Whistleblower Protection Blog : Whistleblower Lawyer & Attorney : National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund : Whistleblower Protection, Fraud Claims : Washington DC

WikiLeaks.org has released an 18 minute video that shows United States armed forces in Iraq attacking a group that included two journalists from Reuters. The journalists, and about ten other civilians, were fatally injured in the 2007 attack.

National Public Radio (NPR) this morning reports (although not in its on-line article) that the video came from a whistleblower. A number of circumstances point to whistleblowing as a source for this video.  The video was classified and encrypted. So, whoever released this video is likely to have had a security clearance. Also WikiLeaks.org has posted a decrypted version of the video. This indicates either that the source had access to the decryption methods or that the government's encryption is vulnerable.

WikiLeaks.org is a volunteer organization that has vetted and released anonymous submissions since 2007. Its initial focus was to expose corruption by authoritarian regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, the Middle East and Africa. In 2008, a federal judge in California ordered that it be shut down after it exposed illegal activities by the Cayman Islands branch of a Swiss bank. Last December, WikiLeaks.org suspended availability of past leaks due to a funding shortage. The site is now widely distributed and mirrored to stymie censorship.

Today's video release exemplifies the role whistleblowers can play in revealing how national security laws are used to cover up mistakes or misconduct by military and other government officials. The public debate and historical record benefit from this whistleblower leak. The release is also a test of how technology can facilitate whistleblowing by persons with security clearances.

Follow this link for the Wikileak.org blog about today's release.

Mother Jones has posted a feature on WikiLeaks.org and one of its leaders.

Eileen White Read Peacemakers blog on True/Slant has a post about this video.

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 In the United Kingdom, a former investigator of the Royal Military Police (RMP), speaking anonymously, alleges that Senior British army commanders in Iraq refused to investigate Iraqi civilian abuse claims. According to BBC News on October 11^th, the whistleblower claims that while he has seen documentary evidence of hundreds of incidences, involving death and serious injury to Iraqis, investigators could not examine these cases because the whole system of military justice is flawed. The military chain of command made independent investigations of the RMP almost impossible by not providing resources or denying access.  

 

 The Ministry of Defense, however, insists “any substantive allegations of abuse brought to its attention will always be investigated and that such cases are relatively rare.” A Ministry of Defense statement claims “we must remember that over a hundred thousand of our personnel served in Iraq and, with the exception of a few individuals, they have performed to the highest standards under extraordinarily testing condition there.”

The whistleblower agrees “the vast majority of British soldiers have served their country with distinction.” However, he asserts “it is the actions of a few who have been shown to be bad apples. But the system is so flawed and some of the decision making has been so perverse that it is fair to say that the barrel is probably rotten.”       

Referred Articles:

Bowen, Innes, “Whistleblower says Army abuse not investigated,” BBC News, October 11, 2009.

“Army abuse claims ‘being ignored’,” BBC News, October 11, 2009.

Evans, Michael, “Army refused to investigate Iraqi abuse claims, investigator claims,” Times Online, October 12, 2009.

“Whistleblower bemoans British ‘abuses’ in Iraq,” Press TV, October 12, 2009.

 

Whistleblowing Information of the U.K.

 

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This Wednesday, September 24th, American University in Washington, DC will be holding a symposium entitled "A Question of Conscience." The event will focus on issues surrounding national security whistleblowers, and specifically the case of Katherine Gun, a former British Secret Service agent who blew the whistle on illegal US/UK espionage activities aimed at selling the Iraq war to the rest of the world. At the event, Ms. Gun will tell her story, along with Martin Bright, the newspaper editor who made the decision to publish her allegations. Also making presentations will be Marcia and Thomas Mitchell, who analyzed Ms. Gun's case in their book The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War, and the well-known Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.  

I urge all whistleblower supporters in the DC area to attend this event at 8:10pm on Wednesday. For more information, click here to view the brochure.

 

UPDATE: Katherine Gun, Marcia Mitchell and Thomas Mitchell were interviewed today on NPR's The Diane Rehm Show.
NPR's website has more information, including a recording of the interview available here.  

For more information, call 202-885-2408.

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This Monday, May 12, the Democratic Policy Committee is scheduled to hold hearings  to  "examine  the impact  of  American  reconstruction  and  anti-corruption failures on the U.S. mission in Iraq." Several former government employees will be offering testimony.

This hearing is a continuation of the admirable work that this committee has done in shedding light on problems in Iraq. In September 2007, Army Corps whistleblower Bunnatine "Bunny" Greenhouse testified before the committee regarding her opposition to the multi-billion dollar "no bid" contract awarded to Halliburton/KBR in the run-up to the Iraq war.

Detailed information about the May 12, 2008 hearing can be found here.

Here are the links for the September 2007 testimony of Bunnatine Greenhouse and Stephen M. Kohn.

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