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Some people refer to the non-profit website as a "whistleblower", because it publishes documents previously unavailable that it receives "anonymously".  However, those who work for the website state that they do authenticate the reliability of the documents. I'm not exactly sure how they do this, though, since the material is supposedly sent to them by unknown sources.
WikiLeaks was founded by Austrailian, Julian Assange, a neer-do-well computer hacker,who, according to NBC News, is currently wanted in Sweden on charges of rape and assault. MSNBC continues by adding that he doesn't appear to have a home but moves from friend's house to friend's, sometimes dropping out of sight for months at a time. .
The WikiLeaks website says it was created by a group of “journalists, software programmers, network engineers, mathematicians and others†from around the world, and also has a international network of volunteers.
Those associated with the website state that their mission is exposing information that the public "needs to know".Since its inception, the website has published thousands of documents. Its disclosures have included abuses, corruption or censorship by governments, religious organizations, and corporations.
From 2004 to 2009, WikiLeaks published nearly 500,000 military incident reports which its members avowed shed light on the many abuses in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But nothing has so riled leaders everywhere as this last batch of purloined classified cables from diplomats to the State Department. President Obama, on learning of the pending release of the cables, sent a letter to Assange asking him not to publish them.Â
This week, WikiLeaks began publishing some of more than 250,000 confidential cables they obtained—correspondence between American embassies around the globe and the U.S. State Department. The internal communication, mostly from the last three years, disclosed backroom details of U.S. diplomacy, including frank assessments of foreign leaders, and conflicts and crises among allies and adversaries.
The Obama administration argued that the disclosures could endanger lives, damage trust among U.S. allies, impinge on anti-proliferation efforts and undermine U.S. military and counterterrorism efforts.
But some analysts say that while documents are in some cases embarrassing — unflattering statements about foreign leaders, for instance -- they don’t appear to include major disclosures that would damage national security.Â
The President has sworn to bring to justice the individual or individuals who illegially copied these documents and gave them to WikiLeaks. Attoney General Eric Holder, who has already launched an investigation, is treating this as a very serious crime, prossibly even espionage.
Though the source is uncertain, one of the chief suspects is PFC Bradley Manning, an Army intelligence analyist, already facing court martial charges. Last year, Manning released a video of a U.S. helicopter crew attacking both insurgents and civilians -- including children -- in July 2007.
As for Assange, the case against him may not be as strong, at least in the U.S. where punishment of those who print stolen documents can raise first amendment issues. The Australian government is also looking into whether any of its laws have been broken.
https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40422504/ns/us_news-security/
