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Here is the announcement along with a slew of comments.
First, however, I forgot to mention that the New York Times felt it had a real breaking news story that Blackwater had moved to the United Arab Emirates. No kidding?
Jeremy Scahill reported that over two months ago. Eric Prince, a major donor to the Republican party, relocated there as the Emirates has no extradition arrangement with the United States. So, all the people who need to prosecute or sue him, forget it. It also helps him with his taxes.
Jeremy was one of the reporters in Iraq when it was not safe at all. He reported for Democracy Now at the time. He also wrote a definitive book of Blackwater and private contractors.
I do have to share a remark he recently made in the context of the idiotic nonsense over the new center in New York. He suggested that 9:10 and 9:12 be removed from clocks because they were too close to the hallowed 9:11.
On to Wikileaks:
August 19, 2010
Julian Assange wins Sam Adams Award for Integrity
The award is judged by a group of retired senior US military and intelligence personnel, and past winners. This year the award to Julian Assange was unanimous.Previous winners and ceremony locations:
Coleen Rowley of the FBI; in Washington, D.C.
Katharine Gun of British intelligence; in Copenhagen, Denmark
Sibel Edmonds of the FBI; in Washington, D.C.
Craig Murray, former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan; in New York City
Sam Provance, former sergeant, U.S. Army, truth-teller about Abu Ghraib; in Washington, D.C.
Frank Grevil, major, Danish army intelligence, imprisoned for giving the Danish press documents showing that Denmark’s prime minister disregarded warnings that there was no authentic evidence of WMDs in Iraq; in Copenhagen, Denmark
Larry Wilkerson, colonel, U.S. Army (retired), former chief of staff to Secretary Colin Powell at the State Department, who has exposed what he called the “Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal”; in Washington, D.C.
http://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2010/08/15/can-wikileaks-help-save-lives/
Not sure yet where this year's award ceremony will be held, but I'll be there.
Posted by craig on August 19, 2010 12:15 PM in the category Afghanistan
Comments
Congratulations to Assange - this is a richly deserved recognition.
Posted by: Jon at August 19, 2010 12:33 PM
Great to see you back to blogging after a few days - how's the house coming on?
Posted by: John E at August 19, 2010 1:43 PM
Congratulations to Mr. Assange!! Open disclosure is an essential precondition for democracy since for a meaningful public debate to take place one has to be made aware of the facts. But it is not just democracy that benefits from the disclosures in wikileaks, but human rights and civil liberties as well. Again, well done Mr. Assange, and well done Craig Murray for so eloquently bringing your issues to the public eye.
Posted by: Roderick Russell at August 19, 2010 2:57 PM
http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2010/08/pilger-wikileaks-afghanistan
Shame on the British government for cowering in the face of Washington's threats to Assange.
Shame on the British government for cowering in the face of Washington's threats to Assange.
Posted by: james kenyon at August 19, 2010 3:14 PM
Assange has put lives at risk by revealing classified documents containing details about informers. In my view he has been gravely irresponsible and deserves not an award but a stiff jail sentence.
Posted by: Abe Rene at August 19, 2010 4:56 PM
Assange for the Nobel Peace Prize too.
You kept that award quiet Craig. Well done.
How is the house refit going. Are you knackered? And will we get the 'after' photos having had the 'before' set?
You kept that award quiet Craig. Well done.
How is the house refit going. Are you knackered? And will we get the 'after' photos having had the 'before' set?
Posted by: somebody at August 19, 2010 5:44 PM
Meant to add this obit. for Sam Adams.
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/11/obituaries/samuel-adams-ex-cia-officer-and-libel-case-figure-dies-at-54.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/11/obituaries/samuel-adams-ex-cia-officer-and-libel-case-figure-dies-at-54.html
Posted by: somebody at August 19, 2010 5:45 PM
Is Julian Assange a hero or an intelligence operative.
Here's Webster Tarpley's analysis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BabOOgTPtE&feature=related
Here's Webster Tarpley's analysis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BabOOgTPtE&feature=related
Posted by: at August 19, 2010 5:46 PM
Abe Rene
Lives are always at risk when the war mongers get their way. Not only are they at risk, they're lost on a daily basis often in staggering numbers and attended by horrendous injuries for those who manage to survive.
However, I'm sure a stiff jail sentence for Assange will ensure the war mongers can sleep safer in their beds.
Lives are always at risk when the war mongers get their way. Not only are they at risk, they're lost on a daily basis often in staggering numbers and attended by horrendous injuries for those who manage to survive.
However, I'm sure a stiff jail sentence for Assange will ensure the war mongers can sleep safer in their beds.
Posted by: Renee at August 19, 2010 5:47 PM
John Pilger on "Why Wikileaks must be Protected":
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26192.htm
Abe Rene, here's a paragraph:
"On 31 July, the American celebrity reporter Christiane Amanpour interviewed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on the ABC network. She invited Gates to describe to her viewers his "anger" at WikiLeaks. She echoed the Pentagon line that "this leak has blood on its hands," thereby cueing Gates to find WikiLeaks "guilty" of "moral culpability." Such hypocrisy coming from a regime drenched in the blood of the people of Afghanistan and Iraq – as its own files make clear – is apparently not for journalistic enquiry."
The hypocrisy is breathtaking.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26192.htm
Abe Rene, here's a paragraph:
"On 31 July, the American celebrity reporter Christiane Amanpour interviewed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on the ABC network. She invited Gates to describe to her viewers his "anger" at WikiLeaks. She echoed the Pentagon line that "this leak has blood on its hands," thereby cueing Gates to find WikiLeaks "guilty" of "moral culpability." Such hypocrisy coming from a regime drenched in the blood of the people of Afghanistan and Iraq – as its own files make clear – is apparently not for journalistic enquiry."
The hypocrisy is breathtaking.
Posted by: dreoilin at August 19, 2010 6:25 PM
Yes! What excellent news.
Craig,
thanks for reporting this, and good to see a post from you. What a list of fine people you share this award with. I hope your new home is coming along well.
Abe Rene
(if that really was you), Wikileaks did check the material before they released, and withheld a substantial proportion to prevent people being put at risk.
Craig,
thanks for reporting this, and good to see a post from you. What a list of fine people you share this award with. I hope your new home is coming along well.
Abe Rene
(if that really was you), Wikileaks did check the material before they released, and withheld a substantial proportion to prevent people being put at risk.
Posted by: Clark at August 19, 2010 6:29 PM
OK, so it's great to have someone like Assange, Wikileaks, and of course Craig Murray. But so what..we know most of this shit anyway and when was the last time we did anything about what these people bring to our attention.
Posted by: cid at August 19, 2010 7:19 PM
I applaud the stated aims of Wikileaks and support them 100%. And Julian Assange is clearly a bright, techno-savvy young man - but a young man with a burning ambition.
According to John Young of Cryptome (and the original front-man for Wikileaks who resigned over its astronomical fund-raising ambitions), the market for illicit, classified and otherwise confidential information is vast - and VERY lucrative indeed.
Unfortunately, big-money potential, burning ambition, and the explosive emotionally-charged nature of Wilileaks recent leaks (and potentially of those it allegedly holds in reserve) is a combination that is manna from heaven for the Spooks.
Have a look at:
https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Document:Wikileaks_and_the_Mighty_Wurlitzer
For a disturbing alternative view of the Wikileaks saga. It expands on the Webster Tarpley analysis refered to at 5:45 above.
As for Abe Rene - yet another believer in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy - and an angry one too it seems. Oh dear.
According to John Young of Cryptome (and the original front-man for Wikileaks who resigned over its astronomical fund-raising ambitions), the market for illicit, classified and otherwise confidential information is vast - and VERY lucrative indeed.
Unfortunately, big-money potential, burning ambition, and the explosive emotionally-charged nature of Wilileaks recent leaks (and potentially of those it allegedly holds in reserve) is a combination that is manna from heaven for the Spooks.
Have a look at:
https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Document:Wikileaks_and_the_Mighty_Wurlitzer
For a disturbing alternative view of the Wikileaks saga. It expands on the Webster Tarpley analysis refered to at 5:45 above.
As for Abe Rene - yet another believer in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy - and an angry one too it seems. Oh dear.
Posted by: Sabretache at August 19, 2010 7:38 PM
Cid,
some of us do a little, some do more. Craig does a lot. But just knowing helps - we bear witness. That the Powers That Be know this influences their decisions.
some of us do a little, some do more. Craig does a lot. But just knowing helps - we bear witness. That the Powers That Be know this influences their decisions.
Posted by: Clark at August 19, 2010 7:56 PM
Well done to Julian Assange, keep it coming. The public should be able to make decisions on fact not fiction... I would love to say "the truth sets you free" and mean it... unfortunately for some of my friends round the world its landed them in prison for subversion...though perhaps their minds remain free...
Posted by: Carol at August 19, 2010 7:56 PM
Clark: yes, it is me. Sabretache: I ceased to believe in the tooth fairy a few decades ago. Bush and Rumsfeld's screw-up over the bad planning as well as the questionable decisions to go to war (especially Iraq) in the first place is no reason for Assange to release a great deal of material most which he admits he has not thoroughly read, let alone vetted. Most imprtantly, disclosure is not his decision to make. The informers who risk their lives do so on the understanding that anything they say will be completely secure. So I would say to Assange as would Col. Nathan Jessup to Lt. Kaffee in "A few good men", but with justice: "You put people in danger. Sweet dreams, son."
Posted by: Abe Rene at August 19, 2010 8:40 PM
Like the wiki leaks thing was not endorsed by the Good ole Obama Administration and those monkeys at the CIA. Leak?? my butt. Just grooming the sheep
Posted by: Ishmael at August 19, 2010 8:42 PM
Obama, the drone-firing Peace Laureate should hand over his Nobel Prize to Assange and apologize for embarrassing it. Thank you, Julian.
Posted by: Tony at August 19, 2010 9:04 PM
Abe Rene
Hmm - I wouldn't have gone that far but, now you mention it, your take on the issue would make a good Nathan Jessop (amoral, Orwellian "our business is saving lives", wouldn't bat an eye about killing if his childish sense of honour dictated - so long as it remained secret or he thought he would get away with it, massive ego, blind as a bat to the real issues) to Assanges Kaffee.
Nice one.
Hmm - I wouldn't have gone that far but, now you mention it, your take on the issue would make a good Nathan Jessop (amoral, Orwellian "our business is saving lives", wouldn't bat an eye about killing if his childish sense of honour dictated - so long as it remained secret or he thought he would get away with it, massive ego, blind as a bat to the real issues) to Assanges Kaffee.
Nice one.
Posted by: Sabretache at August 19, 2010 9:16 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Assanges ask for the leaks to be vetted by the US Military then throw a hissy fit?
Don't get me wrong I'm all for disclosure but be careful about making this guy a saint. This is from the wikileaks twitter
"Pentagon wants to bankrupt us by refusing to assist review.Media won't take responsibility.Amnesty won't.What to do?" see "https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/20664647314" Wikileaks whilst laudable is all about the ego of it's main man what with his never sleep in the same place twice crap. FFS have you read about the '1.4 gigabyte mystery file named "Insurance" on the WikiLeaks website' ? Have a look at http://cryptome.org
Guess it will all go the way of Google, remember "Do No Evil (unless the Chinese ask us to remove the references to a certain Square).
Don't get me wrong I'm all for disclosure but be careful about making this guy a saint. This is from the wikileaks twitter
"Pentagon wants to bankrupt us by refusing to assist review.Media won't take responsibility.Amnesty won't.What to do?" see "https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/20664647314" Wikileaks whilst laudable is all about the ego of it's main man what with his never sleep in the same place twice crap. FFS have you read about the '1.4 gigabyte mystery file named "Insurance" on the WikiLeaks website' ? Have a look at http://cryptome.org
Guess it will all go the way of Google, remember "Do No Evil (unless the Chinese ask us to remove the references to a certain Square).
Posted by: Paul at August 19, 2010 9:52 PM
Abe Rene
"Assange has put lives at risk by revealing classified documents containing details about informers."
These informers, by collaborating with a foreign occupying armed force, are traitors to their own people. Is that really where your sympathy lies?
"Assange has put lives at risk by revealing classified documents containing details about informers."
These informers, by collaborating with a foreign occupying armed force, are traitors to their own people. Is that really where your sympathy lies?
Posted by: Johan van Rooyen at August 19, 2010 10:53 PM
Paul,
I can't find that Cryptome article from the Cryptome home page. Could you give a more specific reference please?
I can't find that Cryptome article from the Cryptome home page. Could you give a more specific reference please?
Posted by: Clark at August 19, 2010 10:53 PM
Posted by: Clark at August 19, 2010 11:00 PM
"These informers, by collaborating with a foreign occupying armed force, are traitors to their own people. Is that really where your sympathy lies?"
Informers are a very sensitive topic in Ireland, since we were bedevilled by them for centuries ... I remember being taught that at the age of 8 or 9. However, Julian Assange says they contacted the Pentagon beforehand, and asked them to indicate where sensitive names might be, and they received no reply. So their whining now is two-faced.
Informers are a very sensitive topic in Ireland, since we were bedevilled by them for centuries ... I remember being taught that at the age of 8 or 9. However, Julian Assange says they contacted the Pentagon beforehand, and asked them to indicate where sensitive names might be, and they received no reply. So their whining now is two-faced.
Posted by: dreoilin at August 19, 2010 11:42 PM
"John Young of Cryptome"
Is he not a one-man amateur operation?
"(and the original front-man for Wikileaks who resigned over its astronomical fund-raising ambitions)"
Assange argues that their safety, secrecy and online anonymity cost money. He says they need new staff to handle all the material they have -- which needs to be assessed and sometimes unencrypted. He claims they need people they can rely on, people who can be trusted, and they do a lot of background checks on potential employees. I imagine all that costs money.
I think his collaboration with Iceland can only be a good thing.
"The WikiLeaks advised proposal to build an international "new media haven" in Iceland, with the world's strongest press and whistleblower protection laws, and a "Nobel" prize for for Freedom of Expression, has unaminously passed the Icelandic Parliament."
http://www.countercurrents.org/assange170610.htm
Is he not a one-man amateur operation?
"(and the original front-man for Wikileaks who resigned over its astronomical fund-raising ambitions)"
Assange argues that their safety, secrecy and online anonymity cost money. He says they need new staff to handle all the material they have -- which needs to be assessed and sometimes unencrypted. He claims they need people they can rely on, people who can be trusted, and they do a lot of background checks on potential employees. I imagine all that costs money.
I think his collaboration with Iceland can only be a good thing.
"The WikiLeaks advised proposal to build an international "new media haven" in Iceland, with the world's strongest press and whistleblower protection laws, and a "Nobel" prize for for Freedom of Expression, has unaminously passed the Icelandic Parliament."
http://www.countercurrents.org/assange170610.htm
Posted by: dreoilin at August 19, 2010 11:57 PM
Paul,
as I understood it, Google got to supply search facilities to China by brokering a deal: the Chinese government wanted certain search results not to be displayed. Google negotiated that such results would be acknowledged with a notice reading "This information is withheld by the Chinese government" or something similar. So they negotiated a compromise that was better than nothing; the Chinese government would not have accepted Google otherwise.
as I understood it, Google got to supply search facilities to China by brokering a deal: the Chinese government wanted certain search results not to be displayed. Google negotiated that such results would be acknowledged with a notice reading "This information is withheld by the Chinese government" or something similar. So they negotiated a compromise that was better than nothing; the Chinese government would not have accepted Google otherwise.
Posted by: Clark at August 20, 2010 1:03 AM
I found the recent activities of Wikileaks most odd.
The US and UK governments being so corrupt must live in perpetual fear of leaks. So, how much better if they could publicise Wikileaks extensively and gather up the leaks and decide which to publish and which not to. Also they could quite easily find out the source.
Read this excellent article and see what I mean:
Hidden Intelligence Operation Behind the Wikileaks Release of "Secret" Documents?
The real story of Wikileaks has clearly not yet been told.
at
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?aid=20580&context=va
The US and UK governments being so corrupt must live in perpetual fear of leaks. So, how much better if they could publicise Wikileaks extensively and gather up the leaks and decide which to publish and which not to. Also they could quite easily find out the source.
Read this excellent article and see what I mean:
Hidden Intelligence Operation Behind the Wikileaks Release of "Secret" Documents?
The real story of Wikileaks has clearly not yet been told.
at
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?aid=20580&context=va
Posted by: Ruth at August 20, 2010 1:24 AM
nice post. thanks.
Posted by: cna training at August 20, 2010 3:37 AM
So when do you think Assange will publish documents that detail 911 being an inside job? Answer: never. They don't exist, you silly gooses.
I can't imagine how annoyed Assange gets with 911 Truthy Truthers bothering him all the time.
I can't imagine how annoyed Assange gets with 911 Truthy Truthers bothering him all the time.
Posted by: Larry from St. Louis at August 20, 2010 5:30 AM
Is that the book 'How I got WTC7 Collapsed and Collected the Insurance' by Larry Silverstein?
Posted by: somebody at August 20, 2010 8:24 AM
I can't help but feel that a call to throw Assange in jail is specifically hawkish, pro-war. As has been said earlier in the thread, putting the truth-tellers in jail helps the amoral warmongers sleep soundly in their beds.
It does rather seem that WL have taken care to filter the material, along with the journalists with whom they worked. But if that is not enough for the conservatives here, what would be? To have had the material released to WL and then for it to be destroyed, or never released? Isn't that rather like telling Ellsberg he should not have released the Pentagon Papers - which were part of the building domestic pressure that ended the war against Vietnam?
It does rather seem that WL have taken care to filter the material, along with the journalists with whom they worked. But if that is not enough for the conservatives here, what would be? To have had the material released to WL and then for it to be destroyed, or never released? Isn't that rather like telling Ellsberg he should not have released the Pentagon Papers - which were part of the building domestic pressure that ended the war against Vietnam?
Posted by: Jon at August 20, 2010 9:38 AM
Arthur Silber treats the issue of Wikileaks very well, as always. I find him one of the best and most honest bloggers.
Posted by: antidote at August 20, 2010 12:06 PM
Congrats, Julian
You deserved the award and I hope you get new ones every year.
You deserved the award and I hope you get new ones every year.
Posted by: JOSE at August 20, 2010 1:22 PM
John Van Rooyen: 'traitor' is a loaded word. The people who work for the Americans are fighting the Taleban, who are Islamists who would impose a lunatic and oppressive regime, treat women as slaves, and give support to Al-Qaeda. My sympathies are certainly against them. Assange has high-handedly put people at risk and deserves punishment, not sympathy as far as I am concerned.
Posted by: Abe Rene at August 20, 2010 2:06 PM
I could give Abe Rene a long list of 'loaded' words connected to the illegal wars on Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is from one of the doctors in the original group. Remember that they have been going at this for nearly seven years. I admire their tenacity throughout and their resistance to the cold water poured on them by the likes of Mangold and Aaronovitch, Blair's pals Rentoul and Campbell and even Gilligan recently. The cold water has ended up just muddying the water but has so far failed to silence those who call for justice.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/aug/19/david-kelly-inquest-disgrace
This is from one of the doctors in the original group. Remember that they have been going at this for nearly seven years. I admire their tenacity throughout and their resistance to the cold water poured on them by the likes of Mangold and Aaronovitch, Blair's pals Rentoul and Campbell and even Gilligan recently. The cold water has ended up just muddying the water but has so far failed to silence those who call for justice.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/aug/19/david-kelly-inquest-disgrace
Posted by: somebody at August 20, 2010 3:05 PM
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