The 92,000 classified U.S. government documents leaked to WikiLeaks.org didn’t reveal many new shocking truths about the U.S. military quagmire in Afghanistan. The facts on the ground have been well known publicly for some time – that the Taliban adversary is getting stronger and is being actively assisted by a faux ally (Pakistan) to whom …
Continue reading “The Main Effect of the WikiLeaks Documents Is Political”
The 92,000 reports on the war in Afghanistan made public by the whistleblower organization WikiLeaks and reported Monday by the Guardian, the New York Times, and Der Spiegel offer no major revelations that are entirely new, as did the Pentagon Papers to which they are inevitably being compared. But they increase the political pressure on …
Continue reading “Leaked Reports Make Afghan War Policy More Vulnerable”
Washington’s spin machine is in overdrive to counter the massive leak of documents on Afghanistan. Much of the counterattack revolves around the theme that the documents aren’t particularly relevant to this year’s new-and-improved war effort. The White House seized on the time frame of the documents released by WikiLeaks. “The period of time covered in …
Continue reading “State of Denial: After the Big Leak, Spinning for War”
Updated at 6:10 p.m. EDT, July 27, 2010
Admiral Mike Mullen arrived in Iraq, where he lauded Iraq’s “stunning progress” in security over the last three years, while new attacks left at least seven Iraqis killed and 38 more wounded. Parliament again delayed meeting thanks to a political impasse that threatens long-term security. Meanwhile, inquiries and investigations in the U.K. and U.S. further underscore the lack of accountability in the build-up to the war and in the U.N.’s Oil-for-Food program. Also, the amount of classified documents related to the Iraq War that WikiLeaks is reportedly holding could be three times larger than what was just released on Afghanistan.
The brutality and fecklessness of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan have been laid bare in an indisputable way just days before the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on whether to throw $33.5 billion more into the Afghan quagmire, when that money is badly needed at home. On Sunday, the Web site WikiLeaks posted …
Continue reading “Afghan War Leaks Expose Costly, Deceitful March of Folly”
They said the huge cache of classified documents – including 250,000 diplomatic messages passed from US embassies around the world to Washington – was a fantasy, “boasting” by Pfc. Bradley Manning, the intelligence analyst who gave Wikileaks that video of US soldiers laughing and shouting “good shot!” as they mowed down Iraqi civilians. The “hi …
Continue reading “Bradley Manning’s Gift”
Army Specialist Bradley Manning, the intelligence analyst who leaked the “Collateral Murder” video of US pilots shooting down Iraqi civilians (including two Reuters photographers) in cold blood, is finally being charged. For revealing to the American people the truth about what’s going on in Iraq, Manning faces horrendous legal consequences – nearly sixty years in …
Continue reading “Bradley Manning, American Patriot”
Updated at 9:29 p.m. EDT, July 6, 2010
At least 11 Iraqis were killed and 48 were wounded in attacks that focused on pilgrims traveling through Baghdad for an important Shi’ite observance. Reports were scarce from other regions of the country, perhaps due to tightening security ahead of the holiday. There were several other stories mostly regarding foreign relations, but even the plight of Iraqi widows made the headlines.
Justin asks, did Wired target Bradley Manning?
No good deed goes unpunished, and that is especially true when it comes to whistleblowers who expose the murderous machinations of the US government: SPC Bradley Manning, a 22-year-old intelligence analyst stationed at Forward Operating Base Hammer in the vicinity of Baghdad, was arrested two weeks ago for having supposedly sent Wikileaks the “Collateral Damage” …
Continue reading “Free Bradley Manning!” 
