Coming Soon: Military To Break Silence On Wikileaks Video

By GottaLaff

Greg Sargent is reporting that the military will be commenting as early as today, about the combat video that came out yesterday:

The military will publicly address the veracity of the notorious Wikileaks video, which apparently depicts an American helicopter killing two Reuters journalists during a July 2007 attack in Baghdad, as early as today, a Centcom spokesman confirms to me.

Separately, a military official confirms (as he did to several other news orgs) that they’ve concluded the footage is genuine.

This video makes me wonder what else is out there, and of course, what isn't. Hopefully, once the acknowledgment by the military is announced, there will be a real discussion about the wars in which we're engaged in general, about incidents like this one specifically, and maybe even what's in store for the future.

COMBAT VIDEO: Wikileaks posts video from Iraq showing civilian casualties

By GottaLaff



WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO. GRAPHIC VIDEO. GRAPHIC VIDEO.

Via the Rachel Maddow Blog:

Wikileaks has just released what it describes as classified video from U.S. Apache helicopters in a July 12, 2007 attack on the suburb of New Baghdad, Iraq. The U.S. military has said that the dozen or so casualties were "anti-Iraqi forces" or "insurgents."

You can be sure Rachel will be covering this tonight.

Via Wikileaks:

WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff. Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-site, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded. For further information please visit the special project website www.collateralmurder.com.

No words.

"Change You Can Download": Wikileaks Releases 6,780 CRS Reports

By GottaLaff

Wikileaks is "a non-profit project, sponsored by transparency groups and investigative journalists world wide." And guess what they're doing!

[T]hey are releasing over $1 billion dollars' worth of reports gathered by the Congressional Research Services (CRS). These reports are provided to members of the US Congress and are legally in the public domain. However, they are only released to the public with the permission of Congress in a complex system of permissions and protocols and ass-covering politicians. Needless to say, attempts to free this information from the 'red tape' that keeps it from actually being released to the public have been met with resistance. Well, leave it to Wikileaks to strike a blow for transparency.

Think of the fun we'll have:

The 6,780 reports, current as of this month, comprise over 127,000 pages of material on some of the most contentious issues in the nation, from the U.S. relationship with Israel to the financial collapse. Nearly 2,300 of the reports were updated in the last 12 months, while the oldest report goes back to 1990. [...]

Each time the topic of opening up the reports comes up, it runs into walls erected by opposing lawmakers such as Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who "like many members of Congress, views CRS as an extension of his staff,". If the reports were made public, "every time a member requests a particular document, the public may infer that he's staking out a particular policy position." (Aaron Saunders, Stevens' spokesman, Washington Post, 2007)^[4].

A few of the subjects covered:

These reports cover a broad range of subjects, including reviews of domestic and foreign policy, military operations, liability for disasters and conflict, taxes, alternative fuels, SEC, telecom, banking, adult education, literacy, FEMA, domestic surveillance, global warming, offshore banking - to name only a fraction.

A list of reports by date.

An alphabetical list of reports.

Knock yourselves out in the name of the American people. Here are a few samples of what you'll find there:

Title: President Bushs 2003 Tax Cut Proposal: A Brief Overview

CRS report number: RS21420

Author(s): David L. Brumbaugh, Government and Finance Division

Date: May 12, 2003

Abstract

On January 7, 2003, President Bush announced the elements of a new tax cut plan intended to provide a fiscal stimulus to the economy by encouraging consumer spending and promoting investment. As initially announced, the stimulus package contained an estimated $670 billion in tax cuts over 10 years, and included acceleration to 2003 of tax cuts scheduled to be gradually phased in under the tax cut enacted in 2001; elimination of individual income taxes on corporate-source dividends and capital gains; and an increase in the expensing tax benefit for business investment. On February 3, 2003, the Administration released FY2003 budget documents providing a more comprehensive outline of the Presidents tax proposals. The budget proposes tax cuts totaling an estimated $1.46 trillion over 10 years. This amount includes the already-proposed stimulus package, a set of additional tax cut proposals characterized as tax incentives, and a proposal to make the expiring provisions of the 2001 tax cut permanent.

Download the full report here (PDF) (text)

Publisher: United States Congressional Research Service

Title: Pakistan-U.S. Anti-Terrorism Cooperation

CRS report number: RL31624

Author(s): K. Alan Kronstadt, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division

Date: March 28, 2003

Abstract

This report reviews Pakistan-U.S. counterterrorism cooperation, including issues for Congress, law enforcement and intelligence, military operations, arms sales, and security cooperation. It also addresses domestic political repercussions for Pakistan and their possible effects on future Pakistan-U.S. relations.

Download the full report here (PDF) (text)