tomder55
Jun 26, 2024, 03:03 AM
I have many comments about him and Wikileaks on these pages. Often I am conflicted between my firm belief in freedom of the press and the need for secrecy in national security .
In the case of Bradley Manning and Julian Assange there is none. They did tremendous damage that put US troops at risk. To me it was a no brainer that Assange should've been subject to extradition and to a trial .
He is not a traitor as he is not a US citizen. Manning was the traitor . Assange was a spy who assisted Manning in decoding US secrets and publishing them for the world to see. He crossed the line from legitimate journalism.
The deal that Clueless Joe's adm hammered out and announced Monday has Assange being flown to American outpost in Saipan . He will plead guilty to one count of illegally obtaining and disclosing classified documents. His sentence will be time served.
His time served was for violation of Brit laws. He has served NO time for American crimes.
There is a strange mix of people doing a Snoopy dance over this call . Lefties like Cornell West ; so called libertarians like Tucker Carlson ;RFK Jr ;and member of the coalition of idiots Marjorie Taylor Greene are all celebrating.
Evidently the only thing he did wrong was publish the truth . What nonsense!!
He colluded with Manning to steal US secrets and publish them. Those secrets included classified documents that revealed methods, assets, and allies in Afghanistan ,Iraq ;and where the U.S. was engaged in counterinsurgency operations. He outed Afghans who worked directly with US opening them up to retribution. Those who were not killed were rendered ineffective. Tribal elders who cooperated with the US were murdered . US embassy and intel personnel in some cases were forced to be moved from critical postings for their safety.
We had an ambassador in Libya, and we had to remove him from his post because he was directly threatened by Moammar Gadhafi’s thugs
How The National Security Community Continues To Debate The WikiLeaks Disclosures : NPR (https://www.npr.org/2019/04/11/712409140/how-the-national-security-community-continues-to-debate-the-wikileaks-disclosure)
“Assange agreed to assist [Pfc. Bradley] Manning in cracking a password stored on United States Department of Defense computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network, a United States government network used for classified documents and communications,”
Office of Public Affairs | WikiLeaks Founder Charged in Computer Hacking Conspiracy | United States Department of Justice (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-charged-computer-hacking-conspiracy#:~:text=The%20indictment%20alleges%20th at%20in,SIPRNet)%2C%20a%20U.S.%20government%20netw ork)
This was not journalism that falls under any 1st amendment protections . This was a clear breach of national security in a time of war. He is no different than the Rosenbergs
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg)
While spying on the US Wikileaks selectively refused to disclose info that would damage Russia.
“We had several leaks sent to Wikileaks, including the Russian hack. It would have exposed Russian activities and shown WikiLeaks was not controlled by Russian security services,” the source who provided the messages wrote to FP. “Many Wikileaks staff and volunteers or their families suffered at the hands of Russian corruption and cruelty, we were sure Wikileaks would release it. Assange gave excuse after excuse.”
WikiLeaks Turned Down Leaks on Russian Government During U.S. Presidential Campaign – Foreign Policy (https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/17/wikileaks-turned-down-leaks-on-russian-government-during-u-s-presidential-campaign/)
He should've faced US justice.
In the case of Bradley Manning and Julian Assange there is none. They did tremendous damage that put US troops at risk. To me it was a no brainer that Assange should've been subject to extradition and to a trial .
He is not a traitor as he is not a US citizen. Manning was the traitor . Assange was a spy who assisted Manning in decoding US secrets and publishing them for the world to see. He crossed the line from legitimate journalism.
The deal that Clueless Joe's adm hammered out and announced Monday has Assange being flown to American outpost in Saipan . He will plead guilty to one count of illegally obtaining and disclosing classified documents. His sentence will be time served.
His time served was for violation of Brit laws. He has served NO time for American crimes.
There is a strange mix of people doing a Snoopy dance over this call . Lefties like Cornell West ; so called libertarians like Tucker Carlson ;RFK Jr ;and member of the coalition of idiots Marjorie Taylor Greene are all celebrating.
Evidently the only thing he did wrong was publish the truth . What nonsense!!
He colluded with Manning to steal US secrets and publish them. Those secrets included classified documents that revealed methods, assets, and allies in Afghanistan ,Iraq ;and where the U.S. was engaged in counterinsurgency operations. He outed Afghans who worked directly with US opening them up to retribution. Those who were not killed were rendered ineffective. Tribal elders who cooperated with the US were murdered . US embassy and intel personnel in some cases were forced to be moved from critical postings for their safety.
We had an ambassador in Libya, and we had to remove him from his post because he was directly threatened by Moammar Gadhafi’s thugs
How The National Security Community Continues To Debate The WikiLeaks Disclosures : NPR (https://www.npr.org/2019/04/11/712409140/how-the-national-security-community-continues-to-debate-the-wikileaks-disclosure)
“Assange agreed to assist [Pfc. Bradley] Manning in cracking a password stored on United States Department of Defense computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network, a United States government network used for classified documents and communications,”
Office of Public Affairs | WikiLeaks Founder Charged in Computer Hacking Conspiracy | United States Department of Justice (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-charged-computer-hacking-conspiracy#:~:text=The%20indictment%20alleges%20th at%20in,SIPRNet)%2C%20a%20U.S.%20government%20netw ork)
This was not journalism that falls under any 1st amendment protections . This was a clear breach of national security in a time of war. He is no different than the Rosenbergs
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg)
While spying on the US Wikileaks selectively refused to disclose info that would damage Russia.
“We had several leaks sent to Wikileaks, including the Russian hack. It would have exposed Russian activities and shown WikiLeaks was not controlled by Russian security services,” the source who provided the messages wrote to FP. “Many Wikileaks staff and volunteers or their families suffered at the hands of Russian corruption and cruelty, we were sure Wikileaks would release it. Assange gave excuse after excuse.”
WikiLeaks Turned Down Leaks on Russian Government During U.S. Presidential Campaign – Foreign Policy (https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/17/wikileaks-turned-down-leaks-on-russian-government-during-u-s-presidential-campaign/)
He should've faced US justice.