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US Intelligence Planned To Destroy WikiLeaks
An anonymous reader writes "This document is a classified (SECRET/NOFORN), 32-page US counterintelligence investigation into WikiLeaks (PDF). 'The possibility that current employees or moles within DoD or elsewhere in the US government are providing sensitive or classified information to Wikileaks.org cannot be ruled out.' It concocts a plan to fatally marginalize the organization. Since WikiLeaks uses 'trust as a center of gravity by protecting the anonymity and identity of the insiders, leakers or whistleblowers,' the report recommends 'The identification, exposure, termination of employment, criminal prosecution, legal action against current or former insiders, leakers, or whistleblowers could potentially damage or destroy this center of gravity and deter others considering similar actions from using the Wikileaks.org Web site.' [As two years have passed since the date of the report, with no WikiLeaks' source exposed, it appears that this plan was ineffective.] As an odd justification for the plan, the report claims that 'Several foreign countries including China, Israel, North Korea, Russia, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe have denounced or blocked access to the Wikileaks.org website.' The report provides further justification by enumerating embarrassing stories broken by WikiLeaks — US equipment expenditure in Iraq, probable US violations of the Chemical Warfare Convention Treaty in Iraq, the battle over the Iraqi town of Fallujah and human rights violations at Guantanamo Bay."
What do you think would have happened if someone tried to leaked George Washington's plans to cross the Delaware? That right, he would have killed them.
Don't get all 'the olden days where on of roses and rainbows. There where never any secrets and the people where free to exercise their freedoms'.
In a lot of respects, things are actually more free now then ever.
More free" Free'er? do either of those make grammatical sense?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I would, and do argue against that. When an organization that has absolute power to do anything it wants gets to act in secret, terrible, terrible things will happen.
But then, since you seem to think that peace is the absence of opposition to your chosen state-cabal controlled paradise, so I don't think you really have any credibility.
Given that our government has basically been up to no good for the last 10 years (and arguably last 40), I would be completely willing to sacrifice our "victory" in Iraq in exchange for citizen oversight.
I can't think of a single military action undertaken during the Bush tenure that benefits me as an American citizen, whereas nearly all of the "secrets" that have been coming out have been directly harming me (conspiracy to fabricate Iraq WMD evidence, ACTA, Guantanamo).
In short, I don't believe these people have my best interest in mind; most of this "secrecy" is just them trying to prevent me from finding out the ways they've been fucking innocent people over. I'm not one of these people who thinks the moon landings were faked or anything, but I think it's blind trust in the government that's naive, NOT skepticism.
The only difference between these governments is that the US leaders pretend to hold an election every 2 years. That's it.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
... but there are definitely reasons that the government SHOULD have some secrets.
I can't help but notice that you didn't list any, or are those secret too?
Message to our government: why do you need privacy if you have nothing to hide?
I mean, they use that B.S. line on us all the time. I think it's time we turned the tables and started using it back.
Your government said that to you? Wow! Who was it, exactly? Did the president call you up, or did congress pay you a personal visit?
Nonsense.
A statement was made "Sometimes secrets are useful. Given all the money I pay in taxes I would hope my government is at least making plans to keep some of those secrets secret."
A question was posed "Would you prefer that the torture at Guantanamo had been kept secret?" which is a fallacy by misleading vividness and a hasty generalization.
I responded with a similar, yet opposite question. "Would you prefer another major terrorist attack that kills thousands of people?"
He then responded with an unsubstantiated claim, to which I asked for proof.
Please keep up or shut up.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
Good to know that you would sacrifice the lives of thousands of people to relieve the discomfort of one. I sincerely hope all your family and friends die in terrorist attacks that could have been prevented.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
What torture at Guantanamo? Please do not use as an example of torture anything that is part of the training regime of U.S. military special ops forces.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
"I am pretty sure, the answer is a resounding "Yes"."
You need to leave our country, then. Take ONE look at what our government has done to our own people FIRST (Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, MK-ULTRA, etc.) and tell me they need the power to make secrets. FUCK THAT NOISE.
Anybody that refuses to use some common sense and see that HUGE POWERFUL ENTITIES keeping secrets is a bad thing should probably just get out of this country. We don't need dead ignorant weight slowing us down.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
That is a false statement. Terrorism is not a birthright, whether one is American or not. It is a political tool, an attempt to impose one's belief and/or will on others by use of fear induced by acts of violence.
Torture may or may not directly stop you, but if an associate of yours who knows of your plans is tortured, there is a good probability he will give you up which would stop you. Then, you will be in custody and possibly subject to torture and not have the ability to "seek revenge in a destructive manner".
Your criminal record and your statements is why we need a harsher criminal justice system.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
But, one would not be stooping "down to the same level as the terrorists" because one would not be committing terrorist acts.
There is a big difference between terrorism and torture. Terrorism is indiscriminate violence on a civilian populace for the sake of instilling fear in the civilian populace. Torture is neither indiscriminate nor inflicted upon the civilian populace to create fear. The goal of terrorism is to create fear in everyone, the goal of torture is to extract information from a specific person.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
I do not hope terrorism happens. It will happen eventually. I just hope that when it does, it personally effects you and that it could have been avoided using the techniques you say are wrong.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.