US soldier arrested over Wikileaks Iraq video

08 Jun 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features

Federal officials have arrested an Army intelligence analyst who boasted that he had given a classified US combat video and top secret State Department records to whistleblower site Wikileaks. Brad Manning is alleged to have leaked a video depicting a fatal helicopter attack on Iraqi civilians, including Reuters journalists. A former hacker said he turned Manning in out of concern for US national security. According to Manning’s family, the intelligence analyst is being held in custody in Kuwait but has not yet been charged. Wikileaks has claimed it does not know the identity of the person who leaked the video.

Robert Gates criticises Wikileaks

14 Apr 10 | Index Index, minipost

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has criticised Wikileaks, over its release of a video showing a 2007 US helicopter attack that killed 12 people in Baghdad. Gates said the videos released by the group were out of context and provided an incomplete picture of the battlefield, comparing it to war as seen “through a soda straw.” “These people can put out anything they want, and they’re never held accountable for it. There’s no before and there’s no after,” Gates said.

WikiLeaks posts video showing journalists killed in Iraq

06 Apr 10 | Digital Freedom, Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost

On 5 April, Wikileaks, the website that publishes sensitive leaked material, released a video showing a 2007 US military airstrike that killed about a dozen Iraqis in eastern Baghdad. Among the dead were a 22-year-old Reuters photographer, Namir Noor-Eldeen, and his driver, Saeed Chmagh, 40. The Pentagon had previously blocked an attempt by Reuters to obtain the video through a freedom of information request. Wikileaks director Julian Assange said his organisation had to break through military encryption to view the footage.