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May 17, 2013
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 Truthdigger of the Week: Daniel EllsbergPosted on Jan 6, 2012
(Page 2) And how bad is that? I would say that it’s very bad, if he succeeds. I’ve felt for a long time now that we need much more whistle-blowing. Much more unauthorized disclosure of a classified nature of a sort that reveals government wrongdoing than we’ve ever had. I obviously do feel that I did the right thing in putting out the Pentagon Papers. That’s more widely acknowledged now. It certainly didn’t hurt the U.S. in any way, and it contributed to shortening the [Vietnam] war. The question is: How often do you need a disclosure like that—every 40 years? I would say once a year would be better. I would say that Bradley Manning took the same attitude I did, which was the willingness to take a personal risk in order to inform the public, in order to affect events and save lives. We’ve had a number of wars that would have been averted if we’d had a Bradley Manning, and preferably at a higher level, with access to this information. I think there wouldn’t have been an invasion and an aggression against Iraq; if people knew that this was a disastrous course, that would have averted the war if it was done before the war. Likewise, the escalation in Afghanistan was done in opposition of most of the president’s military and civilian advisers, and I think if they had brought out their own opinions to the public, preferably wtih documents, we wouldn’t have put out this extra 40,000 troops, and lives would have been saved on both sides. In both cases, we’ve benefited from memoirs and investigative journalism, such as from Bob Woodward and Sy Hersh, that shows how many people knew we were heading off a cliff, but they didn’t tell us at the time. They told Woodward or Hersh or otherwise years after it was too late to stop them. I think in almost every catastrophe you can think of—even natural ones like Hurricane Katrina—there were warnings beforehand about how inadequate the preparations were. People knew what would happen. In almost every case you look at—Fukushima in Japan would be another case—there were plenty of people able to give the warning but just didn’t do it loud enough. They may have given warnings internally, but when people were ignored, as they were in both those cases, they didn’t risk their jobs to go public. I read Bradley Manning say, in the chat logs, that he was willing to go to prison for life or even be executed. He is facing life in prison or even the possiblility of death—it’s a capital offense that he’s charged with, and the judge in the end could give him the death sentence. I thought, here’s a guy who was in the same state of mind that I was in 40 years ago, and I think it’s absolutely appropriate. You should be willing to take this risk when there are this many lives at stake. My main point is we need more such decision-making, not less, and Obama’s efforts to assure we’ll have less truth-telling than before is frankly a death sentence to a lot of people in the world, Americans and others, because it’s a recipe for more disastrous policies like Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan—and I would say what are you doing in Pakistan with the drone attacks?—that are disastrous and could be averted by more truth-telling. Frankly, it will always take courage to do that, to tell a truth against the wishes of a boss—which is the essence of whistle-blowing and is always going to be risky. It doesn’t always involve imprisonment, but just the prospect of losing your clearance, your career, very often your marriage or your children’s education, your standing and your peers is enough to keep people quiet about dangers and crimes. Advertisement Ellsberg: Did you read that I was expelled? People didn’t know why. It was very simple. I of course didn’t have a chance to talk to Bradley—essentially nobody but his family and his lawyer had. So, I did want to let him know that I was supporting him. And he was looking straight ahead, as he always did, and the lawyers were out of the room in a conference with the judge. So he was just sitting there with one military lawyer next to him, and I went up to him and tapped his chair and said, “Hi, Bradley, I’m Dan Ellsberg.” Well, before he could even turn around, I was jerked out of the room by two hefty military police. And I said, “What’s this about?” They said. “It’s against the rules.” I said, “It didn’t occur to me there was such a rule,” and they showed me a run-down, which said, “Don’t chew gum, [etc.]. ...” I said, “I don’t see anything here that says ‘Don’t talk to a defendant.’ ” One of them said, “Well, it’s a norm.” I told them I was a defendant in a case like this for five months and nobody protected me from conversing. It’s a general rule—they want to have as much control over [Manning] as possible. His lawyer said he was sure I wouldn’t be able to talk to him. So, I questioned whether there was such a rule. A guy in charge of security said, “Well, now you’ve been warned, so you can go back in.”
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By LB, March 3, 2012 at 10:10 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Hello
I think you have some valid points and would like t add something which may be
of some interest to you.
I don’t think Manning was the single point leak. I may be wrong.
But I ave a feeling that Manning leaked the Apache and the War Logs, but not
Cable Gate. I think the chat logs are complete bull. Some one was definatley
chatting with Lamo , but was it Bradley Manning, we may never know.
Why would a person who has leaked an Apache helicopter shooting unarmed
civilians, and a 90K documents of Afgan War logs, even be talking to Lamo?
In the chat logs the person (Manning?) says Lamo was talking up the Wikileaks
donations page. This being the reason tat the alleged Manning then approached
Lamo. Even so, chatting with Lamo would trip alarm bells due to his prior
engagements with FBI.
Another point is why is the chat discussing Assange and the way in which the
information was relayed. This seems to be almost deliberate ‘mentions’ for the
sake of planting references for future investigations.
I was also interested in the way the leaked Stratfor e-mails have a solid thread
regarding Manning. With such a tiny percentage of emails released from the
Stratfor booty, it may yet unveil some startling information which could shine a
completely different light on events.
I hope so.
Can I call your attention to email 369979
http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/369979_re-wikileaks-question-.html
thankyou
LB
Report thisBy ChukLitl, January 9, 2012 at 2:54 pm Link to this comment
His court martial should result in a bronze star, for fulfilling his enlistment oath; “to defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign & domestic.” Any defence of secrecy violates the right to free speech. Insufficient information is the enemy of freedom.
Report thisBy whitedog, January 9, 2012 at 12:53 pm Link to this comment
Don’t have time read down the page, so so sorry you guys, but on page three Ellsberg says he doesn’t believe Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld knew they were inciting al-Qaida; I believe they did, those kinds of effects are exactly what they’re looking for, the unending violence they described in, alluded to in the Defence Planning Guidance and Project for the New American Century; they were aiming for, need the wild escalation of so much violence requiring a military scale intervention that would feed into their pockets and those of their friends.
I’ve been watching 911 documentaries: Connecting the Dots, Loose Change, Terrorstorm, and some others. That the clues, the obvious, clearly observable facts of that terrible event were andare available so clearly in plain sight. That day in 2001, during the live coverage, I was saying to myself, “Where is the Air Force?”, and the coverage of both the Pentagon and “crash site” in Pennsylvania showed no plane parts anywhere. They don’t care if we know. It’s part of their intimidation package. We Bad, don’t mess with us.
I wasn’t familiar with the Manning case, his reveal, maybe I had heard of it but am so distracted by so much going on around me it didn’t make a huge impression. Of course, now that I do know, I’m in tremendous support of this young man. The Bush administration was so blatantly strange and cruel, their motives so transparently perverse, the particulars to me are not necessary, but to “the possessed” they are. To stand up to the embedded press, they are. To stand up to them historically, they are. To reverse the policies, transform the congress, get them to tread with the courage they need to transform this seedy old tank and create the plow shares we truly need and want, they are.
The military will shrivel up and die without a solid opponent. Sooooo, oh goody, lets rile up the Arabs, the most relentless, unforgiving, passionate, stolid fighters we know. Also the most practical. If they know they’re being goaded, they may lie down, smiling, forget it you stupid American dogs. Go Mr. Manning.
Send in the activists to join them in the courtroom, or if denied, lie down in the road and get this thing publicised all over the globe. It may do more than we know. Where is this going on? How accessible is it?
Report thisBy prosefights, January 8, 2012 at 5:44 pm Link to this comment
Sunday January 8, 2012 17:38
Fred is receiving emails but has not emailed since about the time Rumsfeld returned to Taos.
http://www.prosefights.org/whitmancrocker/whitmancrocker.htm#dope
Fred Fair, buddy and neighbor, of Donald Rumsfeld smoking dope.
Photo!
Report thisBy prosefights, January 8, 2012 at 2:52 pm Link to this comment
Leon Panetta warns Iran to keep Strait of Hormuz open January 8, 2012 | 12:08 pm
Google ‘ryan crocker j orlin grabee’ to locate ‘Whitman In Kabul U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker ‘71 and ... J Orlin Grabbe and bill worked together on the Black and White Test of ...’ which posts letter from Hans Beuhler who was imprisoned in Iran for espionage, Swiss Radio International broacast on spy sting on Iran, Baltimore-Sun payment note, Iran-Daneshjoo request for information, and how the 1980 Iraq/Iran war got started. Recovery of $22,036 stolen from our Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union retirement-protected saving accounts was a direct result of our filing criminal cromplaint again Brzezinski in new Mexico Federal 97 cv 266
Google find results: http://www.prosefights.org/whitmancrocker/whitmancrocker.htm#panetta
Report thisBy Ed Romano, January 8, 2012 at 11:01 am Link to this comment
Elsberg is a rare human being. But, if I’m not mistaken, he is wrong when he says that the Espionage Act was only used in the first forty years to prosecute acts of espionage. I believe part of the Act made it illegal to stand up in public and say that the U.S. should not be involved in WW1. This provision made it possible for the government to deport individuals and destroy the IWW which was a strong supporter of the Free Speech movement. If anyone is interested today they can discover why the government was so anxious to destroy one of the few honest labor unions we ever had in this country by reading the preamble to the IWW constitution.
Report thisBy prosefights, January 8, 2012 at 9:42 am Link to this comment
Iran Will Soon Move Uranium Work Underground, Official SaysBy REUTERS Published: January 8, 2012
Iran Able to Block Strait of Hormuz, General Dempsey Tells CBS January 08, 2012, 10:02 AM EST
Panetta: Iran Has Not Yet Decided to Make a Nuclear Bomb Published January 08, 2012 | Associated Press
http://www.prosefights.org/whitmancrocker/whitmancrocker.htm#panetta
Report thisBy afraid to say, January 8, 2012 at 7:28 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
@henri
All Ron Paul would be able to do as pres is veto every bill that came across his desk. When asked about this he dodges and says something vague about forming committees. He is only running? to drive the debate further right. If he really believed what he preaches he would put all of his effort into getting people with similar views to him elected to the house and senate.
Report thisBy Balraj, January 8, 2012 at 7:14 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I have followed the fortunes of Nixon era and the person Daniel Elseberg proved to be in massive wars age. He was the person in America who took the sheets off the shameful politicians in early 70’s and made them stand naked in front those of us they pretend to represent. The war in Vietnam was the worst to be followed by small ones till secretive Bush came on the scene to somewhat match the Vietnam in middle east. Hats off to the great trial blazer who showed the luminous path to us all including Jullian Ausanjh and Bradley Manning.
Report thisBy munky, January 8, 2012 at 5:31 am Link to this comment
Ellsberg is the man! I had the chance to meet him at a party in Beverly Hills a few years back. This was before he obtained his newly-found fame (which I’m thankful for). Both he and I looked kind of lonely at the party, like we didn’t belong there! LOL. Nobody recognized him, but I did! So, I went up to him and said, “Hey man, thanks for the Pentagon papers.” We talked for about an hour. I will always remember it. He and his wife (who I also met) are the good people! Thank you, Dan Ellsberg!
Report thisBy M Henri Day, January 8, 2012 at 5:11 am Link to this comment
«What we have is Obama totally violating his promise to run a more transparent government. This is one aspect of that. He is being as opaque and secretive as any administration we’ve ever seen, perhaps more so.» What is interesting to note is that, in addition to his performance with regard to government transparency, Mr Obama has also done the opposite of what his most enthusiastic supporters expected of him in the field of foreign policy - outBushing, as it were Bush, in the application of military force to everything and everybody. Is this because Mr Obama is extraordinarily duplicitous, even by the standard of US presidents, or is it rather that the military-industrial-finance-capital has managed to insulate the system against reform ? If, as I suspect, the latter is the case, what are the consequences for a possible Ron Paul presidency (assuming 1) that he was elected and 2) that he managed to avoid assassination before assuming office), which many posters to Truthdig support, due to Mr Paul’s oft-declared opposition to the US government’s continual wars of aggression abroad ?...
Henri
Report thisBy angryinla, January 8, 2012 at 1:50 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
So, interesting twist. Manning is facing a trial, Assange and Wikileaks is hounded for revealing secrets. A New York Times article published on Dec.14.2011 tells us about their reporter finding a whole bunch of papers left behind by the US Military marked “Secret” in an Iraqi dump. Read here http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/world/middleeast/united-states-marines-haditha-interviews-found-in-iraq-junkyard.html?pag. So, it seems that there are secrets, and there are secrets. Very selective reasoning.
Report thisManning acts on his conscience, and he faces charges. The military leaves behind documents, and that is excusable. If an individual acts for the right reasons, that’s bad, if an institution is neglectful, that is OK.
I have watched the famous video of the killing of the 2 Reuters reporters and some other people 3 times. What stayed with me is the very sad and poignant picture of a young mother with her child walking amidst the broken sidewalk, and human carnage. They just walk past everything, keeping their heads down. They are completely used to this sort of thing, probably seen a lot of it. They don’t stop and gawk, they are used to tragedy.
This is what happens to a country subjected to ‘shock and awe’. Although I don’t know if I saw a lot of awe on the faces of Iraqis (photos and videos) but I saw a lot of shock for sure.
Manning did the right thing bringing this to our attention.
By prosefights, January 7, 2012 at 8:42 pm Link to this comment
Google ‘ryan crocker j orlin grabbe’ Crocker is likely involved in genocide . The late J Orlin Grabbe helped implicate him. Crocker is a 1971 english major of whitman college, bill is 1959 math? major.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r42oejmpkgw
Let’s All Play War
Department Let me see here, talking about complexity as we are this morning: How does this sound for the potential of a single mistake to blow up into global disaster? Iran, Israel and the US are planning war training exercises in the Persian Gulf.
George Ure
Report thisPeoplenomics
Saturday January 7, 2012
By prosefights, January 7, 2012 at 7:34 pm Link to this comment
Let’s All Play War
Department Let me see here, talking about complexity as we are this morning: How does this sound for the potential of a single mistake to blow up into global disaster? Iran, Israel and the US are planning war training exercises in the Persian Gulf.
Report thisGeorge Ure
Peoplenomics
Saturday January 7, 2012
By gerard, January 7, 2012 at 1:40 pm Link to this comment
It’s not about the specifics of the leaks, or about Manning himself, so much as the act of leaking per se. A government that chooses to operate in secrecy cannot tolerate leaks.
Report thisThe Internet makes it very hard to prevent leaks because, for one thing (hopefully) techies can stay ahead of government busybodies. Government busybodies realize this, and that’s why they would be delighted if they could manage to shut down or limit Internet content and access by punishing leakers to scare other potential leakers.
The Manning case is an experiment in this direction. If Manning is convicted, the next step will be powerful efforts to limit Internet content and access.
This indicates that Manning is a double hero: Once for making public some government information on war crimes that in themselves are being unnecessarily kept secret and might not recur if they are being exposed; and again a hero for being willing to risk his life for an open and free worldwide instant informaton network with the tremendous potential it carries for democratic freedoms and against national repressions and/or international wars of mass destruction.
By drbhelthi, January 7, 2012 at 11:36 am Link to this comment
Buy several copies of Ms. Susan Lindauer´s book, “Extreme Prejudice,” just in case
it might be declared to be a violation of the Bush-Obama Patriot Act and banned
from CONUS.
Give a copy as a wake-up call to your friends who possess five or more grains of
Report thisbrain.
By drbhelthi, January 7, 2012 at 11:06 am Link to this comment
For a more comprehensive overview of precisely how evil the leadership of the
USGOV was when the GHWBushSr entourage stole the vote for Jr. Bush in 2000,
watch the full video by Ms. Susan Lindauer at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrdpE3b1mY4&feature=related
Ms. Lindauer documents the total fraud of the “War on Terror” and the official
report of 9-11. Her Book, “Extreme Prejudice,” is now available and reasonably priced.
Ms. Lindauer was a CIA operative, and was fraudulently arrested and illegally
Report thislocked up for a year, under the Patriot Act, for doing her duty as an American.
Now, ten years later, she reveals the web of lies that were printed in the official
report of 9-11. If “Barack H. Obama” is re-elected in 2012, we can expect a
rather broad misapplication of his version of the Patriot Act.
By drbhelthi, January 7, 2012 at 10:57 am Link to this comment
For a more comprehensive overview of precisely how evil the leadership of the USGOV was when the GHWBushSr entourage stole the vote for Jr. Bush in 2000, watch the full video by Ms. Susan Lindauer at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrdpE3b1mY4&feature=related
She documents the total fraud of the “War on Terror.”
Ms. Lindauer was a CIA operative, and was fraudulently arrested and illegally locked up for a year, under the Patriot Act, for doing her duty as an American. Now, ten years later, she reveals the web of lies that were printed in the official report of 9-11. If
Report this“Barack H. Obama” is re-elected in 2012, we can expect a broad misapplication of
his version of the Patriot Act.
By norry, January 7, 2012 at 10:19 am Link to this comment
One only has to listen to the audio of the fine american soldiers in the helicopter after they blew up a car and realised a Dad and his children were in that car to understand how a real man such as Bradley Manning felt and why he acted so.
Report thisTo have this good American hero on trial just shows the abject evil the world is dealing with.
By Synonymos, January 7, 2012 at 10:15 am Link to this comment
Daniel Ellsberg: “....he’s a hero of mine. And I certainly haven’t heard anything since then that diminishes my feeling about it.”
——
He’s also a hero of mine. You too, Daniel Ellsberg, are a hero along with Julian Assange who made massive truths available for exposure.
Our future hangs in the balance as we wait for a patriotic priority precedence to be set here favoring the corrupt wizards who lurk behind curtains of secrecy. This rehearsed trial is but one example with a guilty verdict ordered from the POTUS.
tp:?]
PS: find out about the bankster wizards in “The Web of Debt” by Ellen Brown and the fix.
also: Ellen Brown would be a great candidate for person of the Week Truthdig!
Report thisBy deboldt, January 7, 2012 at 9:59 am Link to this comment
Bradley Manning. Is the only soldier who took Nuremberg seriously. He is being rewarded, with torture, life imprisonment, and possibly death, for leaking evidence of war crimes by our soldiers. If executed, will an honour guard present a flag to his grieving parents for his “service on behalf of a grateful nation.”?
Report thisBy balkas, January 7, 2012 at 8:03 am Link to this comment
ellsberg also criticizes only the govt when it goes after
Report thisleakers. or even only individuals of a govt. in case of
mannings’ persecution and prosecution, ellsberg blames only
obama.
what happened to ellsberg and now manning is systemic and
doings of all three branches of the governance; which work
inseparably and are inseparable from one another.
even usa constitution is involved in the prosecution of
manning. tnx
By drbhelthi, January 7, 2012 at 3:17 am Link to this comment
“ What we have is Obama totally violating his promise to run a more transparent
government. This is one aspect of that. He is being as opaque and secretive as any
administration we’ve ever seen, perhaps more so.” Ellsberg
The Kenyan-born occupant of the POTUS slot has conducted himself true to form,
without deviation, since he “took” office. He has violated every pre-election
promise, continues to orate deceptions, has advanced the GHWBushSr nazification
of the USA, has advanced Zionist control of the world banking system, has annulled
the rights to the citizenry guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and continues to
distort laws in order to pursue torture of Moslem non-combatants, more recently,
Americans who reveal his dishonesty; e.g. Bradley Manning.
Three cheers for Daniel Ellsberg, Chip Tatum, John Stockwell, Sibel Edmonds, Susan
Lindauer, Bradley Manning and the host of other American Patriots who have done
and attempted to do what “Barack H. Obama” promised to do in his seductive,
pre-election, speech deceptions.
Since the entrance of GHWBushSr into US politics, as furtive CEO of the C.I.A. in the
1950s, we have experienced a modern-day re-enactment in the United States of
America that which occurred in Germany in the 1920s-1930s. Disguised as a
“Democrat,” Obama has advanced the plan implemented by the GHWBushSr
entourage, who disguised themselves as Republicans: http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=8252175042329977626#
Which plan implemented the furtive agenda of the tax-exempt “foundations,” such
Report thisas the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, as revealed by the Report
of the Reese Committee of the U.S. Congress, 1954:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqyRAxW-uOg
By BeReal, January 7, 2012 at 2:20 am Link to this comment
*or imagined.
Report thisBy BeReal, January 7, 2012 at 2:19 am Link to this comment
Thank you Mr. Ellsberg for your courage and your integrity. And thank you Bradley Manning for yours as well. Reminds me of the Milgram Experiment ... so many do not have the courage to stand up to ‘power’ either real of imagined.
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, January 6, 2012 at 8:06 pm Link to this comment
Now that’s an endorsement to be proud of.
Report thisBy ardee, January 6, 2012 at 6:37 pm Link to this comment
So, our incompetent President, a supposed Constitutional lawyer violated the law himself. When are you loyal democrats going to realize that the man is a buffoon?
And in the meantime, there were a couple of events that I say should have terminated this proceeding. First, the president publicly pronounced Manning as having broken the law, as being guilty, even before he had been put on trial or before any evidence had been tested in court. Since he’s the commander in chief, that virtually amounts to a directed verdict—what they call improper command influence. The remedy for that should be an end to this court-martial—that won’t happen—but if it had been a general saying that, it almost certainly would have moved the process out of his jurisdiction at least.
Report thisBy Tony Vodvarka, January 6, 2012 at 5:13 pm Link to this comment
Three cheers for the patriot Daniel Ellsberg!
Report thisBy prosefights, January 6, 2012 at 4:58 pm Link to this comment
Nancy Mitchell is only pictured on same page as Ryan Crocker.
Rumsfeld, on the other hand, is pictured shaking hands with Saddam Hussein.
http://www.prosefights.org/whitmancrocker/whitmancrocker.htm#grabbe
Report this