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U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

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Re: U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

#31

Post by rrc »

Rod wrote: post #19
avner wrote: post #9

Brad Manning violated the very core values of integrity involved in operating as an IA. In my opinion he doesn't deserve the 'whisteblower' status some people are trying to protect him under. Leaking a single controversial guncam footage because his conscience gave in is one thing, but continuing to leak documents and material and then boast about it to someone like Lamo is another. As a former Marine, I have seen an…

"I will never violate my own integrity by doing what Manning did and end up endangering more lives." Has it ever occurred to you that sacrificing some more lives is not necessarily a bad thing? As far as I know, the U.S. invasion of Iraq was (highly) illegal. The U.S. citizens do not know what their military is doing, and do not care. The only deterrent preventing U.S. government from engaging in "nation-building" ar…

I think I would have worded this differently:

It's possible that Manning's actions would cost lives. It's also possible that Manning's actions would save lives, perhaps by aborting pending military actions.

Actual metrics are impossible to calculate, but we should acknowledge that both possibilities exist.

I also think it's useful to consider that you can betray a nation or government, but net a positive for the world as a whole. Many people believe that the US government has overused classification of documents which could prove embarrassing to those in positions of power. Perhaps people like Manning act as a natural counterweight, ensuring that those in power never believe that their actions will remain secret for eternity; someday, some loudmouth kid might spew your secrets to the world.

Re: U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

#32

Post by jrockway »

hga wrote: post #30
jrockway wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's ironic that the Constitution doesn't apply to those who make a living defending its principles.

But it does, although there is a specific carve out for bringing charges in the 5th Amendment: " No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger.... "

If you continue reading:

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense."

Re: U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

#33

Post by sp332 »

rdl wrote: post #20
sp332 wrote: post #14

> The video, he said, was an encrypted AES-256 ZIP file. Does this mean Assange broke the AES-256 encryption on a ZIP file in 6 months? I mean, I'm sure the password didn't have 256 bits of entropy, but dang that's scary!

I'm sure he just brute-forced the passphrase.

He's a cryptographer, and he's on record as saying that the encryption was moderately hard. I think there's more involved than brute-forcing.

Re: U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

#34

Post by sp332 »

mcantelon wrote: post #22
avner wrote: post #9

Brad Manning violated the very core values of integrity involved in operating as an IA. In my opinion he doesn't deserve the 'whisteblower' status some people are trying to protect him under. Leaking a single controversial guncam footage because his conscience gave in is one thing, but continuing to leak documents and material and then boast about it to someone like Lamo is another. As a former Marine, I have seen an…

If you're referring to the video of the Apache assult, how does leaked video of war crimes cost lives? If you're referring to other material he leaked, which material are you referring to?

FTA: "He said he also leaked three other items to Wikileaks: a separate video showing the notorious 2009 Garani air strike in Afghanistan that Wikileaks has previously acknowledged is in its possession; a classified Army document evaluating Wikileaks as a security threat, which the site posted in March; and a previously unreported breach consisting of 260,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables that Manning described as exposing 'almost criminal political back dealings.'"

GP probably means the diplomatic cables. Sure they can be abused, but generally speaking, they are secret for good reasons.

Re: U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

#35

Post by hga »

jrockway wrote: post #32
hga wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it does, although there is a specific carve out for bringing charges in the 5th Amendment: " No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger.... "

If you continue reading: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obt…

Which of the above, as defined by the relevant parties (the Congress (UCMJ) and the Federal courts) is he not going to benefit from?

Civilian juries are based on English civilian common law juries. I would strongly suspect military court-martial juries have the same basis, although Wikipedia notes "Members of a court-martial are commissioned officers, unless the accused is a warrant officer or enlisted member and requests that the membership reflect their position by including warrant or enlisted members."

Re: U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

#36

Post by mcantelon »

sp332 wrote: post #34
mcantelon wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're referring to the video of the Apache assult, how does leaked video of war crimes cost lives? If you're referring to other material he leaked, which material are you referring to?

FTA: "He said he also leaked three other items to Wikileaks: a separate video showing the notorious 2009 Garani air strike in Afghanistan that Wikileaks has previously acknowledged is in its possession; a classified Army document evaluating Wikileaks as a security threat, which the site posted in March; and a previously unreported breach consisting of 260,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables that Manning described a…

WL says they haven't received any such documents:

http://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/15612005016

Re: U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

#37

Post by Rod »

rrc wrote: post #31
Rod wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I will never violate my own integrity by doing what Manning did and end up endangering more lives." Has it ever occurred to you that sacrificing some more lives is not necessarily a bad thing? As far as I know, the U.S. invasion of Iraq was (highly) illegal. The U.S. citizens do not know what their military is doing, and do not care. The only deterrent preventing U.S. government from engaging in "nation-building" ar…

I think I would have worded this differently: It's possible that Manning's actions would cost lives. It's also possible that Manning's actions would save lives, perhaps by aborting pending military actions. Actual metrics are impossible to calculate, but we should acknowledge that both possibilities exist. I also think it's useful to consider that you can betray a nation or government, but net a positive for the worl…

If the (in)famous video leaked by Wikileaks showed U.S. servicemen following the ROE, why is that the Pentagon was so upset by its release? Generally speaking, U.S. citizens greatly romanticize war, and videos such as this one show the crudeness of warfare, something few people want to see.

Do people really think that this video will enrage Iraqis further? Well, think about it. Iraqi citizens have endured decades of opression under Saddam, they had their country bombed to the ground in 1991, they endured a decade of embargo, they were bombed and invaded again in 2003, and have lived the past 7 years in chaos. I think the Iraqis are pretty jaded about violence by now. If someone is going to be upset about that video, that someone is the U.S. citizen who pays taxes and, unwillingly, subsidizes such slaughter.

I don't oppose Wikileaks leaking the video. What I oppose is Wikileaks editing for propaganda purposes. A raw video would have been more than enough.

Re: U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

#38

Post by steve19 »

jrockway wrote: post #27
rdl wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thankfully, he's under UCMJ jurisdiction, and will have professional military officers adjudicating. i.e., he's fucked.

It's ironic that the Constitution doesn't apply to those who make a living defending its principles.

He was not conscripted, he volunteered.

Re: U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

#39

Post by rdl »

sp332 wrote: post #33
rdl wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure he just brute-forced the passphrase.

He's a cryptographer, and he's on record as saying that the encryption was moderately hard. I think there's more involved than brute-forcing.

Brute-forcing a relatively long passphrase is actually a reasonable accomplishment, especially in secret, and with a limited budget. I will bet 99% that is what he did, and the 'moderately hard' part was in getting resources to run a covert distributed break.

Re: U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe

#40

Post by sp332 »

mcantelon wrote: post #36
sp332 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FTA: "He said he also leaked three other items to Wikileaks: a separate video showing the notorious 2009 Garani air strike in Afghanistan that Wikileaks has previously acknowledged is in its possession; a classified Army document evaluating Wikileaks as a security threat, which the site posted in March; and a previously unreported breach consisting of 260,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables that Manning described a…

WL says they haven't received any such documents: http://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/15612005016

The Pentagon thinks he might: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-10/wi...
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