Wednesday, 28 July 2010

l have found some seriously interesting material from a wide selection of sources, both in commentary on the different news media, the Press Conference by Julian Assuange. I have had a great deal of fun doing this even though it tooks me hours to compile. First of all l think which is particulary relevant is what John Young had to say
 
John Young has also had some issues with the funding of the accountablilty of wikileaks despite his international drive for funding of wikileaks.
John Young of Cryptome.org makes a really good point is that these are not paper documents in the usual sense, but are in fact digital files which are made in the field. John Young states that digital files are notoriously easy to manipulate, forge, and alter. These are not original files, but are in fact digital files. Wikileaks usually digitally authenticates their files but these have not been digitally authenticated. This is the first time the Wikileaks has not done this. Also Wikileaks has never released such files to the mainstream media before they released it to the public.
 
The alleged leaker of this it is believed in this video clip on RT

Wikileaks informant exposed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdGd-Ss_pZw&NR=1

RTAmerica | June 07, 2010

According to Wired.com, US Army intelligence specialist Bradley Manning has been arrested for leaking sensitive information to WikiLeaks. Wikileaks is the same organization that back in April released raw footage of a deadly assault in Iraq in 2007 that killed militants and civilians alike.

 

But this has not been confirmed. Below in one article l show how this story evolved.

 
The very good point that John Young makes from Cryptome.org Below for the whole interview with Alex Jones. His Analysis is very revealing and very interesting analysis.
John Young: Wikileaks War Logs Show Global Intelligence Facade Of 'War On Terror' Alex Jones Tv 1/2
 
 
TheAlexJonesChannel | July 26, 2010

Alex talks with John Young of Cryptome, a website that acts as a repository for information about freedom of speech, cryptography, spying, surveillance, and documents for publication that are prohibited by governments worldwide. John and Alex discuss the recent release of 92,000 classified documents on the war in Afghanistan by the renegade website WikiLeaks. The documents show how Pakistan's military spy service has for years guided the Afghan insurgency.
http://cryptome.org/

 
John Young: Wikileaks War Logs Show Global Intelligence Facade Of 'War On Terror' Alex Jones Tv 2/2
 
That these documents are of a electronic version
 
A more critical analysis by a former NSA Intelligence Analyst Wayne Madsen, in his interview with Alex Jones, Wayne also provides a very good background from a former NSA Analyst who knows rather quite well of Wikileaks. He is very suspicious of all the events surrounding this major disgourgement of these electronic files and the news agencies to whom this was released to. He is very good indeed.
 
Wayne Madsen: Wikileaks Docs Target Pakistan! - Alex Jones Tv 1/2
 
Wayne Madsen: Wikileaks Docs Target Pakistan! - Alex Jones Tv 2/2
 
Russia Today on Youtube has a bit on this which is rather interesting. This url gives you a reasonable overview over the last couple of days of articles
 
 
Below is his official press conference which he held in London
 
an Assange holds press conference on Afghanistan War logs
1 hour 20 minutes in duration (video)
 
http://frontlineclub.com/ (this page has a small video)
Actual url of stream video
http://www.ustream.tv/flash/live/1/148332 (this one is larger in size)
 
Pictures
 
After a couple of days this is Alex Jones take on all of what is happening.
 
Wikileaks Doc: Government Spin of Wikileaks Digital Documents by Design - Alex Jones Tv
TheAlexJonesChannel | July 27, 2010

Alex give us his take on the latest 92,000 documents released by wikileaks with in the past few days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XidR4ZCzDFY

Retired ex ISI boss Lieutenant General Hamid Gul interviewed by Alex Jones 3 years ago. I note this because this is what is noted in the above url part 1 of 5

But note this same individual has been interviewed many media over the years so this is not that unusual.

If you do a search on youtube.com for Hamid Gul you will get many interviews from many places

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAjD9bpnvzw

Alex Jones Interviews Hamid Gul - 1/5

 

Pakistani ISI General Hamid Gul '9/11 Inside Job'  on Fareed Zakaria on CNN

TheParadigmShift | December 08, 2008

Former Pakistani ISI General Hamid Gul questions the official story of 9/11 on CNN.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSLgC4cTKcs&feature=related

 

 
Tutorial on these documents and how to use it

Afghanistan war logs: How the Guardian got the story

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/25/afghanistan-war-logs-explained-video

Secret military files have been opened up by Wikileaks in a joint venture with the Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel

David Leigh, the Guardian's investigations editor, explains the online tools we have created to help you understand the secret US military files on the war in Afghanistan
Link to this video http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/datablog/video/2010/jul/25/afghanistan-war-logs-video-tutorial

 

Afghan War Diary, 2004-2010
Release date

July 25, 2010

 
The actual website

 

 
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

International

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,708632,00.html

 

The Afghanistan Protocol

Related articles, background features and opinions about this topic.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,k-7622,00.html

 

 

guardian.co.uk home

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/series/afghanistan-the-war-logs

 

Afghanistan: The war logs

Julian Assange
Wikileaks, blowing the whistle
RTAmerica | July 26, 2010
 
The War logs
 

An archive of classified military documents offers an unvarnished view of the war in Afghanistan

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/war-logs.html

 

 

Pakistan ex-intelligence chief denies aiding Talban
AlJazeeraEnglish | July 26, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqkQKk9S_8E  (very interesting defence of these claims)

US officials believe that the intelligence agency of ally Pakistan has been secretly supporting the Taliban in their conflict with US-led Nato troops in Afghanistan, leaked records say.

Wikileaks, the online whistleblower organisation, published more than 90,000 secret US military documents on Sunday, revealing alleged support for the Taliban.

The unverified files say that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, the country's spy service, has been holding strategy sessions with Taliban leaders to aid them.

Al Jazeera interviewed one of the men specifically mentioned in the reports - retired Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, who has been accused of being actively involved in supporting the Afghan Taliban.

He denied the allegations and said the sources of the "flawed" leaks had ulterior political motives.

[July 26, 2010]

 

Lt.-Gen. Hamid Gul, the Former Chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Denies WikiLeaks Accusations of Involvement in Taliban Resistance, but Says: 'The Afghan National Resistance [Led by the Taliban] is Fully Justified'; Afghan Officials Claim the Documents Prove Pakistan is the Center of Resistance

July 27, 2010
Special Dispatch No.3124

Urdu Pashtu Media Project

http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4480.htm

 

AlJazeeraEnglish | February 18, 2010

The former head of Pakistan's intelligence agency - ISI - in conversation with Al Jazeera's Kamahl Santamaria..

Talk to Al Jazeera: Hamid Gul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA4OiY-IB7A&feature=related

 

Wikileaks, blowing the whistle

RTAmerica | July 26, 2010

In what is being described as one of the biggest leaks in US military history, the whistleblower website Wikileaks.org has published more than 90,000 internal records of US military actions in Afghanistan over the past six. The classified data paints a devastating picture of the war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, soaring Taliban attacks, and allegations that Pakistan and Iran are fuelling the conflict. The leaks further complicate U.S. President Barack Obama's strategy at a time of mounting doubt over the war effort. The White House says the leaked Pentagon files and field reports were no surprise, but that they threaten national security.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z2SpGNlztw

 

 

Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks

AlJazeeraEnglish | July 26, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVGqE726OAo

The controversial website WikiLeaks collects and posts highly classified documents and videos. Founder Julian Assange, who is reportedly being sought for questioning by US authorities, talks to TED's Chris Anderson about how the site operates, what it has accomplished and what drives him.

 

Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks

The controversial website WikiLeaks collects and posts highly classified documents and video. Founder Julian Assange, who's reportedly being sought for questioning by US authorities, talks to TED's Chris Anderson about how the site operates, what it has accomplished -- and what drives him. The interview includes graphic footage of a recent US airstrike in Baghdad.

http://www.ted.com/talks/julian_assange_why_the_world_needs_wikileaks.html

 
From: RussiaToday | July 26, 2010 | 10,056 views
 
One of the biggest leaks in U.S. military history has exposed several cover-ups over the war in Afghanistan, including the deaths of hundreds of civilians. The whistle-blowing website, Wikileaks, handed over 90-thousand classified documents to British, American and German newspapers. They also include information on increased Taliban attacks, as well as NATO fears that Pakistan and Iran are fueling the insurgency. The White House says the leaked Pentagon files and field reports were no surprise, but that they threaten national security.
 
RussiaToday | July 26, 2010

On this edition of CrossTalk with Peter Lavelle, his guests discuss whether Pakistan is becoming a failed state and if it could be the target of the next American-led invasion in the region.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaaJPKoq4vU

 

'WikiLeaks story soft, coverage a 9/11-like lie'

A massive leak of over 90-thousand secret U.S. military files has exposed cover-ups over the war in Afghanistan. The classified documents were handed to three newspapers by the whistle-blowing webiste Wikileaks. They include reports on the deaths of hundreds of civilians, increased Taliban attacks, as well as NATO fears Pakistan and Iran are backing the insurgency.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvywJQ3m4Ps

 

WikiLeaks vs White House: Who's twisting the truth?

A massive leak of more than 90-thousand secret U.S. military files has exposed cover-ups over the war in Afghanistan. The classified documents include reports on the deaths of hundreds of civilians, increased Taliban attacks, as well as NATO fears Pakistan and Iran are backing the insurgency.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXYlk9543Z4&feature=channel

 

WikiLeak-ed

RTAmerica | July 26, 2010

92,000 internal records, related to the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to present were leaked yesterday from the whistle blowing website Wikileaks.org. The documents include plans and accounts of Coalition operations, descriptions of enemy attacks and records of meetings with local Afghan politicians, among other things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z2SpGNlztw

 

From: RTAmerica | July 27, 2010 | 26 views
Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Savior in Washington, DC. He writes, The brutality and fecklessness of the US-led war in Afghanistan have been laid bare in an indisputable way just days before the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on whether to throw $33.5 billion more into the Afghan quagmire, when that money is badly needed at home.
 
This story originally with Wired magazine, and if you read these two articles you will understand where this story had its genesis.
U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe
  • June 6, 2010  | 
  • 9:31 pm

    http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/leak/#ixzz0uvgjHKo1

     

     

    Wikileaks informant exposed

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdGd-Ss_pZw&NR=1

    RTAmerica | June 07, 2010

    According to Wired.com, US Army intelligence specialist Bradley Manning has been arrested for leaking sensitive information to WikiLeaks. Wikileaks is the same organization that back in April released raw footage of a deadly assault in Iraq in 2007 that killed militants and civilians alike.

     

    which came from this source also from Wired magazine

    Ex-Hacker Adrian Lamo Institutionalized for Asperger’s

    This is the article below in which it is shown lamo above and  

    I Can’t Believe What I’m Confessing to You’: The Wikileaks Chats

    • On May 21, 22-year-old Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning initiated a series of online chats with former hacker Adrian Lamo after a story on Lamo was published at Wired.com.

    • The chats continued over several days, during which Manning claimed that he was responsible for leaking classified material to the whistleblower site Wikileaks.

      Lamo tipped off the FBI and the Army about Manning’s claims, and on May 26, Manning was seized by Army authorities and put into pre-trial detention in Kuwait. He remains in Kuwait while the Army Criminal Investigation Division and other agencies investigate whether he leaked classified information and determine if he should be charged with any crime.

      Below are excerpts from the chat logs, which Lamo provided to Wired.com. As received by Wired, the logs contained timestamps but not dates, so the dates below are approximate. We have substituted the instant messenger screen names with real names. The excerpts represent about 25 percent of the logs. Portions of the chats that discuss deeply personal information about Manning or that reveal apparently sensitive military information are not included.

      May 21

      This initial, brief chat with Lamo occurred after Manning had already sent the ex-hacker an e-mail. Manning very quickly identified his job in the military and his access to classified documents.

      (1:41:12 PM) Bradley Manning: hi
      (1:44:04 PM) Manning: how are you?
      (1:47:01 PM) Manning: im an army intelligence analyst, deployed to eastern baghdad, pending discharge for “adjustment disorder” [. . .]
      (1:56:24 PM) Manning: im sure you’re pretty busy…
      (1:58:31 PM) Manning: if you had unprecedented access to classified networks 14 hours a day 7 days a week for 8+ months, what would you do?
      (1:58:31 PM) Adrian Lamo [AUTO-REPLY]: Tired of being tired
      (2:17:29 PM) Manning: ?
      (6:07:29 PM) Lamo: What’s your MOS?
      (3:16:24 AM) Manning: re: “What’s your MOS?” — Intelligence Analyst (35F)

      May 22

      Manning told Lamo that he had provided Wikileaks with 260,000 classified State Department diplomatic cables. Lamo asked him for details on what scandals the cables might expose. Manning didn’t provide a lot of detail, but he pointed to one cable (a “test”) that Wikileaks already published. He didn’t elaborate on what he meant by “test.”

      (1:39:03 PM) Manning: i cant believe what im confessing to you :’(
      (1:40:20 PM) Manning: ive been so isolated so long… i just wanted to be nice, and live a normal life… but events kept forcing me to figure out ways to survive… smart enough to know whats going on, but helpless to do anything… no-one took any notice of me
      (1:40:43 PM) Manning: :’(
      (1:43:51 PM) Lamo: back
      (1:43:59 PM) Manning: im self medicating like crazy when im not toiling in the supply office (my new location, since im being discharged, im not offically intel anymore)
      (1:44:11 PM) Manning: you missed a lot…
      (1:45:00 PM) Lamo: what kind of scandal?
      (1:45:16 PM) Manning: hundreds of them
      (1:45:40 PM) Lamo: like what? I’m genuinely curious about details.
      (1:46:01 PM) Manning: i dont know… theres so many… i dont have the original material anymore
      (1:46:18 PM) Manning: uhmm… the Holy See and its position on the Vatican sex scandals
      (1:46:26 PM) Lamo: play it by ear
      (1:46:29 PM) Manning: the broiling one in Germany
      (1:47:36 PM) Manning: im sorry, there’s so many… its impossible for any one human to read all quarter-million… and not feel overwhelmed… and possibly desensitized
      (1:48:20 PM) Manning: the scope is so broad… and yet the depth so rich
      (1:48:50 PM) Lamo: give me some bona fides … yanno? any specifics.
      (1:49:40 PM) Manning: this one was a test: Classified cable from US Embassy Reykjavik on Icesave dated 13 Jan 2010
      (1:50:30 PM) Manning: the result of that one was that the icelandic ambassador to the US was recalled, and fired
      (1:51:02 PM) Manning: thats just one cable…
      (1:51:14 PM) Lamo: Anything unreleased?
      (1:51:25 PM) Manning: i’d have to ask assange
      (1:51:53 PM) Manning: i zerofilled the original
      (1:51:54 PM) Lamo: why do you answer to him?
      (1:52:29 PM) Manning: i dont… i just want the material out there… i dont want to be a part of it

      In this chat, Manning discussed his role as a source for Wikileaks and his interactions with its enigmatic founder, Julian Assange. He also talked about two videos he claimed he provided Wikileaks — one of an airstrike in Iraq in 2007, which he said he gave Wikileaks in February and which Wikileaks said it spent three months decrypting before publishing it this last April; and another video taken during an air strike in Afghanistan in 2009, which Wikileaks has acknowledged it possesses but has not yet published.

      (2:04:29 PM) Manning: im a source, not quite a volunteer
      (2:05:38 PM) Manning: i mean, im a high profile source… and i’ve developed a relationship with assange… but i dont know much more than what he tells me, which is very little
      (2:05:58 PM) Manning: it took me four months to confirm that the person i was communicating was in fact assange
      (2:10:01 PM) Lamo: how’d you do that?
      (2:12:45 PM) Manning: I gathered more info when i questioned him whenever he was being tailed in Sweden by State Department officials… i was trying to figure out who was following him… and why… and he was telling me stories of other times he’s been followed… and they matched up with the ones he’s said publicly
      (2:14:28 PM) Lamo: did that bear out? the surveillance?
      (2:14:46 PM) Manning: based on the description he gave me, I assessed it was the Northern Europe Diplomatic Security Team… trying to figure out how he got the Reykjavik cable…
      (2:15:57 PM) Manning: they also caught wind that he had a video… of the Gharani airstrike in afghanistan, which he has, but hasn’t decrypted yet… the production team was actually working on the Baghdad strike though, which was never really encrypted
      (2:16:22 PM) Manning: he’s got the whole 15-6 for that incident… so it wont just be video with no context
      (2:16:55 PM) Manning: but its not nearly as damning… it was an awful incident, but nothing like the baghdad one
      (2:17:59 PM) Manning: the investigating officers left the material unprotected, sitting in a directory on a centcom.smil.mil
      (2:18:03 PM) Manning: server
      (2:18:56 PM) Manning: but they did zip up the files, aes-256, with an excellent password… so afaik it hasn’t been broken yet
      (2:19:12 PM) Manning: 14+ chars…
      (2:19:37 PM) Manning: i can’t believe what im telling you =L

      May 23

      (7:19:12 AM) Lamo: hey you
      (7:19:19 AM) Lamo: resend?
      (7:19:19 AM) Manning: whats up?
      (7:19:29 AM) Manning: i just said hello
      (7:19:46 AM) Lamo: waking up. got up about an hour ago, 0615.
      (7:20:10 AM) Manning: heh, the evening is still young here
      (7:20:26 AM) Lamo: how’re you feeling today?
      (7:20:37 AM) Manning: im feeling a little better…
      (7:20:52 AM) Manning: i had a lot on my mind, keeping to myself
      (7:22:18 AM) Lamo: anything new & exciting?
      (7:24:21 AM) Manning: no, was outside in the sun all day… 110 degrees F, doing various details for a visiting band and some college team’s cheerleaders…
      (7:24:43 AM) Lamo: cheerleaders.
      (7:24:46 AM) Manning: ran a barbecue… but no-one showed up… threw a lot of food away
      (7:25:20 AM) Manning: yes, football cheerleaders… visiting on off season… apart of Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) projects
      (7:25:39 AM) Lamo: *sigh*
      (7:26:01 AM) Manning: >shrug<
      (7:26:37 AM) Manning: im sunburned… and smell like charcoal, sweat, and sunscreen… thats about all thats new
      (7:26:47 AM) Lamo: Is there a Baghdad 2600 meeting? ;>
      (7:28:04 AM) Manning: there’s only one other person im aware of that actually knows anything about computer security… he’s a SIGINT analyst, of course
      (7:28:41 AM) Lamo: Is he the other one who pokes around t he network?
      (7:29:26 AM) Manning: no… afaik, he doesn’t play around with classified networks… but im sure he’s capable
      (7:30:09 AM) Lamo: then it stands to reason that you have at least 3 people who have some infosec knowledge
      (7:31:15 AM) Manning: im not quite sure what you’re saying
      (7:31:23 AM) Manning: infosec knowledge of what?
      (7:31:29 AM) Manning: the networks?
      (7:32:13 AM) Manning: i know a lot of computer security people
      (7:32:44 AM) Lamo: i mean, in a way that would lend itself to a meeting.
      (7:33:33 AM) Lamo: i’m writing a message trying to tie meetings together globally with a sampling of only ~3000 people to work with and get to go out and evangelize, so i have it on the brain
      (7:33:50 AM) Manning: not really… different types of people… know how to, but dont
      (7:34:33 AM) Manning: you don’t want these people having a meeting
      (7:34:48 AM) Manning: though… i guess you do

      (8:01:30 AM) Lamo: Does Assange use AIM or other messaging services? I’d like to chat with him one of these days about opsec. My only credentials beyond intrusion are that the FBI never got my data or found me, before my negotiated surrender, but that’s something.
      (8:01:53 AM) Lamo: And my data was never recovered.
      (8:02:07 AM) Manning: no he does not use AIM
      (8:02:37 AM) Lamo: How would I get ahold of him?
      (8:02:59 AM) Manning: he would come to you
      (8:03:26 AM) Lamo: I’ve never failed to get ahold of someone.
      (8:03:29 AM) Manning: he does use OTR though… but discusses nothing OPSEC
      (8:03:42 AM) Lamo: I cornered Ashcroft IRL, in the end.
      (8:04:19 AM) Manning: he *might* use the ccc.de jabber server… but you didn’t hear that from me
      (8:04:33 AM) Lamo: gotcha
      (8:06:00 AM) Manning: im going to grab some dinner, ttyl
      (8:06:18 AM) Lamo: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31130826&id=704990
      (8:06:47 AM) Lamo: i didn’t pass security, either. or rather, i did ;>
      (8:06:52 AM) Lamo: enjoy dinner.
      (8:06:55 AM) Lamo: twys.
      (9:12:38 AM) Manning: bk
      (9:22:54 AM) Manning: interesting… marine uniform… illegal, but certainly easy
      (9:24:11 AM) Manning: why ashcroft?
      (9:24:24 AM) Manning: oh, nevermind… DoJ
      (9:24:29 AM) Manning: >yawn<
      (9:26:52 AM) Manning: im really not familiar at all with FBI stuff
      (9:27:04 AM) Manning: americans have so many more rights than non-americans
      (9:31:42 AM) Manning: its awful
      (9:46:11 AM) Lamo: Ashcroft´s DOJ tried to use the USA PATRIOT Act on me.
      (10:06:24 AM) Lamo: around?
      (10:12:34 AM) Manning: yeah
      (10:12:57 AM) Lamo: are you baptist by any chance?
      (10:13:34 AM) Manning: raised catholic… never believed a word of it
      (10:13:59 AM) Manning: im godless… i guess i follow humanist values though
      (10:14:15 AM) Manning: have custom dogtags that say “Humanist” [...]

      (10:17:56 AM) Manning: i was the only non-religous person in town
      (10:18:17 AM) Manning: more pews than people…
      (10:18:37 AM) Manning: i understand them though
      (10:18:53 AM) Manning: im not mean to them… they *really* don’t know
      (10:19:39 AM) Manning: i politely disagree… but they are the ones who get uncomfortable when i make, very politely, good leading points…
      (10:20:48 AM) Manning: (by leading points, i mean ask multiple questions, with obvious answers, then ask a question based on the answers from the previous questions that challenges their normal response to the same question)
      (10:21:26 AM) Manning: [excellent example of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yhN1IDLQjo]
      (10:28:21 AM) Manning: new yorker is running 10k word article on wl.org on 30 may, btw
      (10:33:07 AM) Lamo: one moment fone
      (10:33:30 AM) Manning: (tracking device)
      (10:37:28 AM) Manning: trust level increasing? [quantify]

      May 25

      Lamo asked Manning if he was concerned that the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division might be investigating the Wikileaks investigation. Manning replied that any incriminating evidence of his activities had been erased (“zerofilled”) from his computers. He also discussed the Iraq video he gave Wikileaks and how he felt connected to Army Specialist Ethan McCord, who was pictured in the video carrying wounded children from a van. Manning added McCord as a friend on Facebook after the video came out.

      (02:03:10 AM) Manning: amazing how the world works
      (02:03:27 AM) Manning: takes 6 degrees of separation to a whole new level
      (02:04:12 AM) Lamo: hey, vacaville
      (02:04:18 AM) Lamo: er
      (02:04:23 AM) Lamo: vacaville
      (02:05:12 AM) Manning: its almost bookworthy in itself, how this played
      (02:07:41 AM) Manning: event occurs in 2007, i watch video in 2009 with no context, do research, forward information to group of FOI activists, more research occurs, video is released in 2010, those involved come forward to discuss event, i witness those involved coming forward to discuss publicly, even add them as friends on FB… without them knowing who i am
      (02:08:37 AM) Manning:they touch my life, i touch their life, they touch my life again… full circle
      (02:08:58 AM) Lamo: Life’s funny.
      (02:09:24 AM) Lamo: *random* are you concerned aboutCI/CID looking into your Wiki stuff? I was always paranoid.
      (02:09:40 AM) Manning: CID has no open investigation
      (02:10:28 AM) Manning: State Department will be uber-pissed… but I dont think they’re capable of tracing everything…
      (02:10:44 AM) Lamo: what about CI?
      (02:10:51 AM) Manning: might be a congressional investigation, and a joint effort to figure out what happened
      (02:11:23 AM) Manning: CI probably took note, but it had no effect on operations
      (02:11:48 AM) Manning: so, it was publicly damaging, but didn’t increase attacks or rhetoric…
      (02:12:10 AM) Lamo: *nod*
      (02:12:34 AM) Manning: re: joint effort will be purely political,”fact finding”… “how can we stop this from happening again”
      (02:12:46 AM) Manning: regarding State Dept. cables
      (02:13:12 AM) Lamo: Would the cables come from State?
      (02:13:21 AM) Manning: yes
      (02:13:25 AM) Manning: State Department
      (02:13:29 AM) Lamo: I was always a commercial intruder.
      (02:13:51 AM) Lamo: Why does your job afford you access?
      (02:13:59 AM) Lamo: except for the UN.
      (02:14:03 AM) Manning: because i have a workstation
      (02:14:15 AM) Lamo: and World Bank.
      (02:14:17 AM) Manning: *had*
      (02:14:36 AM) Lamo: So you have these stored now?
      (02:14:54 AM) Manning: i had two computers… one connected to SIPRNET the other to JWICS…
      (02:15:07 AM) Manning: no, they’re government laptops
      (02:15:18 AM) Manning: they’ve been zerofilled
      (02:15:22 AM) Manning: because of the pullout
      (02:15:57 AM) Manning: evidence was destroyed… by the system itself
      (02:16:10 AM) Lamo: So how would you deploy the cables? If at all.
      (02:16:26 AM) Manning: oh no… cables are reports
      (02:16:34 AM) Lamo: ah
      (02:16:38 AM) Manning: State Department Cable = a Memorandum
      (02:16:48 AM) Lamo: embassy cables?
      (02:16:54 AM) Manning: yes
      (02:17:00 AM) Manning: 260,000 in all
      (02:17:10 AM) Manning: i mentioned this previously
      (02:17:14 AM) Lamo: yes
      (02:17:31 AM) Lamo: stored locally, or retreiveable?
      (02:17:35 AM) Manning: brb latrine =P
      (02:17:43 AM) Manning: i dont have a copy anymore
      (02:17:59 AM) Lamo: *nod*
      (02:18:09 AM) Manning: they were stored on a centralized server…
      (02:18:34 AM) Lamo: what’s your endgame plan, then?
      (02:18:36 AM) Manning: it was vulnerable as fuck
      (02:20:57 AM) Manning: well, it was forwarded to WL
      (02:21:18 AM) Manning: and god knows what happens now
      (02:22:27 AM) Manning: hopefully worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms
      (02:23:06 AM) Manning: if not… than we’re doomed
      (02:23:18 AM) Manning: as a species
      (02:24:13 AM) Manning: i will officially give up on the society we have if nothing happens
      (02:24:58 AM) Manning: the reaction to the video gave me immense hope… CNN’s iReport was overwhelmed… Twitter exploded…
      (02:25:18 AM) Manning: people who saw, knew there was something wrong
      (02:26:10 AM) Manning: Washington Post sat on the video… David Finkel acquired a copy while embedded out here
      (02:26:36 AM) Manning: [also reason as to why there's probably no investigation]
      (02:28:10 AM) Manning: i want people to see the truth… regardless of who they are… because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public
      (02:28:10 AM) Lamo : I’m not here right now
      (02:28:50 AM) Manning: if i knew then, what i knew now… kind of thing…
      (02:29:31 AM) Manning: or maybe im just young, naive, and stupid…
      (02:30:09 AM) Lamo: which do you think it is?
      (02:30:29 AM) Manning: im hoping for the former
      (02:30:53 AM) Manning: it cant be the latter
      (02:31:06 AM) Manning: because if it is… were fucking screwed
      (02:31:12 AM) Manning: (as a society)
      (02:31:49 AM) Manning: and i dont want to believe that we’re screwed
      (02:32:53 AM) Manning: food time… ttys

      Manning discussed his growing disillusionment with the Army and U.S. foreign policy. He also addressed the lack of security at the base that allowed him to siphon material from classified networks without being noticed and described methods for delivering data to Wikileaks. He asserted that any incriminating evidence of his activity had already been “zeroed” out.

      (02:26:01 PM) Manning: i dont believe in good guys versus bad guys anymore… i only a plethora of states acting in self interest… with varying ethics and moral standards of course, but self-interest nonetheless
      (02:26:18 PM) Manning: s/only/only see/
      (02:26:47 PM) Lamo: the tm meant i was being facetious
      (02:26:59 PM) Manning: gotchya
      (02:27:47 PM) Manning: i mean, we’re better in some respects… we’re much more subtle… use a lot more words and legal techniques to legitimize everything
      (02:28:00 PM) Manning: its better than disappearing in the middle of the night
      (02:28:19 PM) Manning: but just because something is more subtle, doesn’t make it right
      (02:29:04 PM) Manning: i guess im too idealistic
      (02:31:02 PM) Manning: i think the thing that got me the most… that made me rethink the world more than anything
      (02:35:46 PM) Manning: was watching 15 detainees taken by the Iraqi Federal Police… for printing “anti-Iraqi literature”… the iraqi federal police wouldn’t cooperate with US forces, so i was instructed to investigate the matter, find out who the “bad guys” were, and how significant this was for the FPs… it turned out, they had printed a scholarly critique against PM Maliki… i had an interpreter read it for me… and when i found out that it was a benign political critique titled “Where did the money go?” and following the corruption trail within the PM’s cabinet… i immediately took that information and *ran* to the officer to explain what was going on… he didn’t want to hear any of it… he told me to shut up and explain how we could assist the FPs in finding *MORE* detainees…
      (02:35:46 PM) Lamo : I’m not here right now
      (02:36:27 PM) Manning: everything started slipping after that… i saw things differently
      (02:37:37 PM) Manning: i had always questioned the things worked, and investigated to find the truth… but that was a point where i was a *part* of something… i was actively involved in something that i was completely against…
      (02:38:12 PM) Lamo: That could happen in Colombia.
      (02:38:21 PM) Lamo: Different cultures, dude.
      (02:38:28 PM) Lamo: Life is cheaper.
      (02:38:34 PM) Manning: oh im quite aware
      (02:38:45 PM) Lamo: What would you do if your role /w Wikileaks seemed in danger of being blown?
      (02:38:48 PM) Manning: but i was a part of it… and completely helpless…
      (02:39:01 PM) Lamo: sometimes we’re all helpless
      (02:39:34 PM) Manning: try and figure out how i could get my side of the story out… before everything was twisted around to make me look like Nidal Hassan
      (02:40:15 PM) Manning: i dont think its going to happen
      (02:40:26 PM) Manning: i mean, i was never noticed
      (02:41:10 PM) Manning: regularly ignored… except when i had something essential… then it was back to “bring me coffee, then sweep the floor”
      (02:42:24 PM) Manning: i never quite understood that
      (02:42:44 PM) Manning: felt like i was an abused work horse…
      (02:43:33 PM) Manning: also, theres god awful accountability of IP addresses…
      (02:44:47 PM) Manning: the network was upgraded, and patched up so many times… and systems would go down, logs would be lost… and when moved or upgraded… hard drives were zeroed
      (02:45:12 PM) Manning: its impossible to trace much on these field networks…
      (02:46:10 PM) Manning: and who would honestly expect so much information to be exfiltrated from a field network?
      (02:46:25 PM) Lamo: I’d be one paranoid boy in your shoes.
      (02:47:07 PM) Manning: the CM video came from a server in our domain! and not a single person noticed
      (02:47:21 PM) Lamo: CM?
      (02:48:17 PM) Manning: Apache Weapons Team video of 12 JUL 07 airstrike on Reuters Journos… some sketchy but fairly normal street-folk… and civilians
      (02:48:52 PM) Lamo: How long between the leak and the publication?
      (02:49:18 PM) Manning: some time in february
      (02:49:25 PM) Manning: it was uploaded
      (02:50:04 PM) Lamo: uploaded where? how would i transmit something if i had similarly damning data
      (02:51:49 PM) Manning: uhm… preferably openssl the file with aes-256… then use sftp at prearranged drop ip addresses
      (02:52:08 PM) Manning: keeping the key separate… and uploading via a different means
      (02:52:31 PM) Lamo: so i myself would be SOL w/o a way to prearrange
      (02:54:33 PM) Manning: not necessarily… the HTTPS submission should suffice legally… though i’d use tor on top of it…
      (02:54:43 PM) Manning: but you’re data is going to be watched
      (02:54:44 PM) Manning: *your
      (02:54:49 PM) Manning: by someone, more than likely
      (02:54:53 PM) Lamo: submission where?
      (02:55:07 PM) Manning: wl.org submission system
      (02:55:23 PM) Lamo: in the massive queue?
      (02:55:54 PM) Manning: lol, yeah, it IS pretty massive…
      (02:55:56 PM) Manning: buried
      (02:56:04 PM) Manning: i see what you mean
      (02:56:35 PM) Manning: long term sources do get preference… i can see where the “unfairness” factor comes in
      (02:56:53 PM) Lamo: how does that preference work?
      (02:57:47 PM) Manning: veracity… the material is easy to verify…
      (02:58:27 PM) Manning: because they know a little bit more about the source than a purely anonymous one
      (02:59:04 PM) Manning: and confirmation publicly from earlier material, would make them more likely to publish… i guess…
      (02:59:16 PM) Manning: im not saying they do… but i can see how that might develop
      (03:00:18 PM) Manning: if two of the largest public relations “coups” have come from a single source… for instance
      (03:02:03 PM) Manning: you yeah… purely *submitting* material is more likely to get overlooked without contacting them by other means and saying hey, check your submissions for x…

      Manning described the first time he watched the Iraq video, after finding it in a network directory where an Army JAG officer left it. He speculated that Washington Post writer and book author David Finkel already had a copy of the video when he wrote his book The Good Soldiers, published last year. (Finkel addressed this issue recently.)

      (03:07:26 PM) Manning: i recognized the value of some things…
      (03:07:33 PM) Manning: knew what they meant… dug deeper
      (03:07:53 PM) Manning: i watched that video cold, for instance
      (03:10:32 PM) Manning: at first glance… it was just a bunch of guys getting shot up by a helicopter… no big deal… about two dozen more where that came from right… but something struck me as odd with the van thing… and also the fact it was being stored in a JAG officer’s directory… so i looked into it… eventually tracked down the date, and then the exact GPS co-ord… and i was like… ok, so thats what happened… cool… then i went to the regular internet… and it was still on my mind… so i typed into goog… the date, and the location… and then i see this http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/world/middleeast/13iraq.html
      (03:11:07 PM) Manning: i kept that in my mind for weeks… probably a month and a half… before i forwarded it to [Wikileaks]
      (03:11:54 PM) Manning: then there was the Finkel book
      (03:12:16 PM) Manning: im almost certain he had a copy

      Manning discussed how common and easy it was for soldiers to bring removable media into their work environment, making it easy for him, or anyone else, to siphon data from classified networks without raising suspicion.

      (01:52:30 PM) Manning: funny thing is… we transffered so much data on unmarked CDs…
      (01:52:42 PM) Manning: everyone did… videos… movies… music
      (01:53:05 PM) Manning: all out in the open
      (01:53:53 PM) Manning: bringing CDs too and from the networks was/is a common phenomeon
      (01:54:14 PM) Lamo: is that how you got the cables out?
      (01:54:28 PM) Manning: perhaps
      (01:54:42 PM) Manning: i would come in with music on a CD-RW
      (01:55:21 PM) Manning: labelled with something like “Lady Gaga”… erase the music… then write a compressed split file
      (01:55:46 PM) Manning: no-one suspected a thing
      (01:55:48 PM) Manning: =L kind of sad
      (01:56:04 PM) Lamo: and odds are, they never will
      (01:56:07 PM) Manning: i didnt even have to hide anything
      (01:56:36 PM) Lamo: from a professional perspective, i’m curious how the server they were on was insecure
      (01:57:19 PM) Manning: you had people working 14 hours a day… every single day… no weekends… no recreation…
      (01:57:27 PM) Manning: people stopped caring after 3 weeks
      (01:57:44 PM) Lamo: i mean, technically speaking
      (01:57:51 PM) Lamo: or was it physical
      (01:57:52 PM) Manning: >nod<
      (01:58:16 PM) Manning: there was no physical security
      (01:58:18 PM) Lamo: it was physical access, wasn’t it
      (01:58:20 PM) Lamo: hah
      (01:58:33 PM) Manning: it was there, but not really
      (01:58:51 PM) Manning: 5 digit cipher lock… but you could knock and the door…
      (01:58:55 PM) Manning: *on
      (01:59:15 PM) Manning: weapons, but everyone has weapons
      (02:00:12 PM) Manning: everyone just sat at their workstations… watching music videos / car chases / buildings exploding… and writing more stuff to CD/DVD… the culture fed opportunities
      (02:01:44 PM) Manning: hardest part is arguably internet access… uploading any sensitive data over the open internet is a bad idea… since networks are monitored for any insurgent/terrorist/militia/criminal types
      (02:01:52 PM) Lamo: tor?
      (02:02:13 PM) Manning: tor + ssl + sftp
      (02:02:33 PM) Lamo: *nod*
      (02:03:05 PM) Lamo: not quite how i might do it, but good
      (02:03:22 PM) Manning: i even asked the NSA guy if he could find any suspicious activity coming out of local networks… he shrugged and said… “its not a priority”
      (02:03:53 PM) Manning: went back to watching “Eagle’s Eye”

      (02:12:23 PM) Manning: so… it was a massive data spillage… facilitated by numerous factors… both physically, technically, and culturally
      (02:13:02 PM) Manning:: perfect example of how not to do INFOSEC
      (02:14:21 PM) Manning: listened and lip-synced to Lady Gaga’s Telephone while exfiltratrating possibly the largest data spillage in american history
      (02:15:03 PM) Manning: pretty simple, and unglamorous
      (02:16:37 PM) Manning: *exfiltrating
      (02:17:56 PM) Manning: weak servers, weak logging, weak physical security, weak counter-intelligence, inattentive signal analysis… a perfect storm
      (02:19:03 PM) Manning: >sigh<
      (02:19:19 PM) Manning: sounds pretty bad huh?
      (02:20:06 PM) Lamo: kinda :x
      (02:20:25 PM) Manning: :L
      (02:20:52 PM) Lamo: i mean, for the .mil
      (02:21:08 PM) Manning: well, it SHOULD be better
      (02:21:32 PM) Manning: its sad
      (02:22:47 PM) Manning: i mean what if i were someone more malicious
      (02:23:25 PM) Manning: i could’ve sold to russia or china, and made bank?
      (02:23:36 PM) Lamo: why didn’t you?
      (02:23:58 PM) Manning: because it’s public data
      (02:24:15 PM) Lamo: i mean, the cables
      (02:24:46 PM) Manning: it belongs in the public domain
      (02:25:15 PM) Manning: information should be free
      (02:25:39 PM) Manning: it belongs in the public domain
      (02:26:18 PM) Manning: because another state would just take advantage of the information… try and get some edge
      (02:26:55 PM) Manning: if its out in the open… it should be a public good
      (02:27:04 PM) Manning: *do the
      (02:27:23 PM) Manning: rather than some slimy intel collector
      (02:29:18 PM) Manning: im crazy like that

      (03:38:07 PM) Manning: its not much of a pic, but here’s harry ponting http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/2814062024_c39d25f27d.jpg the man who’s mission it is to sell the benefits of NCD throughout the State Department, Military, and IC
      (03:38:18 PM) Manning: i feel terribly, terribly sorry for the guy :(
      (03:39:17 PM) Manning: im not a bad person, i keep track of everything
      (03:39:30 PM) Manning: i watch the whole thing unfold… from a distance
      (03:40:07 PM) Manning: i read what everyone says… look at pictures… keep tabs… and feel for them
      (03:40:18 PM) Manning: since im basically playing a vital role in their life
      (03:40:29 PM) Manning: without ever meeting them
      (03:40:53 PM) Manning: i was like that as an intelligence analyst as well
      (03:41:09 PM) Lamo: i know the feeling, in a way.
      (03:41:44 PM) Manning: most didnt care… but i knew, i was playing a role in the lives of hundreds of people, without them knowing them… but i cared, and kept track of some of the details, make sure everybody was okay
      (03:42:07 PM) Manning: them knowing me
      (03:43:27 PM) Manning: i dont think of myself as playing “god” or anything, because im not… im just playing my role for the moment… i dont control the way they react
      (03:44:15 PM) Manning: there are far more people who do what i do, in state interest, on daily basis, and dont give a fuck
      (03:45:01 PM) Manning: thats how i try to separate myself
      (03:45:13 PM) Manning: from my (former) colleagues

      Lamo asked what additional material Manning gave to Julian Assange at Wikileaks.

      (04:32:05 PM) Manning: oh, the JTF GTMO papers… Assange has those too
      (04:32:16 PM) Lamo: Read it.
      (04:33:21 PM) Lamo: Anything else interesting on his table, as a former collector of interesting .com info?
      (04:33:44 PM) Manning: idk… i only know what i provide him xD
      (04:34:14 PM) Lamo: what do you consider the highlights?
      (04:35:31 PM) Manning: The Gharani airstrike videos and full report, Iraq war event log, the “Gitmo Papers”, and State Department cable database
      (04:35:50 PM) Lamo: Not too shabby.
      (04:36:03 PM) Manning: thats just me….
      (04:36:26 PM) Manning: idk about the rest… he *hopefully* has more

      (04:42:16 PM) Manning: im not sure whether i’d be considered a type of “hacker”, “cracker”, “hacktivist”, “leaker” or what…
      (04:42:26 PM) Manning: im just me… really
      (04:44:21 PM) Manning: starts off like every physics / astro class intro… ever
      (04:44:21 PM) Lamo : I’m not here right now
      (04:44:45 PM) Manning: albeit without the algebraic proofs
      (04:45:20 PM) Lamo: or a spy :)
      (04:45:48 PM) Manning: i couldn’t be a spy…
      (04:45:59 PM) Manning: spies dont post things up for the world to see
      (04:46:14 PM) Lamo: Why? Wikileaks would be the perfect cover
      (04:46:23 PM) Lamo: They post what’s not useful
      (04:46:29 PM) Lamo: And keep the rest

      (Image: Facebook.com)



      Read More http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/wikileaks-chat/#ixzz0uvkXM7ui

     
    BBC
    26 July 2010 Last updated at 18:44 GMT
    US says Wikileaks could 'threaten national security'
     
    John Young of Cryptome.org raises some fair go concerns of Wikileaks on his website.
     
    Why are the Wikileaks founders anonymous?
     
    Wikileaks on Political Bias
     
    Wikileaks: Fear in the Western Fourth Estate
     
    Wikileaks Assange Inconsistent on 2007 Apache Attack
     
    Plus a lot more on http://www.cryptome.org/
     
    Wikileaks Twitter page
     
     
    Afghan War Diary, 2004-2010
    Release date

    July 25, 2010

     
    The actual website
     
    What you do is click on the type on the left hand side and select a catergory and then go from their.

    Browse by Type

    Browse by Category

    Browse by Region

    Browse by Affiliation

    Browse by Date

    Browse by Severity

    Community resources

     
    Afghan War Diary, 2004-2010
    Release date

    July 25, 2010

     
    The actual website

     

    Mirror of this website

    http://cryptome.org/0002/wl-diary-mirror.htm

    What you do is look at the catergories and then chose what you want to look at
     

    Summary

    25th July 2010 5:00 PM EST WikiLeaks has released a document set called the Afghan War Diary, an extraordinary compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010.

    The reports, while written by soldiers and intelligence officers, and mainly describing lethal military actions involving the United States military, also include intelligence information, reports of meetings with political figures, and related details.

    The document collection is available on a dedicated webpage. http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/

    The reports cover most units from the US Army with the exception of most US Special Forces' activities. The reports do not generally cover top secret operations or European and other ISAF Forces operations.

    We have delayed the release of some 15,000 reports from the total archive as part of a harm minimization process demanded by our source. After further review, these reports will be released, with occasional redactions, and eventually in full, as the security situation in Afghanistan permits.

    The data is provided in HTML (web), CSV (comma-separated values) and SQL (database) formats, and was rendered into KML (Keyhole Markup Language) mapping data that can be used with Google Earth. Please note that the checksums will change.


    To decompress the files you will need the program 7zip. A free client for Windows can be downloaded here. http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Special:Jump/aHR0cDovL3d3dy43LXppcC5vcmcv

    Please use your favorite search engine to find clients for other operating systems; these include p7zip http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Special:Jump/aHR0cDovL3NvdXJjZWZvcmdlLm5ldC9wcm9qZWN0cy9wN3ppcC8=

    for Unix/Linux and EZ7z for Mac. http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Special:Jump/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5tYWN1cGRhdGUuY29tL2luZm8ucGhwL2lkLzE5MTM5L2V6N3o=


    Further information

    Context
    United States
    Military or intelligence (ruling)
    Central Command
    Primary language
     
    WikiLeaks logo
     

    Sunday, July 26 5pm EST.


    WikiLeaks today released over 75,000 secret US military reports covering the war in Afghanistan.

    The Afghan War Diary an extraordinary secret compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. The reports describe the majority of lethal military actions involving the United States military. They include the number of persons internally stated to be killed, wounded, or detained during each action, together with the precise geographical location of each event, and the military units involved and major weapon systems used.

    The Afghan War Diary is the most significant archive about the reality of war to have ever been released during the course of a war. The deaths of tens of thousands is normally only a statistic but the archive reveals the locations and the key events behind each most of these deaths. We hope its release will lead to a comprehensive understanding of the war in Afghanistan and provide the raw ingredients necessary to change its course.

    Most entries have been written by soldiers and intelligence officers listening to reports radioed in from front line deployments. However the reports also contain related information from Marines intelligence, US Embassies, and reports about corruption and development activity across Afghanistan.

    Each report consists of the time and precise geographic location of an event that the US Army considers significant. It includes several additional standardized fields: The broad type of the event (combat, non-combat, propaganda, etc.); the category of the event as classified by US Forces, how many were detained, wounded, and killed from civilian, allied, host nation, and enemy forces; the name of the reporting unit and a number of other fields, the most significant of which is the summary - an English language description of the events that are covered in the report.

    The Diary is available on the web and can be viewed in chronological order and by by over 100 categories assigned by the US Forces such as: "escalation of force", "friendly-fire", "development meeting", etc. The reports can also be viewed by our "severity" measure-the total number of people killed, injured or detained. All incidents have been placed onto a map of Afghanistan and can be viewed on Google Earth limited to a particular window of time or place. In this way the unfolding of the last six years of war may be seen.

    The material shows that cover-ups start on the ground. When reporting their own activities US Units are inclined to classify civilian kills as insurgent kills, downplay the number of people killed or otherwise make excuses for themselves. The reports, when made about other US Military units are more likely to be truthful, but still down play criticism. Conversely, when reporting on the actions of non-US ISAF forces the reports tend to be frank or critical and when reporting on the Taliban or other rebel groups, bad behavior is described in comprehensive detail. The behavior of the Afghan Army and Afghan authorities are also frequently described.

    The reports come from US Army with the exception most Special Forces activities. The reports do not generally cover top-secret operations or European and other ISAF Forces operations. However when a combined operation involving regular Army units occurs, details of Army partners are often revealed. For example a number of bloody operations carried out by Task Force 373, a secret US Special Forces assassination unit, are exposed in the Diary -- including a raid that lead to the death of seven children.

    This archive shows the vast range of small tragedies that are almost never reported by the press but which account for the overwhelming majority of deaths and injuries.

    We have delayed the release of some 15,000 reports from total archive as part of a harm minimization process demanded by our source. After further review, these reports will be released, with occasional redactions, and eventually, in full, as the security situation in Afghanistan permits.

    Additional information from our media partners:



    Afghan War Diary - Reading guide

    The Afghan War Diary (AWD for short) consists of messages from several important US military communications systems. The messaging systems have changed over time; as such reporting standards and message format have changed as well. This reading guide tries to provide some helpful hints on interpretation and understanding of the messages contained in the AWD.

    Most of the messages follow a pre-set structure that is designed to make automated processing of the contents easier. It is best to think of the messages in the terms of an overall collective logbook of the Afghan war. The AWD contains the relevant events, occurrences and intelligence experiences of the military, shared among many recipients. The basic idea is that all the messages taken together should provide a full picture of a days important events, intelligence, warnings, and other statistics. Each unit, outpost, convoy, or other military action generates report about relevant daily events. The range of topics is rather wide: Improvised Explosives Devices encountered, offensive operations, taking enemy fire, engagement with possible hostile forces, talking with village elders, numbers of wounded, dead, and detained, kidnappings, broader intelligence information and explicit threat warnings from intercepted radio communications, local informers or the afghan police. It also includes day to day complaints about lack of equipment and supplies.

    The description of events in the messages is often rather short and terse. To grasp the reporting style, it is helpful to understand the conditions under which the messages are composed and sent. Often they come from field units who have been under fire or under other stressful conditions all day and see the report-writing as nasty paperwork, that needs to be completed with little apparent benefit to expect. So the reporting is kept to the necessary minimum, with as little type-work as possible. The field units also need to expect questions from higher up or disciplinary measures for events recorded in the messages, so they will tend to gloss over violations of rules of engagement and other problematic behavior; the reports are often detailed when discussing actions or interactions by enemy forces. Once it is in the AWD messages, it is officially part of the record - it is subject to analysis and scrutiny. The truthfulness and completeness especially of descriptions of events must always be carefully considered. Circumstances that completely change the meaning of an reported event may have been omitted.

    The reports need to answer the critical questions: Who, When, Where, What, With whom, by what Means and Why. The AWD messages are not addressed to individuals but to groups of recipients that are fulfilling certain functions, such as duty officers in a certain region. The systems where the messages originate perform distribution based on criteria like region, classification level and other information. The goal of distribution is to provide those with access and the need to know, all of the information that relevant to their duties. In practice, this seems to be working imperfectly. The messages contain geo-location information in the forms of latitude-longitude, military grid coordinates and region.

    The messages contain a large number of abbreviations that are essential to understanding its contents. When browsing through the messages, underlined abbreviations pop up an little explanation, when the mouse is hovering over it. The meanings and use of some shorthands have changed over time, others are sometimes ambiguous or have several meanings that are used depending on context, region or reporting unit. If you discover the meaning of a so far unresolved acronym or abbreviations, or if you have corrections, please submit them to wl-office@sunshinepress.org.

    An especially helpful reference to names of military units and task-forces and their respective responsibilities can be found at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/enduring-freedom.htm

    The site also contains a list of bases, airfields http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/afghanistan.htm Location names are also often shortened to three-character acronyms.

    Messages may contain date and time information. Dates are mostly presented in either US numeric form (Year-Month-Day, e.g. 2009-09-04) or various Euro-style shorthands (Day-Month-Year, e.g. 2 Jan 04 or 02-Jan-04 or 2jan04 etc.).

    Times are frequently noted with a time-zone identifier behind the time, e.g. "09:32Z". Most common are Z (Zulu Time, aka. UTC time zone), D (Delta Time, aka. UTC + 4 hours) and B (Bravo Time, aka UTC + 2 hours). A full list off time zones can be found here: http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/military/

    Other times are noted without any time zone identifier at all. The Afghanistan time zone is AFT (UTC + 4:30), which may complicate things further if you are looking up messages based on local time.

    Finding messages relating to known events may be complicated by date and time zone shifting; if the event is in the night or early morning, it may cause a report to appear to be be misfiled. It is advisable to always look through messages before and on the proceeding day for any event.

    David Leigh, the Guardian's investigations editor, explains the online tools they have created to help you understand the secret US military files on the war in Afghanistan: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/datablog/video/2010/jul/25/afghanistan-war-logs-video-tutorial

    Understanding the structure of the report
    • The message starts with a unique ReportKey; it may be used to find messages and also to reference them.
    • The next field is DateOccurred; this provides the date and time of the event or message. See Time and Date formats for details on the used formats.
    • Type contains typically a broad classification of the type of event, like Friendly Action, Enemy Action, Non-Combat Event. It can be used to filter for messages of a certain type.
    • Category further describes what kind of event the message is about. There are a lot of categories, from propaganda, weapons cache finds to various types of combat activities.
    • TrackingNumber Is an internal tracking number.
    • Title contains the title of the message.
    • Summary is the actual description of the event. Usually it contains the bulk of the message content.
    • Region contains the broader region of the event.
    • AttackOn contains the information who was attacked during an event.
    • ComplexAttack is a flag that signifies that an attack was a larger operation that required more planning, coordination and preparation. This is used as a quick filter criterion to detect events that were out of the ordinary in terms of enemy capabilities.
    • ReportingUnit, UnitName, TypeOfUnit contains the information on the military unit that authored the report.
    • Wounded and death are listed as numeric values, sorted by affiliation. WIA is the abbreviation for Wounded In Action. KIA is the abbreviation for Killed In Action. The numbers are recorded in the fields FriendlyWIA,FriendlyKIA,HostNationWIA,HostNationKIA,CivilianWIA,CivilianKIA,EnemyWIA,EnemyKIA
    • Captured enemies are numbered in the field EnemyDetained.
    • The location of events are recorded in the fields MGRS (Military Grid Reference System), Latitude, Longitude.
    • The next group of fields contains information on the overall military unit, like ISAF Headquarter, that a message originated from or was updated by. Updates frequently occur when an analysis group, like one that investigated an incident or looked into the makeup of an Improvised Explosive Device added its results to a message.
    • OriginatorGroup, UpdatedByGroup
    • CCIR Commander's Critical Information Requirements
    • If an activity that is reported is deemed "significant", this is noted in the field Sigact. Significant activities are analyzed and evaluated by a special group in the command structure.
    • Affiliation describes if the event was of friendly or enemy nature.
    • DColor controls the display color of the message in the messaging system and map views. Messages relating to enemy activity have the color Red, those relating to friendly activity are colored Blue.
    • Classification contains the classification level of the message, e.g. Secret

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    • Posted by Britannia Radio at 08:35