Wikileaks faces further international pressure following its Nov. 28 initial release of 251,287 leaked United States Embassy cables.
The information, categorized as “secret,” “confidential,” and “unclassified,” will be released in stages over the next few months.
According to Wikileaks, the cables (international telegrams) included orders sent from the Department of State, reports from embassies worldwide, and U.S. government activities around the globe from December 1966 through February 2010.
Wikileaks claims that its public dissemination of this government information is the “single most significant historical archive ever released” because it affects geopolitics, democracy, and human rights around the world.
The U.S. State Department thinks differently.
In the daily press briefing on Nov. 24, U.S. State Department Assistant Press Secretary Philip Crowley said, “We continue to make clear that this is harmful to our national security. It does put lives at risk. It does put national interests at risk.”
Wikileaks continues to defend itself in response to this argument, claiming that in the four years in which the media organization has been publishing information, “There is no report, including from the U.S. government, of any of our releases ever having caused harm to any individual.”
In anticipation of the release of the government documents and to mitigate diplomatic tensions that the leaks might ignite, the State Department has begun to notify governments that the release of documents is possible in the near future.
The U.S. State Department maintains that the leaked information will dampen diplomatic ties.
“[The documents] contain a record of the day-to-day diplomatic activity that our personnel undertake. And this back and forth between government, the government of the United States and governments around the world, it is diplomacy in action. ... Inherent in this day-to-day action is trust that we can convey our perspective to other governments in confidence and that they can convey their perspective on events to us.”
The person suspected of releasing the information to Wikileaks is the same suspect of the Collateral Murder video and the Afghan War Logs, Army intelligence officer Pfc. Bradley Manning, who was arrested in May and charged with releasing thousands of classified documents.
Manning was arrested after he told ex-hacker Adrian Lamo that he leaked classified documents, databases, and videos to Wikileaks. Manning could face charges of treason, which carries an optional death penalty.
Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, faces further pressure. Last August an arrest warrant from a Swedish court was issued charging him with rape, sexual molestation, and coercion. Although the charges were dropped, Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny has recently issued a warrant for his arrest.
Assange has denied the charge, claiming that it was an attempt to slander him.
According to a press release by counsel for Assange, “Despite his right to silence, my client has repeatedly offered to be interviewed, first in Sweden before he left, and then subsequently in the U.K. (including at the Swedish Embassy), either in person or by telephone, videoconferencing, or e-mail and he has also offered to make a sworn statement on affidavit.”
“Our client has always maintained his innocence.”
The information, categorized as “secret,” “confidential,” and “unclassified,” will be released in stages over the next few months.
According to Wikileaks, the cables (international telegrams) included orders sent from the Department of State, reports from embassies worldwide, and U.S. government activities around the globe from December 1966 through February 2010.
Wikileaks claims that its public dissemination of this government information is the “single most significant historical archive ever released” because it affects geopolitics, democracy, and human rights around the world.
The U.S. State Department thinks differently.
In the daily press briefing on Nov. 24, U.S. State Department Assistant Press Secretary Philip Crowley said, “We continue to make clear that this is harmful to our national security. It does put lives at risk. It does put national interests at risk.”
Wikileaks continues to defend itself in response to this argument, claiming that in the four years in which the media organization has been publishing information, “There is no report, including from the U.S. government, of any of our releases ever having caused harm to any individual.”
In anticipation of the release of the government documents and to mitigate diplomatic tensions that the leaks might ignite, the State Department has begun to notify governments that the release of documents is possible in the near future.
The U.S. State Department maintains that the leaked information will dampen diplomatic ties.
“[The documents] contain a record of the day-to-day diplomatic activity that our personnel undertake. And this back and forth between government, the government of the United States and governments around the world, it is diplomacy in action. ... Inherent in this day-to-day action is trust that we can convey our perspective to other governments in confidence and that they can convey their perspective on events to us.”
The person suspected of releasing the information to Wikileaks is the same suspect of the Collateral Murder video and the Afghan War Logs, Army intelligence officer Pfc. Bradley Manning, who was arrested in May and charged with releasing thousands of classified documents.
Manning was arrested after he told ex-hacker Adrian Lamo that he leaked classified documents, databases, and videos to Wikileaks. Manning could face charges of treason, which carries an optional death penalty.
Wikileaks Founder Faces Warrant for Arrest
Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, faces further pressure. Last August an arrest warrant from a Swedish court was issued charging him with rape, sexual molestation, and coercion. Although the charges were dropped, Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny has recently issued a warrant for his arrest.
Assange has denied the charge, claiming that it was an attempt to slander him.
According to a press release by counsel for Assange, “Despite his right to silence, my client has repeatedly offered to be interviewed, first in Sweden before he left, and then subsequently in the U.K. (including at the Swedish Embassy), either in person or by telephone, videoconferencing, or e-mail and he has also offered to make a sworn statement on affidavit.”
“Our client has always maintained his innocence.”
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