[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Mail]  [Sign-in]  [Setup]  [Help]  [Register] 

"The 2nd Impeachment: Trump’s Popularity Still Scares Them to Death"

"President Badass"

"Jasmine Crockett's Train Wreck Interview Was a Disaster"

"How Israel Used Spies, Smuggled Drones and AI to Stun and Hobble Iran"

There hasn’T been ... a single updaTe To This siTe --- since I joined.

"This Is Not What Authoritarianism Looks Like"

America Erupts… ICE Raids Takeover The Streets

AC/DC- Riff Raff + Go Down [VH1 Uncut, July 5, 1996]

Why is Peter Schiff calling Bitcoin a ‘giant cult’ and how does this impact market sentiment?

Esso Your Butt Buddy Horseshit jacks off to that shit

"The Addled Activist Mind"

"Don’t Stop with Harvard"

"Does the Biden Cover-Up Have Two Layers?"

"Pete Rose, 'Shoeless' Joe Reinstated by MLB, Eligible for HOF"

"'Major Breakthrough': Here Are the Details on the China Trade Deal"

Freepers Still Love war

Parody ... Jump / Trump --- van Halen jump

"The Democrat Meltdown Continues"

"Yes, We Need Deportations Without Due Process"

"Trump's Tariff Play Smart, Strategic, Working"

"Leftists Make Desperate Attempt to Discredit Photo of Abrego Garcia's MS-13 Tattoos. Here Are Receipts"

"Trump Administration Freezes $2 Billion After Harvard Refuses to Meet Demands"on After Harvard Refuses to Meet Demands

"Doctors Committing Insurance Fraud to Conceal Trans Procedures, Texas Children’s Whistleblower Testifies"

"Left Using '8647' Symbol for Violence Against Trump, Musk"

KawasakiÂ’s new rideable robohorse is straight out of a sci-fi novel

"Trade should work for America, not rule it"

"The Stakes Couldn’t Be Higher in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Race – What’s at Risk for the GOP"

"How Trump caught big-government fans in their own trap"

‘Are You Prepared for Violence?’

Greek Orthodox Archbishop gives President Trump a Cross, tells him "Make America Invincible"

"Trump signs executive order eliminating the Department of Education!!!"

"If AOC Is the Democratic Future, the Party Is Even Worse Off Than We Think"

"Ending EPA Overreach"

Closest Look Ever at How Pyramids Were Built

Moment the SpaceX crew Meets Stranded ISS Crew

The Exodus Pharaoh EXPLAINED!

Did the Israelites Really Cross the Red Sea? Stunning Evidence of the Location of Red Sea Crossing!

Are we experiencing a Triumph of Orthodoxy?

Judge Napolitano with Konstantin Malofeev (Moscow, Russia)

"Trump Administration Cancels Most USAID Programs, Folds Others into State Department"

Introducing Manus: The General AI Agent

"Chinese Spies in Our Military? Straight to Jail"

Any suggestion that the USA and NATO are "Helping" or have ever helped Ukraine needs to be shot down instantly

"Real problem with the Palestinians: Nobody wants them"

ACDC & The Rolling Stones - Rock Me Baby

Magnus Carlsen gives a London System lesson!

"The Democrats Are Suffering Through a Drought of Generational Talent"

7 Tactics Of The Enemy To Weaken Your Faith

Strange And Biblical Events Are Happening

Every year ... BusiesT casino gambling day -- in Las Vegas


Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

International News
See other International News Articles

Title: WikiLeaks to continue releasing Afghan war files: Assange
Source: Agence France-Presse
URL Source: http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0812/wi ... sing-afghan-war-files-assange/
Published: Aug 13, 2010
Author: Agence France-Presse
Post Date: 2010-08-13 10:57:27 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 1002
Comments: 3

LONDON (AFP) – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange insisted Thursday the whistleblower website still planned to release its final batch of US military files on the Afghan war, despite American demands it hold back.

Speaking via video link to an audience in London, Assange said the site was preparing to release the final 15,000 classified files, the remaining documents from a huge cache which were published last month.

"We are about 7,000 reports in," he said, without giving a date when the files would be released.

Asked whether the website would press ahead with the release, he responded: "Absolutely."

His comments came despite renewed pressure from the Pentagon to withhold the material, and harsh criticism from media freedom group Reporters without Borders, which accused the site of "incredible irresponsibility."

Speaking during a debate at the Frontline Club in the British capital, Assange said that WikiLeaks had received "no assistance, despite repeated requests, from the White House or the Pentagon".

The Pentagon last week demanded WikiLeaks "do the right thing" and return around 70,000 classified US military documents on Afghanistan it released in late July.

It also urged the website to halt plans for any future releases.

In a statement Thursday, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the "only responsible course of action for them is to immediately remove all the stolen documents from their website and expunge all classified material from their computers."

Morrell said additional publications would be "the height of irresponsibility" and "would compound a mistake that has already put far too many lives at risk."

The files contained a string of damaging claims, including allegations that Pakistani spies met directly with the Taliban and that deaths of innocent civilians at the hands of international forces were covered up.

But the documents also included the names of some Afghan informants, prompting claims that the leaks have endangered lives.

In an open letter to Assange, Reporters with Borders said it "regrets the incredible irresponsibility you showed when posting your article 'Afghan War Diary 2004 - 2010' on the WikiLeaks website on 25 July."

The group said WikiLeaks had in the past played a useful role by making public information that exposed violations of human rights committed in the name of the US "war against terror."

"But revealing the identity of hundreds of people who collaborated with the coalition in Afghanistan is highly dangerous.

"It would not be hard for the Taliban and other armed groups to use these documents to draw up a list of people for targeting in deadly revenge attacks," it said.

Last week, Morrell said the Defense Department was seeking the return of all versions of documents "obtained directly or indirectly" from Pentagon databases or records.

He said the Pentagon was aware there was other information in WikiLeaks' possession that "has not been pushed into the public domain yet."

"We hope this message will help convince them not to publish," he added.

Assange, 39, an Australian former hacker and computer programmer, has previously said he believed the publication would help focus public debate on the war in Afghanistan and on possible atrocities by US-led forces.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, both said the publication had endangered locals providing information to US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon and the Federal Bureau of Investigation swiftly launched an investigation into the case when it came to light July 25.

Daniel Schmitt, a WikiLeaks spokesman in Germany, previously told US news website The Daily Beast that the site wanted to open a line of communication with the Pentagon to review another 15,000 classified reports, in order to "make redactions so they can be safely published."

The Pentagon however has insisted it never received any such request from WikiLeaks.

The site, which styles itself as "the first intelligence agency of the people," was founded in December 2006 and invited would-be whistleblowers from around the world to make anonymous contributions.

WikiLeaks has never identified the source of the Afghan files but suspicion has fallen on Bradley Manning, a US Army intelligence analyst under arrest for allegedly leaking video of a 2007 US Apache helicopter strike in Baghdad in which civilians died.

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 1.

#1. To: Brian S (#0)

Where is Bradley Manning? Would the US torture Assange the same way?

Any doubts the US would arrest Assange at the very first available opportunity?

LMFAO

In fact, the Time piece fits very neatly with something found in one of the leaked documents that has the White House so concerned. Titled "CIA Red Cell Special Memorandum: Afghanistan: Sustaining West European Support for the NATO-led Mission-Why Counting on Apathy Might Not Be Enough," the document ."..outlines possible PR strategies to shore up public support in Germany and France for a continued war in Afghanistan."

The Memorandum continues:

"The proposed PR strategies focus on pressure points that have been identified within these countries. For France it is the sympathy of the public for Afghan refugees and women... Outreach initiatives that create media opportunities for Afghan women to share their stories with French, German, and other European women could help to overcome pervasive skepticism among women in Western Europe toward the ISAF mission... Media events that feature testimonials by Afghan women would probably be most effective if broadcast on programs that have large and disproportionately female audiences." (Emphasis Shaffer's)

mcgowanjm  posted on  2010-08-13   11:01:02 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


Replies to Comment # 1.

#2. To: All (#1)

Putting a year-old atrocity on the cover of Time Magazine is indeed an effective "media opportunity" for a war machine eager to keep its blood-greased engines churning. And not that anyone cares, but the Taliban hotly denies any involvement in the crime against the young woman, which was carried out by her own in-laws. As AFP reports:

Independent US monitoring agency SITE said the English-language statement from the Taliban spokesman was posted on Saturday on the website of the group, which calls itself the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan:

"As far as the story of Aisha is concerned, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has condemned this barbaric, inhumane and un-Islamic act and declares that this case has never been forwarded to any court or persons of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."

The statement goes on to point out that under Islamic law the "cutting of human ears and noses whether the human is alive or dead is illegal and prohibited."

mcgowanjm  posted on  2010-08-13 11:01:43 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


End Trace Mode for Comment # 1.

TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Mail]  [Sign-in]  [Setup]  [Help]  [Register] 

Please report web page problems, questions and comments to webmaster@libertysflame.com