U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

So correct me if I am wrong naysayers, regardless of what these cables say, they should not be released or revealed at all? Like what previous posters said, what if it contains information that legitimately criminalizes the actions taken by US foreign policy? Should we just keep it secret and go on with our day, all in the name of "national security"? What if these cables contain information that proves that our own foreign policy does more to undermine our national security? Are you saying we should just ignore it? Be enablers?.....That makes us the true traitors.



For the record, I believe he should be punished for what he did, but until we learn otherwise I find him to be morally justified.

reply to post by hinky

This traitor has endangered the lives of all military and diplomatic personnel worldwide. It's not an Iraq or Afghanistan thing or even a Muslim thing. It is an every nation with an intelligence service can now decode all our message traffic thing AND it doesn't matter if it is radio, satellite, internet, or even telephone. This is big and earth shattering, but most of you are too stupid to have figured this out.

Maybe we'll see some of that transparency in government we've been promised? I don't know about you but I for one am sick and tired of the way our foreign policies are played out. There is no common sense anymore, it's just a military dictatorship that we are supposed to support.

If the information that was given to wikileaks is encrypted, and wikileaks decrypts it and releases it to the public, how is that going to help anyone but wikileaks know how our information is encrypted? I don't believe this jeopardizes all of our message traffic or puts anyone in danger. I believe you are fear mongering to gain support for an agenda quite honestly.

An agenda that has to do with us just going along with whatever our leaders tell us is in our best interest and to not question anything that goes on in our name. You ever wonder why drone attacks have increased by eighty percent since Bush left office? Have you ever wondered if the kill lists they hold have anything to do with keeping us safe? Haven't you wondered why there is such anti-U.S. sentiment around the world?

If the American publics good intentions were being implemented in our policies we would be welcomed wherever we went. We would have friends in every part of the globe who agreed with what we were promoting. This isn't the case and I believe it has a lot to do with our foreign policy that we know nothing about. So let's get those cables out in the open and see who has been committing atrocities in our best interest.

You are all talking about those cables, as if they were facts. I only read, that Lamo said, that Manning told him so. No other source right now. Wikileaks said, they don't have any. So only one source.

Maybe those, who want to celebrate Manning on the one side, and those, who want to hang him, both are talking about Sergeant William Schumann aka "shoe".

I even cannot find anything about Manning other than those articles, which are copied from each other. Where is his facebook site? I easily found Lamo's, but I don't find Manning's.

This all looks like a big scenario. It seems to go as it was meant to go. No proof for anything yet. Only, that the action is exactly, what the military had prayed for only a few weeks ago.

Must have been like winning the lottery. "We need to find a whistleblower to compromise wikileaks!"

No problem, here you are.

Just wag the dog!

Originally posted by hangedman13
reply to post by K J Gunderson

 

In case you didn't know, when you join the US military you lose your civilian rights. You become in essence property of the US government. Being in the military and doing what this kid did, is enough to get you shot.

Well that is not true but I am not sure what your point is. Walking down certain streets in my city is enough to get you shot. How does that make that right, again?

I know I'm going to be in the minority here but I think it's pretty reprehensible to deliver information like this to a site like Wikileaks.


Here's why:

When you are granted a security clearance by the United States Government you take an oath that you will not disclose that information trusted to you.

This oath isn't a conditional thing. It's not an oath with a disclaimer for "as long as you don't have an issue with the info" just in case you find something you disagree with or think is morally reprehensible.

Every one of you that champion this have a couple of naive assumptions:

1. Most of the info 'uncovered' would do serious damage to global relations - and not just with the U.S.
   
2. Who is the world to judge? Do we really want China judging the actions that we took with Cuba?
   
3. This isn't a forum post we're talking about. Some of the stuff leaked would lead to people being killed - not a court of law
   

Obviously the list could go on and on but the bottom line is that you incorrectly assume that leaked info about our Embassy posts from around the world would uncover some mass conspiracy and bring the ever elusive TPTB to justice.

In the end all it would do is embarrass a lot of people, potentially cause serious damage to global relations throughout entire regions, endanger the safety and security of U.S. interests, and probably get some people killed.

please excuse me if I don't partake in the golf clap here.

Well the way Wikileaks worded their tweet, it would seem that they don't have the EXACT number of cables claimed (hint hint).



reply to post by gncnew


Aren't you assuming that such information DOESN'T contain information regarding a "mass conspiracy?" An equally naive assumption I might add.

Also I agree with the oath thing, he should be held accountable. But so should the US if those cables are legitimately incriminating do you not agree?

Also I believe if the cables are true, he must have found something truly terrifying, considering its his job to sift through such sensitive data.

And another thing... (yeah, I'm a little irritated right now).

You want to see transparency in government, you want "full disclosure"... then actually ask for it through the power you have in your vote.

How many of you vote strait party line? How many of you just don't vote? How many of you vote only in the every 4 year Presidential elections but skip those pesky local elections?

I know it's easy and fun and even exciting to pretend that there is this huge global conspiracy out there keeping us all under their thumb.

But the bottom line is that our government is made up of hundreds of thousands of decision makers every day. The elected officials get their start in local elections.

There is not a single politician in Washington that didn't have to win a local and/or state election before they could even sniff Washington.

Here's another idea: quit supporting the political parties. What if the Democrats had a fundraiser party and no one showed up? What of the Republicans couldn't fund their election campaigns?

There are certain things that you cannot control - but reading cools stuff on the internet and doing 20 hours of Google research is virtually useless if you REALLY want change.

If you want change - exposing a bunch of state secrets is about the most "bass ackwards" way to do it.

A famous person once said "Be the change you want to see"....

You can't beat lies and deception with more lies and deception. Sneaking around and stealing information (and breaking your oath) to leak info to a sensationalized website isn't exactly the stand-up thing to do.

Just my $0.02

-edited for spelling (i'm so terrible at it).

[edit on 9-6-2010 by gncnew]

I wonder if they are using enhanced interrogation techniques on this soldier. The poor guy is probably being water boarded as I type. What would be worse is if he is being tortured and he is just a scapegoat, innocent of all charges.

reply to post by bigbomb456


I don't have an issue with people being held accountable for information found in those cables should it prove be criminal and not just embarrassing.

But seriously - think logically about the conspiracy thing.

If "TPTB" are running it - and only an "elite few" are making the decisions - the correspondence from hundreds of people around the world - each with drastically different jobs and areas of interest - is not going to show anything pointing to an elite few running the show.

It's going to point to the obvious and sometimes elusive ways our government executes it's foreign policy.

At times that will be things that are patently illegal, others it will just show the world how we work and NOW how to subvert that.

I'm a firm believer in Occam's razor. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

And thousands of transcripts from hundreds of people who all have their own personal agendas and report to hundreds of other people probably don't all add up to one big conspiracy for a small group of elites.

That theory always forgets that people are human have their own agendas. Just because you're in power doesn't suddenly mean you're brainwashed into doing only those things your boss wants you to.

Originally posted by gncnew
When you are granted a security clearance by the United States Government you take an oath that you will not disclose that information trusted to you.

This oath isn't a conditional thing. It's not an oath with a disclaimer for "as long as you don't have an issue with the info" just in case you find something you disagree with or think is morally reprehensible.

Good post, gncnew. Here on ATS, tho, people don't understand it. You sign that NdA, and you're saying you're going to shut your mouth about the things you see and read.

"But he's a hero! He's a whistleblower!" He's a traitor, and the least they can bust him on is breach of contract.

What if something else that this ass clown leaked got someone killed?

dude, I agree with 100% with what you say about human agendas and The "omnipotent, omnicompetent PTB"

I truly believe that instead of one massive conspiracy, its dozens if not hundreds of smaller ones, each involving factions vying for control ( for this you should read the work of Joseph P Farrell, particulary his Nazi line of books and Babylon's Banksters, I can give you the link to some of his interviews through message if u want)

However, such classified information would (potentially) bring us one step closer to uncovering the true powers in our world. For that many would die for, the chance to finally break our chains.

And as far as politics, you are right on about the Two-Party System here in the US. But the problem is most politicians never make it to the big leagues, and those who do are bought or scared off by then (you would be surprised how the threat of "we know where your family lives" is highly effective).

[edit on 9-6-2010 by bigbomb456]

I fully support whistle-blowers and any avenue available for the dissemination of information. JFK sums up the dangers of secrecy very well...

State Department Anxious About Possible Leak of Cables to Wikileaks

The State Department and personnel at U.S. embassies around the world are reportedly waiting anxiously to find out if an Army intelligence analyst was telling the truth when he boasted that he had supplied 260,000 classified State Department diplomatic cables to the whistleblower site Wikileaks. If Wikileaks has the secret documents and publishes them, the leak could not only expose damaging information about U.S. foreign policy and national security issues, but also expose embarrassing information about backroom diplomatic deals and U.S. attitudes toward foreign leaders — such as the opinions of U.S. ambassadors about the honesty, integrity, and strength and longevity of those leaders. The concerns are reported in a story published at the Daily Beast that appears to confirm that alleged leaker Bradley Manning had access to the kinds of cables he discussed with a former hacker who turned him in to authorities. Manning told ex-hacker Adrian Lamo that he had given 260,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables to Wikileaks, and said the documents exposed “almost-criminal political back dealings.” “Hillary Clinton and several thousand diplomats around the world are going to have a heart attack when they wake up one morning, and find an entire repository of classified foreign policy is available, in searchable format, to the public,” Manning told Lamo in an online chat session.

Link.

The State Department and American embassies around the world are bracing for what officials fear could be the massive, unauthorized release of secret diplomatic cables in which U.S. diplomats harshly evaluate foreign leaders and reveal the inner-workings of American foreign policy.

Link.

Just a couple of articles I wanted to share. Wikileaks is denying at this time that it has the cables or messages. Time will tell.

Edited to fix link.



[edit on 9-6-2010 by jackflap]

Just curious here, was anyone under a different impression ?

THE BIG QUESTION:
Who's are the players here and who's being played?

Wikileaks is proposing to protect and defend the whisleblower now. But, Wikileaks says they got the video but didn't get the 260,000 embarrasing secure emails (including Hillary Clintons?) that would embarrass the govt. Supposedly the freelance hacker/journalist who turned the guy in says he was told there was the video and the 260,000 emails.

• Did Wikileaks put the Govt. onto the leaker?
• Is Wikileaks a covert part of the govt trying to lure whistleblowers in and/or to get private parties to do their covert intel for free?
• Is the govt trying to smoke out what Wikileaks has (the hostory-making stuff to come that Wikileaks was planning to release) by putting false information about the emails?
• Or a wildcard...maybe the person arrested is just a intel hacker govt. person painted with the deed, who has finished his surveillance of Wikileaks and is pretended to be put in jail so he can go into deeper covert hacker ops. Off the grid so to speak.

Your thoughts???


[edit on 9-6-2010 by thepixelpusher]

Originally posted by signal2noise

Originally posted by gncnew
When you are granted a security clearance by the United States Government you take an oath that you will not disclose that information trusted to you.

This oath isn't a conditional thing. It's not an oath with a disclaimer for "as long as you don't have an issue with the info" just in case you find something you disagree with or think is morally reprehensible.

Good post, gncnew. Here on ATS, tho, people don't understand it. You sign that NdA, and you're saying you're going to shut your mouth about the things you see and read.

"But he's a hero! He's a whistleblower!" He's a traitor, and the least they can bust him on is breach of contract.

What if something else that this ass clown leaked got someone killed?

Before you judge anyone guilty (your term "ass clown" implies this) or innocent you might want to see the evidence first.

For Instance
If he was leaking things because another govt. had infiltrated our Military ranks at a level high enough so there was no scrutiny and was doing wrongful damage to people in our countries name to stir up trouble for us...you'd want to know that, signed non-disclosure or not, right?

I'll wait to hear more. Hopefully some truth will be revealed, or maybe it will be papered over in disinfo. Trouble is, we don't know who is the player and who's being played.

[edit on 9-6-2010 by thepixelpusher]

Originally posted by thepixelpusher
THE BIG QUESTION:
Who's are the players here and who's being played?

You and everyone not aware. Sad but true.


[edit on 9-6-2010 by tristar]

The more I read about this, the more I just shake my head.

Let's see: Specialist Manning is from Potomac, MD.
Hmm, those of you familiar with the D.C. area know that Potomac is a "high-rent" district. This kid should've been going to an Ivy-League School or West Point instead of enlisting in the Army. (Not faulting him for enlisting, it just doesn't add up.) My guess is he is a bored rich kid who doesn't think the rules apply to him. Well, Uncle Sugar is going to open your eyes to that BS soon to be E-nothing!

To ad lib vis a vis Marsellus Wallace: Mr. Soon-To-Be-Living-The-Rest-of-His-Long-Ass-Life-In-Agonizing-Pain Traitor. I'll bet his lip-syncing to Lady Gaga is going to be real popular with the rest of the boys in prison. Real popular. As a matter of fact, I'll bet his dance card on Friday and Saturday nights is going to be pretty full.

Or, send him to Afghanistan to be a "bird dog" for IED's. A commander suspects that there are IED's present on a road/trail, send out E-nothing Manning to be the "Canary in the coal-mine." If he trips an IED, no loss. If he tries to run, shoot him in the back. If he runs & gets away, the Taliban get to have their way with him. It's a win/win situation.

reply to post by tristar


And you don't include yourself in the unaware list? What hard facts do you know that we don't?

I think the thought that we have any right to transparency is somewhat idealistic at best. Without secrets the world would be a very lonely and desolate place.

Think of it in terms of a microcosm. If you actually knew everything your mom thought about you - how would you feel?

If you actually knew EVERYTHING your boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband thought about you - or more importantly - about other people... how would that relationship go?

We keep secrets every day from people we know, love, and trust with our lives. But suddenly our government is inherently evil because they dont want tell you - Billy Big Mouth - about the advanced tech they are counting on should SHTF?

We live in a generation of people who feel entitled. We feel entitled to jobs, houses, cars, education... hell we even feel entitled to information. The internet has clouded our perception of information flows.

News Flash: The military doesn't explain their battle plan to you before the war because they've learned from experience that people can't shut the hell up.

The CIA learned it can't talk about how it gather intel or what ops they run because people can't shut the hell up.

The Fed has learned it can't talk about it's foreign policy strategy because people can't shut.... you get the point.

It's not always a mind blowing conspiracy to control the world... sometimes it's just good old fashion "Loose Lips Sink Ships" life lesson application.