covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010, has angered US officials, energised critics of the NATO-led campaign, and drawn the attention of the Taleban, which has promised to use the material to track down people it considers traitors. The Pentagon says it believes it has... WikiLeaks rejects Pentagon warning August 15, 2010 at 9:58 AM STOCKHOLM — WikiLeaks will publish its remaining 15,000 Afghan war documents within a month, despite warnings from the U.S. government, the organization's founder said yesterday. The Pentagon has said that the new batch of secret information will be even more damaging to security and risk more lives than WikiLeaks' initial release of about 76,000 war documents. "This organization will not be threatened by the Pentagon or any other group," Julian Assange said in Stockholm. "We proceed cautiously and safely with this... This email was sent to dyna999399.wiki99@blogger.com. Delivered by Feed My Inbox 230 Franklin Road Suite 814 Franklin, TN 37064 Account Login Unsubscribe Here

WikiLeaks Plans To Release All War Documents

So someone is standing up to the Pentagon! There must be a great deal of potential damage in those documents for them to be so upset. I rather feel that WikiLeaks themselves are taking quite a chance by publishing them. If someone gets killed and it can be proven that the leaks contributed, then wouldn't they be found criminally at fault? This article gives more detail.


. . . June


WikiLeaks says it won't be threatened by Pentagon
By KEITH MOORE, Associated Press Sat Aug 14, 11:40 am ET

WikiLeaks will publish its remaining 15,000 Afghan war documents within a month, despite warnings from the U.S. government, the organization's founder said Saturday.

The Pentagon has said that secret information will be even more damaging to security and risk more lives than WikiLeaks' initial release of some 76,000 war documents.

"This organization will not be threatened by the Pentagon or any other group," Julian Assange told reporters in Stockholm. "We proceed cautiously and safely with this material."

In an interview with The Associated Press, he said that if U.S. defense officials want to be seen as promoting democracy then they "must protect what the United States' founders considered to be their central value, which is freedom of the press."

"For the Pentagon to be making threatening demands for censorship of a press organization is a cause for concern, not just for the press but for the Pentagon itself," the Australian added.

He said WikiLeaks was about halfway though a "line-by-line review" of the 15,000 documents and that "innocent parties who are under reasonable threat" would be redacted from the material.

"It should be approximately two weeks before that process is complete," Assange told AP. "There will then be a journalistic review, so you're talking two weeks to a month."

Wikileaks would be working with media partners in releasing the remaining documents, he said, but declined to name them.

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What do you think?  Is the Pentagon correct in trying to muzzle WikiLeaks? Or are the WikiLeaks people right in insisting on their right to publish the documents?  Leave a comment


. . . June

Bradley Manning - Whistle-Blower Or Traitor!

This is the other side of the story. Bradley Manning is a young man who apparently thought he was doing the right thing, and decided to expose some "War Crimes". Unfortunately he never thought about the possible effects of his actions on his fellow soldiers or his country. The article below is from the Bradley Manning Support Network and takes a sympathetic view..
June



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Please Don’t Shoot the Messenger
Charlotte from The Bradley Manning Support Network  Toronto — August 4, 2010

I do not know Private First Class Bradley Manning, so I have no idea what motivated him to join the U.S. military in the first place. His youth, perhaps. Or maybe the sense of adventure promoted in the military marketing material. His reported sense of isolation may also have had something to I do with his enlisting. I suspect, however, that Superman’s “Truth, Justice and the American Way” also played a role.

Deep within each of us, I think we all want to wear that red cape and be a hero. We all want to do something selfless and brave. Ironically, it may be Bradley’s final act as a member of the military that will prove to be his most courageous.

Charged with leaking the video of an Apache helicopter attack in which 11 Iraqis died and 2 children were gravely injured, Bradley Manning faces charges that would put him behind bars for five decades. It is critical, then, that people within the United States and around the world weigh the supposed crime of whistle-blowing against the crime of the wars themselves. Then decide who really deserves to be punished.

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What do you think should happen to him? Some will hail him as a whistle-blower and say he did the right thing. Others call him a traitor. Which side are you on?


June

Wikileaks Whistleblower In Trouble

The Wikileaks Whistleblower Bradley Manning is in big trouble. He faces four charges related to accusations that he leaked a classified video from 2007 showing an American helicopter gunning down civilians. What should happen to this young man? Should he be classified a traitor? Here's a story from blastmagazine.com on the subject.

June


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U.S. Congressman Calls For Execution Of Wikileaks Whistleblower
by Nicholas Deleon on August 3, 2010


What should happen to PFC Bradley Manning, the young man now charged with the unauthorized access of and subsequently leaking of classified military information, namely the video that Wikileaks released under the title “Collateral Murder”? Should the United States government execute him? If your name is Congressman Mike Rogers, then you believe that yes, the young man should be put to death.

The congressman, appearing on a local radio station in Michigan, said that Manning’s actions (still alleged at this point—he hasn’t been convicted yet) qualify as treason in a time of war, and thus should be considered capital crimes. That is, crimes punishable under pain of death.

You ought to listen to the entire interview (it’s available online, and it only 17 minutes long) before forming any opinion on what the congressman said. I’m not a fan of taking a few words here and there, presenting them out of context, then claiming that the sky is green.

One odd thing: Rogers seems to be working under the assumption that Manning, who has sizable support online, was also responsible for the Afghanistan war logs. To my knowledge Manning is only in custody over the leak of the “Collateral Murder” video, and not the war logs. Not yet, at least.

The congressman, who represents Michigan’s 8th district and who sits on the House Intelligence Comittee, said that if Manning isn’t charged with treason then he should be charged with murder.

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Which side are you on? Would you have leaked a video which you considered against your principles, even though you were in the U.S. military? Or do you consider this an act of treason. Leave a comment.

June