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US asks WikiLeaks to halt document release
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40401066/
11/28/10
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has told whistleblower WikiLeaks that its expected imminent release of classified State Department cables will put "countless" lives at risk, threaten global counterterrorism operations and jeopardize U.S. relations with its allies.
In a highly unusual step reflecting the administration's grave concerns about the ramifications of the move, the State Department late Saturday released a letter from its top lawyer to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his attorney telling them that publication of the documents would be illegal and demanding that they stop it.
It also said the U.S. government would not cooperate with WikiLeaks in trying to scrub the cables of information that might put sources and methods of intelligence gathering and diplomatic reporting at risk.
The letter from State Department legal adviser Harold Koh was released as U.S. diplomats around the world are scrambling to warn foreign governments about what might be in the secret documents that are believed to contain highly sensitive assessments about world leaders, their policies and America's attempts to lobby them.
In the letter, Koh said the publication of some 250,000 secret diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks, which is expected on Sunday, will "place at risk the lives of countless innocent individuals," "place at risk on-going military operations," and "place at risk on-going cooperation between countries."
"They were provided in violation of U.S. law and without regard for the grave consequences of this action," he said. Koh said WikiLeaks should not publish the documents, return them to the U.S. government and destroy any copies it may have in its possession or in computer databases.
The State Department said Koh's message was a response to a letter received on Friday by the U.S. ambassador to Britain, Louis Susman, from Assange and his lawyer, Jennifer Robinson. The department said that letter asked for information "regarding individuals who may be 'at significant risk of harm' because of" the release of the documents.
."Despite your stated desire to protect those lives, you have done the opposite and endangered the lives of countless individuals," Koh wrote in reply. "You have undermined your stated objective by disseminating this material widely, without redaction, and without regard to the security and sanctity of the lives your actions endanger."
He said the U.S government would not deal with WikiLeaks at all in determining what may or may not released.
"We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained U.S. government classified materials," wrote Koh, who is considered to be one of the world's top experts in international law and was reportedly considered for a seat on the Supreme Court.
WikiLeaks is expected to post the documents online on Sunday and Koh said the U.S. government had been told that The New York Times, the British newspaper the Guardian and the German news magazine Der Spiegel had prior access to them.
The release of Koh's letter comes as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other top U.S. officials are reaching out to numerous countries about the expected WikiLeaks release.
Clinton spoke to leaders in China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, France and Afghanistan on Friday, according to State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. Canada, Denmark, Norway and Poland have also been warned.
The cables are thought to include candid assessments of foreign leaders and governments and could erode trust in the U.S. as a diplomatic partner.
Crowley said the release will place "lives and interests at risk. We are all bracing for what may be coming and condemn WikiLeaks for the release of classified material. It will place lives and interests at risk. It is irresponsible."
Diplomatic cables are internal documents that would include a range of secret communications between U.S. diplomatic outposts and State Department headquarters in Washington.
WikiLeaks has said the release will be seven times the size of its October leak of 400,000 Iraq war documents, already the biggest leak in U.S. intelligence history.
The U.S. says it has known for some time that WikiLeaks held the diplomatic cables. No one has been charged with passing them to the website, but suspicion focuses on U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
11/28/10
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has told whistleblower WikiLeaks that its expected imminent release of classified State Department cables will put "countless" lives at risk, threaten global counterterrorism operations and jeopardize U.S. relations with its allies.
In a highly unusual step reflecting the administration's grave concerns about the ramifications of the move, the State Department late Saturday released a letter from its top lawyer to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his attorney telling them that publication of the documents would be illegal and demanding that they stop it.
It also said the U.S. government would not cooperate with WikiLeaks in trying to scrub the cables of information that might put sources and methods of intelligence gathering and diplomatic reporting at risk.
The letter from State Department legal adviser Harold Koh was released as U.S. diplomats around the world are scrambling to warn foreign governments about what might be in the secret documents that are believed to contain highly sensitive assessments about world leaders, their policies and America's attempts to lobby them.
In the letter, Koh said the publication of some 250,000 secret diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks, which is expected on Sunday, will "place at risk the lives of countless innocent individuals," "place at risk on-going military operations," and "place at risk on-going cooperation between countries."
"They were provided in violation of U.S. law and without regard for the grave consequences of this action," he said. Koh said WikiLeaks should not publish the documents, return them to the U.S. government and destroy any copies it may have in its possession or in computer databases.
The State Department said Koh's message was a response to a letter received on Friday by the U.S. ambassador to Britain, Louis Susman, from Assange and his lawyer, Jennifer Robinson. The department said that letter asked for information "regarding individuals who may be 'at significant risk of harm' because of" the release of the documents.
."Despite your stated desire to protect those lives, you have done the opposite and endangered the lives of countless individuals," Koh wrote in reply. "You have undermined your stated objective by disseminating this material widely, without redaction, and without regard to the security and sanctity of the lives your actions endanger."
He said the U.S government would not deal with WikiLeaks at all in determining what may or may not released.
"We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained U.S. government classified materials," wrote Koh, who is considered to be one of the world's top experts in international law and was reportedly considered for a seat on the Supreme Court.
WikiLeaks is expected to post the documents online on Sunday and Koh said the U.S. government had been told that The New York Times, the British newspaper the Guardian and the German news magazine Der Spiegel had prior access to them.
The release of Koh's letter comes as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other top U.S. officials are reaching out to numerous countries about the expected WikiLeaks release.
Clinton spoke to leaders in China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, France and Afghanistan on Friday, according to State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. Canada, Denmark, Norway and Poland have also been warned.
The cables are thought to include candid assessments of foreign leaders and governments and could erode trust in the U.S. as a diplomatic partner.
Crowley said the release will place "lives and interests at risk. We are all bracing for what may be coming and condemn WikiLeaks for the release of classified material. It will place lives and interests at risk. It is irresponsible."
Diplomatic cables are internal documents that would include a range of secret communications between U.S. diplomatic outposts and State Department headquarters in Washington.
WikiLeaks has said the release will be seven times the size of its October leak of 400,000 Iraq war documents, already the biggest leak in U.S. intelligence history.
The U.S. says it has known for some time that WikiLeaks held the diplomatic cables. No one has been charged with passing them to the website, but suspicion focuses on U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Oran's Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as: citizens actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation].
If this act doesnt fall within the definition of the word treason, there has to be another legal name for it then. He obtained (either legally or illegally) classified information pertaining to relations with other nations and leaders, gave it (sold it???) to an entity who then broadcasted it to numeorus news outlets in other nations......
This guy is a traitor. The word traitor is affiliated with the word treason in the law dictionary mentioned above. There is no other word for it. I personally believe the right to free speech ends when you put peoples lives in jeopardy, or risk anything that pertains to ones country.
If he wanted out of the Army, he could have worked on a dishonorable discharge or something. If he had a vandetta like he basically claimed he did, and he did what he did...it is treasoneous and he should be held accountable. Freedom of speech in my opinion for him would have been, "the Army *****!" To obtain sensitive information and give it to an entity that would leak it to the world is treason.
Lets put it this way, if any of us on this board did something akin to this, they would have a special little spot for us. It has grave risk for this country and there should be consequences.....
If this act doesnt fall within the definition of the word treason, there has to be another legal name for it then. He obtained (either legally or illegally) classified information pertaining to relations with other nations and leaders, gave it (sold it???) to an entity who then broadcasted it to numeorus news outlets in other nations......
This guy is a traitor. The word traitor is affiliated with the word treason in the law dictionary mentioned above. There is no other word for it. I personally believe the right to free speech ends when you put peoples lives in jeopardy, or risk anything that pertains to ones country.
If he wanted out of the Army, he could have worked on a dishonorable discharge or something. If he had a vandetta like he basically claimed he did, and he did what he did...it is treasoneous and he should be held accountable. Freedom of speech in my opinion for him would have been, "the Army *****!" To obtain sensitive information and give it to an entity that would leak it to the world is treason.
Lets put it this way, if any of us on this board did something akin to this, they would have a special little spot for us. It has grave risk for this country and there should be consequences.....
I'll tell you, this leak is sure causing some anti American sentiment. Some of the comments made about other countries and other world leaders are not very nice at all. This is causing huge huge problems...what exactly is this idiot trying to accomplish? He is really creating a dangerous situation in so many different ways. I also would think this would be considered treason or some sort of act of terror. But they said on the news last night that it's covered by freedom of speech. How can that be?
I totally and absolutely agree and am appalled that this has gone this far. I hear the next leak will be on the banks. A criminal investigation should have been underway the last time this happened.
I agree with you Brice, we are way to soft anymore. The example needs to be set we will not tolarate this at all.
52 years isnt sufficient if any information he leaked can be traced to any death. With death aside, what this guy did is reprehensible!!! Jail is not enough, and I am not so sure that death is suitable. Hard labor, every day until he dies isnt enough.
Why did this guy sign up??? He wasnt drafted!!! What was he getting back at? This man needs a thourough cleansing, and perhaps remiving him from the gene pool is the deterrent we need to start using as an example. 100-150 years ago, this man would be tried and hanged...all in the same week. Now, even with the confession... this will be dragged out. He confessed!!!! No trial, no legal preceedings.... he's done!
But not in this day and age....some lawyer will fight for this treasonous turds life. They will say that he made a mistake, or he had a mental illness, or a horrible up bringing that lead to this.... theres always an excuse, but that does not remove the fact that this guy DID THIS AND CONFESSED!!!!!
I believe we have the best legal system in the world, but damn do some of the faults stick out at some inopportune moments, or what?
Why did this guy sign up??? He wasnt drafted!!! What was he getting back at? This man needs a thourough cleansing, and perhaps remiving him from the gene pool is the deterrent we need to start using as an example. 100-150 years ago, this man would be tried and hanged...all in the same week. Now, even with the confession... this will be dragged out. He confessed!!!! No trial, no legal preceedings.... he's done!
But not in this day and age....some lawyer will fight for this treasonous turds life. They will say that he made a mistake, or he had a mental illness, or a horrible up bringing that lead to this.... theres always an excuse, but that does not remove the fact that this guy DID THIS AND CONFESSED!!!!!
I believe we have the best legal system in the world, but damn do some of the faults stick out at some inopportune moments, or what?
The leak has been traced to one individual, a private Bradley Manning, who is currently held in solitary confinement in the brig at Quantico Virginia. If convicted of the current charges (there may be others) he faces 52 years in prison.
Manning downloaded thousands of messages from a classified archive, while on duty in Iraq, apparently in an effort to "get even" with the United States Army.
Manning downloaded thousands of messages from a classified archive, while on duty in Iraq, apparently in an effort to "get even" with the United States Army.
I am with both of you teko and Tarnished_Brass. It should be classified as terror and if it isnt at the very least treason, I dont know what is. The American that leaked this should be held and prosecuted for treason and wikileaks founder should be held on terror charges.
Better yet, round them all up and send them to the front lines and let some of our good fighting men and women come home.
Better yet, round them all up and send them to the front lines and let some of our good fighting men and women come home.
Some of the things in the past were from a soldier that took them from his job. I think anyone found taking and /or leaking such documents should be tried for treason and shot.
So why is this not considered an act of terror? And where and how are they obtaining this information, and getting away with releasing it at the nations expense anyway!
Another B.S entity that has the U.S. government by the short hairs. If this is truly classified material, how is it getting into the hands of WikiLeaks? You find where this leak is and you stop it....effectively with no prejudice.
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