If any more evidence was required that Washington, no matter who runs the place, only acts towards Israel with uncritical affection, the Wikileaks cables confirm it: CounterPunch has accessed Wikileaks’ file of cables on Israel’s Gaza assault two years ago (Operation Cast Lead, December 27, 2008 through January 18, 2009). Though the cables often… simply…
Wikileaks
Wikileaks is one of the biggest and most important stories in the world, challenging governments and journalists alike. I’ve been writing extensively about the group since 2006, featured an exclusive interview in 2008 with founder Julian Assange and examined the myriad of issues around the website. Assange himself asked me in the early days whether I wanted to be on the group’s board to vet incoming leaks and determine their veracity before publishing. I agreed but unfortunately this never eventuated.
If Wikileaks cables can’t change US policy, what would?
So: The damage caused by the WikiLeaks controversy has caused little real and lasting damage to American diplomacy, senior state department officials have concluded. It emerged in private briefings to Congress by top diplomats that the fallout from the release of thousands of private diplomatic cables from all over the globe has not been especially…
Australians have the right to know how our leaders “lead”
Scott Burchill, in an ongoing series dedicated to the issues surrounding Wikileaks that the media is ignoring, reminds us of the various ways Australian governments over the last decades have attempted to keep information secret that we have the right to know. Note how few journalists today are leading this kind of charge: Asserting the…
North Korea and Iran sitting in a tree…
Wikileaks is providing profoundly significant news day after day (and thanks to Greg Mitchell at The Nation for keeping the fires burning): A US diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks over the weekend says North Korea has likely received 2-and-a-half million US dollars for weapons sold to Iran through the Seoul branch of Iran’s Bank Mellat.…
30 nations backing Iran to build the bomb?
Many Wikileaks cables are fascinating but not necessarily reflecting the truth. This one, on Iran’s supposed rush for a nuclear bomb, is written by US officials with many reasons for telling their masters that Tehran is an evil nation pursuing evil means. It may be true, of course: Iran has been developing contacts in more…
Memo to Washington; only shows us as exceptional 24/7
The recent news that the US State Department will be taking an acclaimed documentary about Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg to show around the world has upset Fox News. The US shouldn’t be “airing its dirty linen” to the globe, says the national security “reporter”. Watch and learn how real media messaging works: Watch the…
Turkey happy to help US torture “suspects”
This is what “diplomacy” means: Turkey allowed the US to use its airbase at Incirlik in southern Turkey as part of the “extraordinary rendition” programme to take suspected terrorists to Guantánamo Bay, according to a US diplomatic cable. Turkey’s involvement in the controversial programme was revealed in a cable dated 8 June 2006, written by…
Sources trusting Wikileaks more than MSM
A question that should be asked. Why didn’t Rudolf Elmer hand over his supposedly vital banking documents to the mainstream media itself? Didn’t trust them? Had more faith in Wikileaks? Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, today pledged to make public the confidential tax details of 2,000 wealthy and prominent individuals, after being passed the data…
Prepare for a big Wikileaks dump on banking corruption
Oh my: The offshore bank account details of 2,000 “high net worth individuals” and corporations – detailing massive potential tax evasion – will be handed over to the WikiLeaks organisation in London tomorrow by the most important and boldest whistleblower in Swiss banking history, Rudolf Elmer, two days before he goes on trial in his…