Re: <nettime> Jay Rosen: Wikileaks, the World's First Stateless News Organization

[Heiko Recktenwald <heikorecktenwald@googlemail.com>]

Patrice Riemens schrieb:

> I am still brooding on a reaction to John Young's acerbic comments on WKLKs 

Here is another piece:

<<
Daniel Ellsberg's WikiLeaks wish list

Sunday, August 1, 2010; B04

The disclosure of tens of thousands of classified reports on the Afghan
war last week by WikiLeaks has been compared, rightly or wrongly, to the
release in 1971 of the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret history of U.S.
involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. "The parallels are very
strong," Pentagon Papers contributor and leaker Daniel Ellsberg told The
Washington Post on Monday. "This is the largest unauthorized disclosure
since the Pentagon Papers."

But perhaps not large enough? Outlook asked Ellsberg for his wish list
of documents to be leaked, declassified or otherwise made public,
documents that could fundamentally alter public understanding of key
national security issues and foreign policy debates. Below, he outlines
his selections and calls for congressional investigations:

1. The official U.S. "order of battle" estimates of the Taliban in
Afghanistan, detailing its size, organization and geographic breakdown
-- in short, the total of our opponents in this war. If possible, a
comparison of the estimate in December 2009 (when President Obama
decided on a troop increase and new strategy) and the estimate in June
or July 2010 (after six or seven months of the new strategy). We would
probably see that our increased presence and activities have
strengthened the Taliban, as has happened over the past three years.

2. Memos from the administration's decision-making process between July
and December 2009 on the new strategy for Afghanistan, presenting
internal critiques of the McChrystal-Petraeus strategy and troop
requests -- similar to the November 2009 cables from Ambassador Karl W.
Eikenberry that were leaked in January. In particular, memos by Vice
President Biden, national security adviser Jim Jones and others;
responses to the critiques; and responses to the responses. This
paperwork would probably show that, like Eikenberry, other high-level
internal critics of escalation made a stronger and more realistic case
than its advocates, warranting congressional reexamination of the
president's policy.

3. The draft revision, known as a "memo to holders," of the National
Intelligence Estimate on Iran from November 2007. This has been held up
for the past several months, apparently because it is consistent with
the judgment of that NIE that Iran has not made a decision to produce
nuclear weapons. In particular, the contribution to that memo by the
State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), since the
INR has had the best track record on such matters. Plus, estimates by
the INR and others of the likelihood of an Israeli attack on Iran later
this summer. Such disclosures could arrest momentum toward a foreseeably
disastrous U.S.-supported attack, as the same finding did in 2007.

4. The 28 or more pages on the foreknowledge or involvement of foreign
governments (particularly Saudi Arabia) that were redacted from the
congressional investigation of 9/11, over the protest of then-Sen. Bob
Graham (D-Fla.).

On each of these matters, congressional investigation is called for. The
chance of this would be greatly strengthened by leaks from insiders.
Subsequent hearings could elicit testimony from the insiders who
provided the information (whose identities could be made known to
congressional investigators) and others who, while not willing to take
on the personal risks of leaking, would be ready to testify honestly
under oath if requested or subpoenaed by Congress. Leaks are essential
to this process.
>>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/30/AR2010073002673_pf.html

H.


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