Wikileaks targeted by US Government

 

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By Hani Megerisi

Posted on 15 Mar 2010 at 16:47

A US Government document revealing plans to identify Wikileaks informants has been published on the whistle-blowing site.

The 32-page US Government report questions the possibility of moles within the Department of Defense (DoD) and outlines methods the Government could use to discredit the site.

The report notes that Wikileaks uses “trust as a centre of gravity by protecting the anonymity and identity of the insiders, leakers or whisteblowers".

“The identification, exposure, termination of employment, criminal prosecution, legal action against current or former insiders, leakers, or whistleblowers could potentially damage or destroy this centre of gravity and deter others considering similar actions from using the Wikileaks.org website," the report states.

The report was concerned about a series of documents that had been exposed on Wikileaks, including the “US equipment expenditure in Iraq, [alleged] US violations of the Chemical Warfare Convention Treaty in Iraq [in] the battle over the Iraqi town of Fallujah and human rights violations at Guantanamo Bay”.

Wikileaks was quick to point out the report was penned in 2008, and since no sources have been exposed “it appears that this plan was ineffective”. It added there were several factual inaccuracies, such as the site not having editorial control.

The site has become synonymous with government and corporate secrets, including a list of BNP members in the UK and details of alleged human rights violations around the world. It is currently banned in several countries, including China and Zimbabwe.