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Wiki Leaks
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Despite latest coup, WikiLeaks faces challenges
Organization is out of control and driven by ego, critics say
BY ELLENNAKASHIMA AND ANTHONY FAIOLA
“WikiLeaks,” saidthe godfather
of whistleblowers, Daniel Ells- berg, “has become the future of unauthorizeddisclosure.” Speaking Saturday in London,
themanwho leaked the Pentagon Papers and their damning history of American involvement in Viet- nam a generation ago, expressed what is partly hope and partly a reflection of reality: the Internet makes itharder to keepsecrets. But still to be determined is
whether WikiLeaks itself is that future, or some otherWeb site or collectionof online organizations. WikiLeaks is evolving, working through challenges posed by the newmediamodel, suchas towhat degree can a site devoted to hold- ingthepowerfulaccountablehold itselfbeyondreach?Andcana site dedicated to combating secrecy continue to be so secret? Indeed, as WikiLeaks is trum-
peting its latest coup, a number of former WikiLeaks activists are painting another picture of an or- ganization that is out of control, still too driven by the personality and ego of its mercurial founder, JulianAssange. “I’mtoo busy ending twowars,”
is the response one reporter got in an e-mail fromAssange after ask- ing for clarity on an issue, accord- ingtoasourcewhosawthe e-mail, and thought it capturedAssange’s crusading and peremptory na- ture. On Saturday, the tall, thin As-
sange got up on a platform and, wearing a navy suit and gray- stripe tie, proclaimed that the group’s latest disclosure — about 392,000 documents fromthe Iraq battlefront—was about revealing “the truth.” CertainlythereleaseFridaywas
amilestone, the result of the larg- est leakofclassifiedmilitarydocu- ments in history and what the editor of the British newspaper theGuardiancalled“anextraordi- narymoment injournalism.” A half-dozen or so journalistic
heavyweights, including the New York Times, Qatar-based al- Jazeera and the Guardian, re- leased stories Friday based on ad- vance,privilegedaccesstothedoc- uments. The stories revealed that the
U.S. military, despite its denials, did keep a body count of Iraqi casualties—at least 109,000 Iraq- is were killed between 2003 and 2009, the vast majority civilians. They also gave fresh attention to the grisly abuses of Iraqi detain- ees, largely by Iraqi security forces, prompting human rights advocates to call for probes into how much U.S. officials knew about the torture. And it added newinformationabout the appar- ent role of Iran in supporting Shi- itemilitias. Assange, 39, whose close-
cropped blond hair frames an impish face, struck a defiant note against his critics, particularly those intheU.S. government. Evenbefore thedocuments and
storieswere published, the Penta- gon issued a statement accusing WikiLeaks of putting at risk “the lives of our troops, their coalitions partners” and Iraqis who collabo- rated with coalition forces. The statement also saidWikiLeaks in- duced “individuals to break the law” by leaking thematerial. Said Assange of the Pentagon:
“Theyare tryingtoissuedeceptive statements to fool theworld press into reporting something that is not true.”
Beyond reach The anxiety and anger that
WikiLeaks’ current and previous disclosures have raised in theU.S. national security establishment lies in part in the fact that the site is, for technical andother reasons, virtually beyond reach of the courts and authorities. Jeffrey H.
KLMNO
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2010
cant lesson to come from the Af- ghanistan document release is that “focusing attention” on WikiLeaks is undesirable. “Seek- ing credit means going into the spotlight, inviting attacks,” he said. “Was thiswhole thing just built
upsothat thishigh-profilemateri- alwouldcome in?So itwouldtake on this fame-oriented, pop band direction?” said Daniel Dom- scheit-Berg, a 32-year-old Berlin resident who was suspended by Assange in late August and re- signedlastmonth. The organization’s secrecy frus-
tratedsome. “Therewas toomuch cloak and
dagger,” said Domscheit-Berg, re- ferring to what he said was As- sange’s practice of not using his credit card to avoid leaving a trail for investigators, and his general practice of not sharing informa- tion about plans with core mem- bers. “I’m not into operating like anintelligence service.” Because ofmaintenance or im-
ALAA AL-MARJANI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Family members ofAyad Karim visit his grave inNajaf, Iraq. Karim was killed in 2006 during sectarian violence. Documents laid bare by WikiLeaks suggest far more Iraqis died than had been acknowledged.
Smith, a formerCIAgeneral coun- sel and currently an external ad- viser to CIA Director Leon Panet- ta, said “without question” he thought that Assange could be prosecuted under the Espionage Act for possessing and sharing without authorization classified military information.But, he add- ed, the challenge would be to get custody of Assange unless he comes to the United States volun- tarilyor ishandedoverby another country. The Justice Department has
said it is assisting the Defense Department in its investigation into the leaks to WikiLeaks. Though Smith said he did not knowwhether effortswereunder- way to gain custody, he said, “My supposition is that the JusticeDe- partment and Department of De- fense areworking very hard to see if they can get jurisdiction over him.” The Justice Department de-
clinedto comment. WikiLeaks activists say they
havemade efforts tobe responsive to criticism leveled after the July releaseofmore than70,000classi- fied military field reports from Afghanistan. They said that this time theyworkedformonthswith special software to remove sensi- tive identities and specific loca-
tions. WikiLeaks also said it brought in nonprofit organiza- tions to help review the docu- ments. The steps taken represent the maturation of the operation, activists said. Beginning in 2006, Assange
andhiscolleaguessought tocreate “an uncensorable system for un- traceablemass leaking.” The stat- edgoalwastofightcorruptionand injustice and provide a way for electronic documents and images to becomepublicwhileprotecting theprovider. It drew occasional notice for
disclosures ranging from bank corruptioninIcelandtoSarahPal- in’spersonal e-mails.Thenitburst into global prominence in April when it posted video footage of a U.S. Apache helicopter firing on civilians in Baghdad, killing two Reuters employees. That was fol- lowed by the Afghanistan docu- ment releaseinJulyandonFriday, the Iraq War Logs. Though WikiLeaks has not identified the sources of its material, suspicion has fallenona youngArmy intelli- gence analyst who was stationed inBaghdad. Some say that the very emer-
gence ofWikiLeaks shows deeper flaws in the system: widespread overclassification ofmaterial and a lack of meaningful protections
for whistleblowers dealing with information relating to national security.
Paying a price But the phenomenal rise of
WikiLeaks over the past six months has come at a price, for- mer activists say.At least five peo- ple from the core group have left becauseofdisagreementsover the way Assange was running the op- eration, saidHerbert Snorrason, a 25-year-old Icelandic activistwho moderatedaWikiLeakschat room until about amonth ago. “Quite a few others” who were more tan- gentially involved have also left, he said. He saidtoomany editorialdeci-
sions were being made solely by Assange, including to title the Baghdad video CollateralMurder, a move that suggested to some that WikiLeaks is not neutral. “It had unnecessary effects on how theprojectwasperceived,”hesaid. Former colleagues questioned
the focus on high-profile disclo- sures such as the Afghanistan re- cords, which, they said, not only meant smaller projects lan- guished but that the rushed staff was ill-prepared to vet so many records to ensure that names of civilianshadbeenredacted. Herbert said the most signifi-
provements totheWikiLeaksWeb site, the organization has been unable to acceptnewsubmissions since Sept. 29. Assange has been refusedaresidencypermit inSwe- den, where he faces allegations of rape andsexual assault.Hedenies the charges and says it is part of anAmerican-ledcampaigntoruin his reputation. Still, saidKristinnHrafnsson, a
WikiLeaks activist, “We are a small but healthy organization.” He said that “WikiLeaks as a one- man organization” is more per- ception than reality,which should change in coming months. More people will be speaking out, and there might even be a physical headquarters,he said. The charge of lack of transpar-
ency is “unjust,” Hrafnsson said, because WikiLeaks has main- tained secrecy to protect sources andshieldvolunteerswhowant to keepa lowprofile. “We are basically a young orga-
nizationgoing throughtheprima- ry stages,” he said. “If you take a long-term perspective, it will be quitedifferent.” WikiLeaks “will surviveinsome
shape or form,” said one former core volunteer. “There are many people out there that support what it does.” In fact, the activist said, “it might mutate into more thanone site.”
nakashimae@washpost.com
Faiola reported fromLondon. Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
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