Article

2010-12-07 Fifth Column

WikiLeaks and U.S. Computer Security: The 'Second Spy' Theory

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Spot 2010-12-07 08:47|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top

#1 The source has access to diplomatic cable traffic, U.S. war reports, and even gun sight video across both major theaters of the war. Compartmentalization puts that person back inside the Washington, D.C., theater.

I see only one possible culprit: the TOTUS.

Posted by JFM 2010-12-07 08:57|| 2010-12-07 08:57|| Front Page Top

#2 The US government bureaucracy is seriously "challenged". They put a lot of energy into getting something done, then fuc& it all up by leaving holes in the process.

I'll bet a dollar to a dog turd that someone like Manning could very well do this very easily.

AFAIAC, TOTUS although TOTUS may be waiting for an opportunity to use this crisis, he may be angry and his hands may be tied. It's a high-profile case. It would look bad if we were caught red-handed in Switzerland.

Posted by gorb 2010-12-07 10:40|| 2010-12-07 10:40|| Front Page Top

#3 If he had access to JWICS (which he allegedly did), and a couple of other intelligence networks, then it was probably easy for him to grab some of this stuff if his job gave him need to know and access to the networks and data therein.

No conspiracy needed. Hang the little traitor.

Posted by OldSpook 2010-12-07 14:05|| 2010-12-07 14:05|| Front Page Top

#4 In the current administration OS, we'll be lucky if they suspend his access.

Posted by Besoeker 2010-12-07 14:09|| 2010-12-07 14:09|| Front Page Top

#5 Just because there is the possibility of additional sources doesn't mean Manning is a fall guy, it just means he's the only one caught at this point.

Posted by rjschwarz 2010-12-07 15:24|| 2010-12-07 15:24|| Front Page Top

#6 WikiLeaks was founded in 2006.[19][37] That year, Assange wrote two essays setting out the philosophy behind WikiLeaks: "To radically shift regime behavior we must think clearly and boldly for if we have learned anything, it is that regimes do not want to be changed. We must think beyond those who have gone before us and discover technological changes that embolden us with ways to act in which our forebears could not."[38][39][40] In his blog he wrote, "the more secretive or unjust an organisation is, the more leaks induce fear and paranoia in its leadership and planning coterie. ... Since unjust systems, by their nature induce opponents, and in many places barely have the upper hand, mass leaking leaves them exquisitely vulnerable to those who seek to replace them with more open forms of governance."[38][41]

Assange sits on Wikileaks's nine-member advisory board,[42] and is a prominent media spokesman on its behalf. While newspapers have described him as a "director"[43] or "founder"[21] of Wikileaks, Assange has said, "I don't call myself a founder";[44] he does describe himself as the editor in chief of WikiLeaks,[45] and has stated that he has the final decision in the process of vetting documents submitted to the site.[46] Like all others working for the site, Assange is an unpaid volunteer.[44][47][48][49][50] Assange says that Wikileaks has released more classified documents than the rest of the world press combined: "That's not something I say as a way of saying how successful we are â rather, that shows you the parlous state of the rest of the media. How is it that a team of five people has managed to release to the public more suppressed information, at that level, than the rest of the world press combined? It's disgraceful."[37] Assange advocates a "transparent" and "scientific" approach to journalism, saying that "you can't publish a paper on physics without the full experimental data and results; that should be the standard in journalism."[51][52] In 2006, CounterPunch called him "Australia's most infamous former computer hacker."[53] The Age has called him "one of the most intriguing people in the world" and "internet's freedom fighter."[35] Assange has called himself "extremely cynical".[35] The Personal Democracy Forum said that as a teenager he was "Australia's most famous ethical computer hacker."[20] He has been described as being largely self-taught and widely read on science and mathematics,[23] and as thriving on intellectual battle.[54]

Posted by Water Modem 2010-12-07 19:16|| 2010-12-07 19:16|| Front Page Top

#7 At least now some of the typical leftists are on our side regarding classified information. Imagine their glee if this happened under Bush. No one on our side is defending Assange because it embarrassed the Big O.

Posted by whitecollar redneck 2010-12-07 20:14|| 2010-12-07 20:14|| Front Page Top

00:05 Mikey Hunt
00:04 anon1
00:00 trailing wife
23:57 trailing wife
23:49 trailing wife
23:45 Fire and Ice
23:43 Skidmark
23:26 tipper
23:16 Fire and Ice
23:15 tipper
23:14 Thing From Snowy Mountain
23:03 trailing wife
22:55 Frank G
22:54 SteveS
22:53 Frank G
22:47 Frank G
22:45 anon1
22:45 Water Modem
22:44 Frank G
22:44 Fire and Ice
22:42 Water Modem
22:42 trailing wife
22:41 Fire and Ice
22:39 gorb