Public Intelligence

A collection of documents released publicly on July 11, 2012 in response to a Freedom of Information request from the Australian Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet for material relating to WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning.

A copy of the appeal presented by Julian Assange’s lawyers to the U.K. Supreme Court in the matter of Julian Paul Assange vs. the Swedish Prosecution Authority.

A script produced by the military for the Article 32 hearing of PFC Bradley Manning was released as part of a public court filing and was first reported on by Politico.

Freedom of expression and the right to receive and impart information and its corollary, freedom of the media, are indispensable for genuine democracy and democratic processes. Through their scrutiny and in the exercise of their watchdog role, the media provide checks and balances to the exercise of authority. The right to freedom of expression and information as well as freedom of the media must be guaranteed in full respect of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5, hereinafter “the Convention”). The right to freedom of assembly and association is equally essential for people’s participation in the public debate and their exercise of democratic citizenship, and it must be guaranteed in full respect of Article 11 of the Convention. All Council of Europe member States have undertaken, in Article 1 of the Convention, to “secure to everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms” protected by the Convention (without any online/offline distinction).

In April 2011, a colloquium was held at the private military college Norwich University in conjunction with the Vermont branch of the FBI’s Infragard program. These presentations from the colloquium provide insight into government responses to WikiLeaks and other similar initiatives.

Decision by the Queen’s Bench Division of the UK High Court of Justice in the matter of Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority issued November 2, 2011.

This order directs structural reforms to ensure responsible sharing and safeguarding of classified information on computer networks that shall be consistent with appropriate protections for privacy and civil liberties. Agencies bear the primary responsibility for meeting these twin goals. These structural reforms will ensure coordinated interagency development and reliable implementation of policies and minimum standards regarding information security, personnel security, and systems security; address both internal and external security threats and vulnerabilities; and provide policies and minimum standards for sharing classified information both within and outside the Federal Government. These policies and minimum standards will address all agencies that operate or access classified computer networks, all users of classified computer networks (including contractors and others who operate or access classified computer networks controlled by the Federal Government), and all classified information on those networks.

Public Intelligence
The U.S. Army has launched a web-based program to encourage the reporting of suspicious activity among U.S. military personnel, including “insider threats” like that posed by alleged WikiLeaks contributor Bradley Manning.  The “iSALUTE” program, which launched in August 2011, is named for an acronym comprised of the factors and indicators to be reported when [...]

Collection of emails obtained by the Dominion News Cooperative following a request to the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade under the Access to Information Act.

WikiLeaks Financial Blockade Complaint Against Visa and MasterCard concerning infringements of Articles 101 and 102 of the EU Treaty.

The integration of North America’s economies would best be achieved through an “incremental” approach, according to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable. The cable, released through the WikiLeaks website and apparently written Jan. 28, 2005, discusses some of the obstacles surrounding the merger of the economies of Canada, the United States and Mexico in a fashion similar to the European Union. “An incremental and pragmatic package of tasks for a new North American Initiative (NAI) will likely gain the most support among Canadian policymakers,” the document said. “The economic payoff of the prospective North American initiative … is available, but its size and timing are unpredictable, so it should not be oversold.”

A confidentiality agreement that Julian Assange and WikiLeaks allegedly require their partners to sign.

The files, obtained by the WikiLeaks website and passed to The Daily Telegraph, disclose that a phone number of someone at the BBC was found in the phone books and phones of a number of extremists seized by US forces. A detainee assessment, dated 21 April 2007, states: “The London, United Kingdom (UK), phone number 0044 207 XXX XXXX was discovered in numerous seized phone books and phones associated with extremist-linked individuals. “The number is associated with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).” Analysis by The Daily Telegraph suggests the number is one for Bush House, home of the BBC World Service.

An al-Qaida operative accused of bombing two Christian churches and a luxury hotel in Pakistan in 2002 was at the same time working for British intelligence, according to secret files on detainees who were shipped to the US military’s Guantánamo Bay prison camp. Adil Hadi al Jazairi Bin Hamlili, an Algerian citizen described as a “facilitator, courier, kidnapper, and assassin for al-Qaida”, was detained in Pakistan in 2003 and later sent to Guantánamo Bay. But according to Hamlili’s Guantánamo “assessment” file, one of 759 individual dossiers obtained by the Guardian, US interrogators were convinced that he was simultaneously acting as an informer for British and Canadian intelligence.

QUESTION: Can you explain why, if the United States is proud of its human rights record, that the UN special rapporteur has complained that you’re not allowing him independent access to Bradley Manning?

Under my current restrictions, in addition to being stripped at night, I am essentially held in solitary confinement. For 23 hours per day, I sit alone in my cell. The guards checked on me every five minutes during the day by asking me if I am okay. I am required to respond in some affirmative manner. At night, if the guards can not see me clearly, because I have a blanket over my head or I am curled up towards the wall, they will wake me in order to ensure that I am okay. I receive each of my meals in my cell. I am not allowed to have a pillow or sheets. I am not allowed to have any personal items in my cell. I am only allowed to have one book or one magazine at any given time to read. The book or magazine is taken away from me at the end of the day before I go to sleep. I am prevented from exercising in my cell. If I attempt to do push-ups, sit-ups, or any other form of exercise I am forced to stop by the guards. Finally, I receive only one hour of exercise outside of my cell daily. My exercise is usually limited to me walking figure eights in an empty room.

PROTECTING INFORMATION CRITICAL TO OUR NATION’S SECURITY IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERYONE. THAT RESPONSIBILITY BECOMES MORE COMPLEX IN AN ELECTRONIC ENVIRONMENT. IT IS INCUMBENT UPON US ALL TO PROMOTE GOOD SECURITY PRACTICES ON THE NETWORK, MAINTAINING AN INFORMATION ADVANTAGE WHILE BALANCING INFORMATION SECURITY. WE OWE IT TO OURSELVES AND OUR FELLOW SAILORS AND MARINES TO PROTECT VITAL INFORMATION NECESSARY TO FIGHT AND WIN. REFS A THROUGH E ARE INTENDED TO IMPROVE THE BASIC PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF INFORMATION SECURITY. THESE PRINCIPALS AND PRACTICES NEED TO BECOME OUR STANDARD AND NOT THE EXCEPTION.

Egypt’s secret police, long accused of torturing suspects and intimidating political opponents of President Hosni Mubarak, received training at the FBI’s facility in Quantico, Virginia, even as US diplomats compiled allegations of brutality against them, according to US State Department cables released by WikiLeaks. One cable, dated November 2007 and published by the Telegraph, describes a meeting between the head of the SSIS, Egypt’s secret police, and FBI deputy director John Pistole, in which the secret police chief praises Pistole for the “excellent and strong” cooperation between the two agencies. (Pistole has since been appointed head of the TSA.) SSIS chief Abdul Rahman said the FBI’s training sessions at Quantico were of “great benefit” to his agency. The cables did not address what sort of training Egyptian secret police received at Quantico, or how many officers were trained there.

Julian Assange Swedish Sex Allegations Documentation from November 23, 2010.

President Barack Obama’s push for democratic reforms in Egypt has faced resistance from its longtime leader, in part because President Hosni Mubarak believes Washington’s past pressure for change has caused chaos in the Middle East, leaked U.S. diplomatic cables show. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking on Friday as anti-government protests rocked Egypt for a fourth day, said it was “absolutely vital” for Cairo to embrace political and social change as the United States has been pushing for years. U.S. diplomatic cables posted on Friday by WikiLeaks show Obama has guided the United States to warmer ties with Egypt by avoiding the public “name and shame” tactics of his predecessor George W. Bush while urging political reforms in private. But they also show U.S. pressure is viewed skeptically by Mubarak, who believes ill-advised U.S. pushes for reform in the Middle East have produced colossal mistakes, from the ouster of the Shah of Iran to the election of Hamas Islamists in Gaza.

Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have formed Colombian-style drug cartels that sell opium to fund the bloody nine-year insurgency, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable. Released by website whistleblower WikiLeaks, the 2009 cable rejects the popular notion that poverty forces Afghan farmers into opium production. A September 2009 briefing by the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at NATO headquarters was told that the main factor driving Afghan opium production was coercion of local farmers by Taliban insurgents. According to UNODC executive director, Antonio Costa, opium production declined 22 per cent in 2009 to its lowest level in 15 years, with the industry centred almost entirely in the war-ravaged south.

The United States declined a request from the United Arab Emirates to assist an investigation into the assassination of a top Hamas commander. Dubai suspects Israel’s Mossad agency to have been behind the murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhoh in a Dubai hotel in January 2010. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied a role in the killing. The U.S. last year denied reports that it had received a request for assistance from Dubai, but a recently released WikiLeaks cable proves otherwise.

ITA is pleased to provide this information update as part of our commitment to support your information assurance efforts. All users are strongly advised against attempting to access information posted on the Internet or browse websites that claim to contain classified information from government owned computing systems. This message is in accordance with Headquarters Department of the Army issued All Army Activities (ALARACT) message issued on August 14, 2010 related to the WikiLeaks website. In addition, the Office of the Administrative Assistant (OAA) Communications has advised that all Department of Defense employees are not permitted to access, review, or search for any material pertaining to the WikiLeaks website from a government-issued computer. Users are advised that doing so may include the user as part of the formal ongoing investigation.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has become a vast international spy network, cables revealed by WikiLeaks show. The cables depict drug agents juggling diplomacy and law enforcement in countries where politicians and traffickers are enmeshed and drug rings rival state power, The New York Times reported Saturday. The DEA now has 87 offices in 63 countries and close partnerships with governments that distrust the CIA, such as Nicaragua and Venezuela. Many nations are eager to take advantage of the agency’s drug detection and wiretapping technologies.

In the wake of the recent WikiLeaks disclosures of U.S. classified information, the U.S. Office of Management & Budget (OMB) and the Department of Defense (DoD) published guidance that prohibits federal government employees and federal contractor personnel from accessing the WikiLeaks web site to view or download classified information. As federal contractors, the Deloitte U.S. Firms and their professionals are obligated to protect the integrity of classified information.