Wikileaks releases 250000 confidential US embassy files

[busybeeburns]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brC9ACWOATM]YouTube - WIKILEAkS 250000 DOCUMENTS 29 11 10[/ame]

 

 

Wikileaks release of embassy cables reveals US concerns

 

Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks has released 250,000 secret messages sent by US embassies which give an insight into current American global concerns.

 

They include reports of some Arab leaders - including Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah - urging the US to attack Iran and end its nuclear weapons programme. Other concerns include the security of Pakistani nuclear material that could be used to make an atomic weapon.

 

The widespread use of hacking by the Chinese government is also reported. The US government condemned the release of the documents, saying they put the lives of diplomats and others at risk. The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, countered by saying the US authorities were afraid of being held to account.

 

The leaked US embassy cables, published at length in newspapers including the New York Times and the UK's Guardian, also reportedly include accounts of:

 

• Iran attempting to adapt North Korean rockets for use as long-range missiles
   
  
• Corruption within the Afghan government, with concerns heightened when a senior official was found to be carrying more than $50m in cash on a foreign trip
  
• Bargaining to empty the Guantanamo Bay prison camp - including Slovenian diplomats being told to take in a freed prisoner if they wanted to secure a meeting with President Barack Obama
  
• Germany being warned in 2007 not to enforce arrest warrants for US Central Intelligence Agency officers involved in an operation in which an innocent German citizen with the same name as a suspected militant was abducted and held in Afghanistan
  
• US officials being instructed to spy on the UN's leadership by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
  
• The very close relationship between Russian PM Vladimir Putin and his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi
  
• Alleged links between the Russian government and organised crime
  
• Yemen's president talking to then US Mid-East commander General David Petraeus about attacks on Yemeni al-Qaeda bases and saying: "We'll continue saying the bombs are ours, not yours"
  
• Criticism of UK politicians including Prime Minister David Cameron
  
• Faltering US attempts to prevent Syria from supplying arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon
  

The leaked embassy cables are both contemporary and historical, and include a 1989 note from a US diplomat in Panama City musing about the options open to Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega and referring to him as "a master of survival" - the author apparently had no idea that US forces would invade a week later and arrest Noriega.

 

In a statement, the White House said: "Such disclosures put at risk our diplomats, intelligence professionals, and people around the world who come to the United States for assistance in promoting democracy and open government.

 

"President Obama supports responsible, accountable, and open government at home and around the world, but this reckless and dangerous action runs counter to that goal."

 

Earlier, Wikileaks said it had come under attack from a computer-hacking operation.

 

"We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack," it reported on its Twitter feed.

 

No-one has been charged with passing the diplomatic files to the website but suspicion has fallen on US Army private Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak of classified US documents to Mr Assange's organisation.

 

Wikileaks argues that the site's previous releases shed light on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11858895

[berrywoman]

Yeah.... I don't know how I feel this. This whole leak issue is just insane...

[iPsy]

This may sound like a stupid question...but who had actually leaked it?

[Reilly]

The widespread use of hacking by the Chinese government is also reported. The US government condemned the release of the documents, saying they put the lives of diplomats and others at risk. The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, countered by saying the US authorities were afraid of being held to account.

 

They didn't counter anything by saying that.

[hotdensestate]

I don't know how I feel about this.

 

Idealogically I think information should be free. Practically I don't think it's so good for this stuff to be seen by everyone.

 

By the examples given though, which presumably are the most amazing and outrageous, these leaks don't show MUCH that's genuinely horrible or endangering to like everrbody, or anything... some dirty stuff sure but what do you expect from national intelligence agencies trying to protect their countries, etc etc. Nothing massive like nuclear weapons codes or some such. All the same this is dangerous and probably shouldn't be released to the public, I suppose.

 

Incidentally, the quote by the Yemen president about bombing al-Qaeda bases is fascinating. Some of the things they cited are really interesting in terms of foreign policy. But yeah, not something that the public should necessarily be allowed to get a hold of.

[Cyan Kat]

This may sound like a stupid question...but who had actually leaked it?

 

This is what I wondered :thinking:

[the_gloaming09]

I think that people should be able to post for the most part whatever they want. But I think when it comes to confidential files or things that can put peoples lives at risk then I say take it down.

[MrMagpie]

I thought shutting down limewire would prevent this from happening. :(

[HBK-79]

There's such a thing as Wikileaks now? I thought the only thing with "Wiki" in its name is Wikipedia.

[Guest howyousawtheworld]

The alleged criticisms of worldwide politicians including Gordon Brown and David Cameron just highlights the supreme arrogance of the US Government which in turn shows up badly on the country itself. Great country with great people but its government ought to straighten up. Barack Obama presented himself as the face of change. That included change in the way America conducts itself with others. Obviously by this wikileaks evidence he is failing. There is no thought of rationality.

[Reilly]

Obviously by this wikileaks evidence he is failing.

 

Can you be a bit more specific on that point?

[Crests]

I thought the only thing with "Wiki" in its name is Wikipedia.

 

There's a wiki for everything. :tongue:

 

I honestly don't understand this. :sad:

[Matter-Eater Lad]

Clearly the government is afraid of being open. But what else is new? It's up to people to challenge and try to keep the government in line otherwise they would go crazy, like they wish they could.

[hotdensestate]

Nick, what these people are worried about, too, is national security.

 

Of course saving face is a factor in it but the reason the government keeps a bunch of things secret is because people shouldn't know about them. Therefore, releasing over 250000 secrets is going to raise concern...

[Megalomania]

Did Wikileaks do anything illegal when they put the documents up? Surely there must be SOME law they were breaking. . .

[Italian Plastic]

I think it's the people who actually sent them to wikileaks that are breaking the law :tongue:

 

As far as I know, Wikileaks just put up stuff they find/what gets sent to them.

[timetravel88mph]

Clearly the government is afraid of being open. But what else is new? It's up to people to challenge and try to keep the government in line otherwise they would go crazy, like they wish they could.

 

True. A lot of countries want to take him down now:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/30/interpol-wanted-notice-julian-assange

^Sudden 'rape allegations' now against Julian Assange

[Cobalt]

Did Wikileaks do anything illegal when they put the documents up? Surely there must be SOME law they were breaking. . .

 

That's what the US gubberments are looking through right now.

[Matter-Eater Lad]

Nick, what these people are worried about, too, is national security.

 

Of course saving face is a factor in it but the reason the government keeps a bunch of things secret is because people shouldn't know about them. Therefore, releasing over 250000 secrets is going to raise concern...

 

Our government is the biggest threat to our national security with it's goal to be the world's police. If we want to be safe we need to destroy this mentality that we rule the world with our military.

 

Until we pull out of other countries and stop interfering with everyone we won't be safe because we are creating enemies.

 

^Sudden 'rape allegations' now against Julian Assange

 

If it's too public to kill him, they'll do something else to get him.

[Darlene_Ihnfsa]

There's such a thing as Wikileaks now? I thought the only thing with "Wiki" in its name is Wikipedia.

many copyleft software have developed their own wiki.

[Magnus]

I think it's the people who actually sent them to wikileaks that are breaking the law :tongue:

 

As far as I know, Wikileaks just put up stuff they find/what gets sent to them.

 

Right now, Assange is wanted by Interpol. His location is still unknown though. Also interesting thing, Wikileaks was held up on an Amazon server, and Amazon shut it down. I guess they got scared that the government will prosecute them too because they got calls asking about their link with Wikileaks. So much for freedom of speech... Anyway, they said they will relocate to Sweden or Switzerland or something. Also, before amazon kicked them out the site was under constant attack from hackers, and was down most of the time.

 

And, essentially, Wikileaks itself is composed of a group of hackers. Julian Assange is a computer genius aswell. They got hold of all these documents, I don't understand completely how, but whether they should release it, I'm still doubtful.

 

On one hand, it's the right of speech. On the other hand, diplomats are not always honest, that is just a fact, they have to do sacrifices and even lie occasionaly to hold peace. I don't know how the information that leaks will affect diplomacy, whic is very delicate as it is now. However, I also don't think anything really shocking was revealed yet. This was all kind of... expected, I'd say.

 

Assange also said that the next part of the documents will be about banks and how they really work (corruption etc).

[busybeeburns]

 

Wikileaks: Swiss bank freezes Julian Assange's account

 

The Swiss post office's bank, PostFinance, has frozen the accounts of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

 

The whistle-blowing website says the freeze includes a defence fund and personal assets worth 31,000 euros.

 

Wikileaks has published hundreds of secret US diplomatic cables, angering the US government and triggering moves by several companies including PayPal and Amazon to end their services.

 

Meanwhile, a warrant for Mr Assange's arrest has reached the UK authorities.

 

Sources have told the BBC that the European Arrest Warrant for Mr Assange arrived on Monday afternoon.

 

Swedish prosecutors want to question Mr Assange in connection with allegations of rape, which he denies.

 

He is believed to be in hiding somewhere in south-east England. Once the police have located him, he would be expected to appear at a magistrate's court within 24 hours, pending extradition to Sweden, says the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11929034

[coldplay_is_louve.]

It's now time for us Americans to put our hands over our faces and start sinking in our seat. We did it during the Bush administration, we can do it again.

[bart]

They will end up killing this guy. I dont think he is really doing a good thing, the chinise are pretty dam angry with the guy, and their secerty service just might make him dissapear.

[busybeeburns]

 

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange arrested in London

 

The founder of the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has been arrested by the Metropolitan Police.

 

The 39-year-old Australian denies allegations he sexually assaulted two women in Sweden. Mr Assange is due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court later.

 

A Wikileaks spokesman said Mr Assange's arrest was an attack on media freedom but it would not stop the release of more secret files. Scotland Yard said Mr Assange was arrested on a European arrest warrant by appointment at a London police station at 0930 GMT.

 

Mr Assange is accused by the Swedish authorities of one count of rape, one of unlawful coercion and two counts of sexual molestation, alleged to have been committed in August 2010.

 

If the district judge rules there is a prima facie case to be answered by Mr Assange, and the arrest warrant is legally correct, he could be extradited to Sweden.

 

But the process could take months. Police contacted his lawyer, Mark Stephens, on Monday night after receiving an European arrest warrant from the Swedish authorities.

 

An earlier warrant, issued last month, had not been filled in correctly. Mr Stephens said his client was keen to learn more about the allegations and anxious to clear his name.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11937110