Saturday, July 31, 2010

TO BETRAY, YOU MUST FIRST BELONG . . .

U.S.: EVIDENCE TIES LEAKS TO SOLDIER

Investigators found concrete evidence on computers used by PFC Bradley Manning that link him with the leak of classified Afghanistan war reports, a U.S. defense official said, The Wall Street Journal reported July 30. Defense officials said the FBI was investigating whether civilians aided Manning in providing the information to WikiLeaks.

Defense officials said Manning used his "Top Secret/SCI" clearance to
tap into documents around the world. A search of the computers yielded evidence he had downloaded the Afghanistan war logs, the defense official said.

Copyright 2010 STRATFOR




"To betray, you must first belong," is a US Army Counter-Intelligence (CI) Truism.

In this case, knucklehead here recruited himself, and he betrayed for no measureable purpose. That is, Brad Manning did not betray his country for money, nor did he betray for an ideology or cause.

He did it because he was a fame whore; he sought attention for himself.

Manning passed the video to Wikileaks in February. After April 5 when the video was released and made headlines Manning contacted 20-year-old Tyler Watkins - a close friend in Boston - from Iraq asking him about the reaction in the United States.

“He would message me, Are people talking about it? Are the media saying anything?”


This is a sign of where the popular culture is headed via all those stupid social networking sites and reality-based TV shows; a symptom of what I describe as the "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" Syndrome, after the term coined by Andy Warhol, back in the early 60s.

Bradley Manning will have a lot of time to contemplate what he did and why; now, and for the rest of his life - in between episodes where his fellow inmates pass him around and use him as their communal sock puppet, that is.

- Sean Linnane

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2 comments:

  1. I've counter-protested the anti-war movement from the beginning and have met many IVAW members at one event I overheard a reunion between an IVAW member and a soldier on leave, the solider was taking about getting out soon and joining the group. I suspect this guy is one of these who joined to get the bona fides to protest the war but couldn't wait to do his thing. I'm also guessing he is rethinking his whole approach to this plan. Looking at a death sentence can do that to a man.

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  2. I hope this guy burns. Anyone in his unit know what he was up to? I can't believe he didn't seek the acknowledgement of anyone with whom he worked.

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