Wikileaks.....Political Bombshell

• ptown_trojans_1

  

  I've been reading them for work and this is not damaging our national security. It is pretty much the same as any political scandal here in DC.
  The cables are excellently written, deep analysis, and insightful for our policymakers.
  
  It is awful and against the law they are released, but this are not the atomic secrets.
  The way the guy released them was the wrong way too. He is such an ass.
• HitsRus

  

  Assange is arrested in London on a Swedish warrant.
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  HitsRus;591049 wrote:Assange is arrested in London on a Swedish warrant.

  
  Good, throw the book or books at him.
  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B61PX20101207?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
• QuakerOats

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/dec/05/obama-us-security-danger-threats
• jhay78

  

  QuakerOats;591217 wrote:http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/dec/05/obama-us-security-danger-threats

  
  I agreed with what Bolton said here:
  

  The more appropriate response is to prosecute everyone associated with these leaks to the fullest extent of US law, which the justice department at least appears to be considering. Next, we must stop oscillating between excessive stove-piping of information, as before 9/11, and excessive access, as demonstrated by WikiLeaks. There is no one final answer, but the balance must be under constant analysis. Finally, the Pentagon's cyber-warriors need target practice in this new form of combat, and they could long ago have practised by obliterating WikiLeaks' electrons. Had we acted after the first release in July, there might not have been subsequent leaks, and lives and critical interests would have been protected.
  
  But that was not to be under Obama. His secretary of state does not comprehend that America is the subject of the attack, his department of defence is not interested in defending us, and the president himself seems utterly indifferent to the whole affair.
  
  All of this underscores the real problem. It is not WikiLeaks that ultimately imperils our national security, but the failing Obama administration, which ignores the nature and extent of threats we face, and which is too often unwilling to act to thwart them. While our economic difficulties have dominated the national debate for two years, national security will inevitably again come to the fore, as Americans see the full extent of the devastation left by Obama's policies. That shift cannot come too soon.

• ptown_trojans_1

  

  What threats? Iran and North Korea and what else? He fails to define threats.
  I would adamantly disagree with that notion too.
  
  I've read cables where the U.S. has been working with other countries to stop the shipment of various missile and enrichment parts to Iran, and has been following and stopping shipments of missiles and parts from North Korea.
  
  I would even say the administration is doing the exact same thing in regards to Iran and North Korea as the Bush administration, trying to disrupt their programs and shipments covertly.
• the_system

  jhay78;591222 wrote:I agreed with what Bolton said here:

  
  You agree we should "prosecute everyone associated with these leaks to the fullest extent of US law"? I agree with one if he is guilty, and that is Bradley Manning who is already in custody. The others are not Americans and do not have to follow a law that doesn't apply to them. If it doesn't scare the shit out of you that our laws and freedoms are being re-written as we speak, it should.
• Be Nice

  all he needs now is red lipstick. many will think he's just fine.
• ernest_t_bass

  

  the_system;591553 wrote:If it doesn't scare the shit out of you that our laws and freedoms are being re-written as we speak, it should.

  
  What kind of laws?
• jhay78

  

  the_system;591553 wrote:You agree we should "prosecute everyone associated with these leaks to the fullest extent of US law"? I agree with one if he is guilty, and that is Bradley Manning who is already in custody. The others are not Americans and do not have to follow a law that doesn't apply to them. If it doesn't scare the shit out of you that our laws and freedoms are being re-written as we speak, it should.

  
  Yeah, I took that to mean US citizens (like Manning) who helped the leak process along. I don't think Bolton was saying, "Let's make a bunch of ex post facto laws and punish everybody."
• BoatShoes

  "But that was not to be under Obama. His secretary of state does not comprehend that America is the subject of the attack, his department of defence is not interested in defending us, and the president himself seems utterly indifferent to the whole affair."
  
  Mind Numbing.
• I Wear Pants

  
• BGFalcons82

  

  Hhmmm....IWP - What are you trying to say with your pictures/captions above?
• I Wear Pants

  I'm trying to say that I thought the picture was funny.
• BGFalcons82

  

  I Wear Pants;593093 wrote:I'm trying to say that I thought the picture was funny.

  
  Oh...OK. I thought maybe you were saying Assange was a patriot forging ahead because he has access to the "truth". You know he was arrested for rape, not something related to wikileaks, right?
• tk421

  

  BGFalcons82;593169 wrote:Oh...OK. I thought maybe you were saying Assange was a patriot forging ahead because he has access to the "truth". You know he was arrested for rape, not something related to wikileaks, right?

  
  ha ha, rape? You're kidding right? He was arrested for "sex by surprise". If that's not the lamest excuse to put someone the U.S. doesn't like behind bars, I don't know what is.
• BGFalcons82

  

  tk421;593170 wrote:ha ha, rape? You're kidding right? He was arrested for "sex by surprise". If that's not the lamest excuse to put someone the U.S. doesn't like behind bars, I don't know what is.

  
  I'm not laughing. Here's the latest story - http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41990.html Yep...rape is one of the charges. I'm not passing judgment on him, but that's what he is accused of, hence my post. You OK with him blurting out names of agents, secret documents, and top secret info? Is he just a maligned journalist to you?
• tk421

  

  BGFalcons82;593204 wrote:I'm not laughing. Here's the latest story - http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41990.html Yep...rape is one of the charges. I'm not passing judgment on him, but that's what he is accused of, hence my post. You OK with him blurting out names of agents, secret documents, and top secret info? Is he just a maligned journalist to you?

  
  I don't give a shit what he blurts out. He didn't leak the info, someone on the inside gave it to him. If the U.S. doesn't want their dirty laundry aired, they need to plug their own damn leaks. I'm just saying that the arrest and charges are obviously an attempt to get him in prison where he won't be able to cause any trouble.
• BGFalcons82

  

  tk421;593219 wrote:He didn't leak the info, someone on the inside gave it to him.

  
  I'm really confused now. Isn't he the guy behind wikileaks? Why does everyone want his head if he's not the guy that published the info?
• the_system

  BGFalcons82;593295 wrote:I'm really confused now. Isn't he the guy behind wikileaks? Why does everyone want his head if he's not the guy that published the info?

  There are many many people involved with wikileaks. Him setting in jail does nothing really. They've been releasing new leaks ever since he's been in there.
  
  As far as why everyone wants his head, that's not entirely clear yet. Wikileaks is a whistle-blower website. People give them info with the knowledge that wikileaks won't reveal the source.
  
  Did they publish the info? Some of it but maybe only around 1% of what they have. I've read that the information released was prepared and sent to various news outlets and wikileaks published the info in unison with other media outlets around the world. Which makes you wonder why the NY Times, and other outlets aren't in the same boat.
• I Wear Pants

  I highly doubt the dude raped anyone. Hell, even the charge brought against him isn't what most consider rape and is the least severe "rape" charge in that country, I read an article this morning that says that charge holds a maximum four-year sentence. Nevermind that it was likely fabricated entirely by people who are pissed at him. Hell, the chief prosecutor after the investigation originally opened said "I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape." and closed the investigation.
  
  And all he does is publish things that people send them. It's not like he hacked into the government wires or anything.
• Glory Days

  

  I Wear Pants;593497 wrote: And all he does is publish things that people send them. It's not like he hacked into the government wires or anything.

  
  which still makes him an accomplice to the crime. its like saying he didnt murder the guy, he just chopped him up and pieces and disposed the body.
  
  i say let him release whatever he has hiding, like Ptown said, nothing he has released lately has been damaging to national security.
• believer

  

  Glory Days;593618 wrote:which still makes him an accomplice to the crime. its like saying he didnt murder the guy, he just chopped him up and pieces and disposed the body.
  
  i say let him release whatever he has hiding, like Ptown said, nothing he has released lately has been damaging to national security.

  I agree...bring it on. Who gives a shit? When these idiots realize that the leaks end up being just another business day and have little real impact on changing world events, this fascination with government "secrets" will fade away.
• queencitybuckeye

  It would be a damn shame if he were killed in prison. I wonder how much it would cost, say a government, to make that happen?
• believer

  

  queencitybuckeye;593636 wrote:It would be a damn shame if he were killed in prison. I wonder how much it would cost, say a government, to make that happen?

  This is one time I'd be happy to pay extra taxes to make something like that happen.