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New site? Maybe some day.

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:	post by Headbanging Man at 2010-12-09 15:39:51

arktouros said

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i'm skeptical the CIA's influence reaches that far. even with plants ranging from academia to independent press and NGOs...they might have a huge sprawling network of informants but how efficient is it and how effective would they even be on an individual level? even if the CIA has plants within wikileaks, the network itself is self-correcting by nature, and they will ultimately not give much result.

assange is the public face of the network, he is not wikileaks. he's getting so much airtime on MSM because they are trying to discredit his organization, and really their reaction is so predictable, his face sells better than the scoops they release.

the CIA is not this effective, and i'm sure they're jealous of how much wikileaks has accomplished, their resume isn't so flawless. ripped from the about section on WL, there are so many scoops outside the realm of even the CIA's interest that any connection is so far-fetched -

Mostly I agree, though I wouldn't say the connection is far-fetched. I'm not sure whether Collateral Murder really "went viral" of its own accord or whether that was introduced into the MSM dialogue with the conscious approval of the ruling elite, but there is obviously a genuine element in Wikileaks, and it's extraordinarily unlikely that Assange is working for any intelligence agency.

That said, whether before the hype of Collateral Murder or after, I think it's safe to assume that US intelligence agencies have, since realizing the potential threat of the site, worked not only to discredit WL in the media/congress/courts, but to infiltrate and influence WL. At the very least, I am sure they have tried to be in a position to actively monitor the group to anticipate upcoming document dumps and be sure that the mass media has the official Pentagon spin even BEFORE WL can release a new batch of documents. It's impossible to determine the level of their success in this, but from the uniformity of coverage in major US outlets, I would say that the "threat" has been largely contained, as far as the domestic US populace is concerned.

At the very least, it must be understood that the US establishment, defined to include the upper echelons of the political system, the military, the intelligence agencies, the business class, State department, etc. is constantly engaged in active political counterintelligence, both abroad and domestically. Even if a threat like Wikileaks cannot be entirely neutralized, the sort of defamation campaign that is going on with Assange is almost always matched by a "capture" campaign, to try to bring the group into the veal pen of "the Washington consensus", while sustaining the illusion of dissent.

Here's a little something quite suggestive about JA's rape-accuser, which certainly suggests that WL (or at least the more visible and horny Assange) is not above infiltration: http://www.counterpunch.org/shamir09142010.html While there's certainly no direct paper trail from the CIA to Anna Ardin, it's certainly revealing to read of her involvement in la causa, the CIA's bete noir for close to 52 years now...

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