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Bradley Manning Being Investigated as Source of WikiLeaks Docs

by Amy Judd | July 26, 2010 at 12:53 pm

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Bradley Manning, a U.S. Army Intelligence Analyst is Being Looked At As the Possible Source For the Military Documents Published by WikiLeaks

Specialist (Spc.) Manning has already been charged earlier this month with leaking classified information according to the Wall Street Journal, and now his computers are being checked to see if he could have been the source for the WikiLeaks information relating to the war in Afghanistan.

Even though Spc. Manning was stationed in Iraq, and the leaked documents all pertain to Afghanistan, he is being investigated for what material he may have had access to and what material he would have been able to transfer.

The WSJ reports that Col. Dave Lapan from the Pentagon did acknowledge that Bradley Manning was a 'person of interest' in the case, but also said that the investigation is looking at all angles to determine how the material may have been leaked.

The leaked documents appeared on WikiLeaks on Sunday July 25 and detail intelligence reports from the field discussing civilian casualties and Pakistan's role in the Taliban among other subjects.

WikiLeaks founder Mr. Assange, at a news conference in London Monday, declined to comment on the identity of the source who leaked the documents, or on how the source managed to copy and leak them. Asked about Mr. Manning, Mr. Assange said: "There is no allegation as far as we can determine" that the documents posted on WikiLeaks Sunday are "connected to Bradley Manning."

Mr. Assange did acknowledge that WikiLeaks has provided funds to Mr. Manning's legal defense and has offered his legal team some money if they want to hire a non-military counsel.

Mr. Assange said the source who leaked the documents was motivated by a desire "to call attention to a number of these incidents."

It was in early July that 22-year-old Spc. Manning transferred classified military information to his computer and 'delivered national defense information to an unauthorized source'. It is thought that this information is connected to a WikiLeaks video of two Reuters journalists and other individuals being killed in Iraq in 2007 by Apache helicopter gunships. WikiLeaks would only say that their source for that information was 'courageous'.

According to a U.S. military charge sheet, Pfc. Manning improperly obtained secret information, including classified State Department cables and video footage of a July 2007 military operation, while stationed at a base east of Baghdad.

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dfg (not verified)

at 03:37 on July 31st, 2010

feds

goasseVab (not verified)

at 08:34 on July 31st, 2010

Many thanks!

Farooq Malik (not verified)

at 22:25 on July 31st, 2010

How can we assume that the goverment is not savvy enough to use these leaks, of all the shady intelligence business that goes on, how come nothing really compromising has come out about regarding that?Not sure if these are leaks or a new strategy for information warfare being tested out. We shall see what real impact comes from this.Lets not be naive to assume every leak is unintentional and orchestrated.