WIKILEAKS - DOES IT AGAIN

[olddutch]

Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks has released a video which it claims shows the killing of civilians by the US military in Baghdad in 2007.

http://news.bbc.co.uk...echnology/8605055.stm

It is the latest in a long list of "leaks" published by the secretive site, which has established a reputation for publishing sensitive material from governments and other high-profile organisations.
In October 2009, for example, it posted a list of names and addressesof people it claimed belonged to the British National Party (BNP). The BNP said the list was "malicious forgery".
During the 2008 US elections, it published screenshots of the e-mail inbox, pictures and address book of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Other controversial documents hosted on the site include a copy of the Standard Operating Procedures for Camp Delta, a document that detailed restrictions placed on prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

Does this site provide a useful service or is it an irresponsible trouble maker ?

[OrcadianOil]

Duh - who cares?

[dundurn]

With one hat on I can sympathise with companies/ administrations/ governments who might wish that certain news could have been released in a more sympathetic/ sensitive way or at a time when it was less likely to be a spark for dissent or dissatisfaction. With the other hat, I'm afraid that if it's true then the best place for it is in the public domain.

This is the logical endpoint of the journalistic freedom to print/ publish and (possibly) be damned.

[Zeuhl]

Orcadian

so your real name is Homer?

[Zeuhl]

If the site is publishing genuine information - yes

For instance, we know from american testimony that some personnel have murdered civilians. If there is bona fide video evidence of such crimes by US military, surely broadcasters will verify and screen it.

[rov1200]

The freedom of information bill is the best piece of legislation ever to leave the commons. Wikileaks is only continueing that tradition.

[birdie1971]

The footage showing the deliberate, targeted murder of unarmed civilians is shocking.

Information is power. Those that have the power know it and use information to distort the truth and manipulate opinion to their own advantage. It has been this way since time immemorial.

Wikileaks seeks to readdress the balance in some small way.

[Snafu03]

do you honestly think a 'secretive site' is possible to maintain? I cast a wry smile when the first thing i saw on the homepage was a plea to make a 'secure donation'. If they dont get your ip address they'll have your details via online transactons.

I've no doubt all the footage/info is bonafide but they'll only show you what they want you to see. But I just doubt that this site would exist if the US government didnt want it to.

[birdie1971]

^^^ “... I just doubt that this site would exist if the US government didn't want it to.”

I'm not sure that's entirely correct. Whilst I agree that the vast majority of internet sites are USA based, there are plenty others in many other countries that aren't. And having watched the footage I described above, I honestly can't believe that any US administration would want that in the public domain. It shows the US military (and by inference) the previous US Government in an appalling light.

Various US administrations have tried to censure the internet and have so far failed to do so. Primarily because USA laws stop at the USA border. Certain US politicians, generally of the right-wing persuasion, seem to think that a law that applies in the USA should also apply to the rest of the world. Thankfully for the rest of us, this isn't the case.

[dabees]

@Snafu03

Wikileaks is based in Iceland, with some of it's contributors coming from Germany. If you take a look at their site, you'll see that the owners have been persecuted by the CIA prior to the release of this video.