I am a European and I do not feel offended bye you comments.
Ppl ar all the same, we try to throw the blame on a country closer to the center of the conflict just as America, Norway, or any other nation would do.
And the Most reliable press in the EU is the French press, they ar the most balance country in terms of Fairness.
@battim I don't doubt that Assange enjoys the attention he's getting somewhat and may consider himself an important figure in the fight against US imerialism or something like that. Who knows? He may turn out to be that. But I don't think it's quite logical to say he "literally united the legislature" and got it to pass the war supplemental. Do you really think that thing wouldn't have passed if it weren't for the publication of the leaks?
@thefreeassociation its not logic, its what was used to get the bill passed. lol. did you even watch the debate? of course not. it would not have passed 48 hours after...the leaks literally got the debate going again and by their own admission, pushed fence sitters to the yeah side. not my words, theirs. as for american imperialism in afghanistan, as opposed to silamic drug imperialism in afghanistan? oh i forgot, you probably blame the jews.
@thefreeassociation My wife works for a democratic congressman here in DC. It was precisely the wikileaks debate which made him change his mind about more funds for the war in afghanistan. Battim is right, you speak without even researching the topic. Such is youtube
Thanks Tim, a change from the online reader comments in the UK press. The Guardian is our foremost 'liberal' (US sense) paper: you'd think from comments there, overwhelmingly, that Assange was a prophet of the New Democracy: the only one who can be trusted. The naivete is terrifying. The right -wing stuff, elsewhere, is phrased differently but no less alarming. (& as I type, Obama's said Iraq combat ops will stop by end Aug. He's getting no credit for that. Hey, you can't please all the people.)
@jonno52 thanks jonno. the troops will still be in iraq and obama is just going by bush's plan. gates, same DOD chief already said that was the plan before obama said a word, in fact obama said the surge wouldn't work and his vicepresident wanted to split iraq into three countries. so he deserves little credit on that front. its amazing, the assange guys has blood on his hands, yet they still rave about him. odd.
@jonno52 Re-reading my last post: unintended non sequitur at the end - I do know the difference between Iraq & Afghanistan, or at least where to find them on the map...
@jonno52 as oppoed to most who don't. i believe you. but obama did not say he was pulling combat troops from afghanistan, he said that about iraq, and he isn't actually pulling them from combat at all.
@battim OK - just going by the BBC saying "US President Barack Obama has confirmed the end of all combat operations in Iraq by 31 August. Some 50,000 of 65,000 US troops currently in Iraq are set to remain until the end of 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect US interests."
BBC more palatable than Assange, but "advisers" ... heard that term before somewhere. Vietnam napalm footage on TV nightly... too young to understand the full horror then.
@jonno52 we saw a lot of that horror here too. obama did confirm what was already planned in iraq. correct. hard to give him credit for a situation that calmed down before he took power. 65000 will remain and the others will be sent to afghanistan. stretched is the operative word.
Some time last year the economist ran a cover article that called Pakistan, "the most dangerous place on earth" Though I think more because they're a nuclear power than anything else.
As for wikileaks, I doubt they want to stop the war, from the interviews I've seen they're more talking about transparency in government, and the fact that governments cannot expect a free hand to operate in private any more, if they get hold of something they will publish. I think that's the message.
@praxis22 there is a different between transparency and putting a current war tactics online. onw he is playing gwith the big boys and he has blood on his hands. he is already responsible for taliban knowing where informants are. the guy is no better than those he whines about.
What about the report that 4 Canadian soldiers were killed by friendly fire (bomb dropped on them) and it was reported they were killed by taliban in a fire fight. Don't get me wrong, not blaming U.S. for killing them, but the higher ups for covering it up (if it's true). Mistakes happen in war, but don't cover it up.
@pornfartin Do you mean the report being 100% disputed by the 50+ Canadian soldiers who survived that battle? The report where it was disclosed that yes, an American bomb was in fact dropped (by mistake) on the Canadian troops, but it was a dud and did not explode? The 50+ Canadian soldiers absolutely said their 4 died from Taliban grenades and NOT the US bomb...because it never exploded. Is that the incident to which you refer? Are you calling the Canadians who were there, liars?
@Michelle5451 ok, I've read my comment over, I can see you blowing a gasket. But I think you took it the wrong way, I was just trying to get tim to add some Canadian content. I'm not sure if it happened or not. Sucks for the families though. Also I don't think Tim made any comment of none of the leaks being untrue, and had read that Hillier had denied the reports. just comenting was all
@pornfartin Wow, "blowing a gasket" how dramatic and hardly the case. I pointed out your BS with facts is all. You think I took what you wrote the wrong way? Your comment absolutely conveys you believe what you read is true, when in reality...it's not. You clearly indicate you believe a US bomb killed those 4 Canadians and that the US government may have been involved in a cover-up, pointing the finger at the Taliban.
Had you dug beyond whatever "report" you read, you would have learned even the Canadian solders..who..were..there..said it was a Taliban grenade who killed those 4 men and that the US bomb never exploded. I corrected you because I have a severe dislike for wrong information being perpetuated and passed off as "truth." Sorry you don't like being corrected. When you have spread wrong information, man up and acknowledge it, don't say the other person "took (you) the wrong way."
Is there any time the Europeans don't start up with the holier than thou crap? And anyone who thought that Pakistan AT LEAST didn't have a finger or two up the ass of the Taliban is an IDIOT. Our goods friends in Pakistan, on man...
@uglyengineer agreed. and yes, the europeans are just look silly when they whine about messes that in the ned, they created for centuries and we are still deaqling with them.
Wholeheartedly agree with your take on Assange and Wikileaks. There was nothing revealed that anyone following the bouncing the ball didn't already know. What I take serious issue with is a PFC (or any rank for that matter) leaking classified documents. I agree with the argument that the public deserves a consistent truth, but I draw the line at when that revelation of truth puts lives in danger.
I'm not real willing to write this crime off as meaningless since it wasn't earth-shattering information. I refuse to make exceptions to laws, no matter how minimal the damage, because it opens the barn door. I believe in consistency and no gray area, particularly with military laws. Assange sucked up the limelight for an increasing anti-American audience eager to knock the US down several rungs in the ladder of self-importance.
I hope anyone who partook in the leakage of these documents is convicted. I have zero issue with putting aside my right to the truth from my Government if it will keep military personnel out of harm's way. My right to any information never trumps the right to keep fighting forces as safe as possible.
@Michelle5451 convicted is being nice. the more i read about this assange moron, the more i think he should be treated like an enemy combatant. i can guaruntee isi is already looking for him.
@battim Assange finally bit off more than he could chew. He's had a hard-on for the United States for quite some time. He perverts Supreme Court rulings on journalism to justify what he does. The US can't touch him obviously, but ISI isn't under the world's moral microscope - let them have him.
I am grateful for this vid, Tim. I was actually thinking of going to India, for Durga Puja this October. I'm now reconsidering, at this point. I've been reading however that India is quite dangerous at the moment for other reasons, as well.
"The guy" is called Julian Assange and he's Australian, not European. Frankly I'm surprised he's still walking around breathing. I will say that I think your assumption that wikileaks has a specific agenda is off-base. While they're certainly not pro-war, my impression of their ideological position is that they are freedom-of-information anarchists, and believe that nation states and/or corporations have no business withholding information they feel should be in the public domain.
@lazlo5149 I agree. Wikileaks seems to neutral to be having an Agenda. Plus he says read the files for yourself and create a opinion, he doesnt tell us "what to think" and that gives him credibility.
@lazlo5149. I never said he was european. Odd that you would say that. Assange has said he had a specific agenda. His words...to save journalism. He also claimed the atrocities are war were being hidden. Not true. He makes millions off this while the guy who actually did the leaking sits in jail. Nice guy. Anarchist using apple computers...precious.
Apple computers? No idea what OS they were running would matter, but:
88.80.17.21 | Linux | Sun-Java-System-Web-Server/7.0 - Definitely running linux.
By agenda I meant Political agenda. I have no idea what his professional or personal agendas might be. Staying alive is fairly high on the list these days I'd imagine.
@lazlo5149. Assange had an apple at his press conference. Anarchist freedom of information is a political agenda iof I ever head of one. He should be afraid for his life...technically what he did was an act of war.
@battim I'm not particularly interested in his laptop - it's his web servers that are causing all the ruckus. It seems to me his POV is that of a hacker as opposed to any sort of political agenda. It's world view that's directly at odds with the notion of the Nation State and Institutions.
As for this being an act of war... we're already fighting one ridiculous battle against a concept (Terrorism) that's not possible "win" in any meaningful sense. Probably don't need another.
Someone should tell Rudyard Kipling that suicide - according to the Bible - is murder of the self and is thus the one sin that you can never repent for.
The general analysis that I've been hearing has been as yours, nothing really new, nothing shocking, no WikiGate. Of course Julian Assange is jumping at the opportunity to broadcast his site while all the time playing the role of hero and martyr for having done nothing more than upload stolen documents that were given to him.
I know what you mean about the Wikileaks guy but, at the same time, I don't mind less secrets of this nature being published, even by someone I find distasteful. Absolutely great video! Your analysis is pretty spot on here...I always look forward to see what you have to say.
I am looking at wikileaks page and Assanges name is nowhere on it today.What is more interesting than Assange is what wikileaks means to journalism. I have friends around the world who tell me stories of journalists being targeted. Not all centres of power have the same interests, people need information to make informed decisions.
@norehct his name doesnt have to be, because he didn't do anything. he didnt provide this someone else did, he just published it. yet he shows up on every news channel taking credit for it while hiding. he didn't informe us, someone broke the law and leaked info. not him.
@battim New York times, Der spiegel, and the Guardian published it, not Assange. The somebodies who broke the laws to give us knowledge are heroes (as the Prometheus story)
Interesting perspective as always my friend. I'm not entirely sure that I agree with all of it, we had general accounts of just how bad things have gotten in Afghanistan, but this now recalls specific events and numbers, it makes it just a little more personal and will hopefully appeal to the better senses of those who have paid little attention to this mess thus far. As for Julian Assange, I had quite the opposite impression of him after watching him in various interviews.
@KazukiSeirei I found him to be somewhat humble... though in retrospect, I think his position was far superior when he remained anonymous - perhaps he did want a taste of the limelight.
Either way. awesome vid as always my friend and agreed, Afghanistan since day one, has been a disaster.
@KazukiSeirei he is humble by putting his face on every new channel from here to tokyo? he didn't even do anything, he was given these files. what does he get credit for doing nothing?
@KazukiSeirei those numbers have been reported every week on pentagon watch websites. things are getting worse because taliban is getting funded. al quaeda was dismantled years ago, that should have been all. assange is a self promoting goon. if he simply wanted to put out information, that really isn't new, he should have let others do the interpretation. this guy has NO ecperience interpreting military documents.
@battim Still not sold my friend. Wikileaks is far more than this particular "paper" event, it's been around for awhile and has been a wonder for unfettered/uninterpreted information. It's raw and more importantly, it provides an avenue for whistleblowers that has never existed before, at least an avenue with an audience. As for Assange, he's not the only one to blame for having his face painted everywhere, the media and public surely demanded it, people seek faces, that simple.
@KazukiSeirei. Actually maybe assange needs leak page to expose him. He appraoched the media....not vice versa. Sorry. He would been better off playing the unheralded leaker...this is not only no big deal but his interpretation has been way off.
@norehct if you watched them then you would know that i do not support the war at all either. its been a piss poor policy. but certainly you could see going after al aquaeda, right?
@norehct thats my issue with this war. we arent fighting the enemy anymore. if we were i'd be for it. obama escalated this and forced taliban's hand. blood is on obamas hands.
Not sure if I agree with you that it's all entirely rehashed stuff, although I haven't seen the documents myself so am not in a credible position to judge. Just based on what I've heard on the news *gasp*
I like the attitude of the wikileaks guy and he seems to be very careful with what he says and how he responds to the media. I am surprised to see a "Yeah, so?" kind of response from ya. Expected you to be pretty happy that we have legit[?] documents that strengthen the anti-war movements.
@YourBrainOnReligion this is nothing new. manyy news sources have already reported this tuff and again hillary clinton already addressed the pakistan issue. it really is nothing new. we are'nt fairing well in afghnaistan and ISI is helping the Taliban. not new stuff really. I don't like his attitude. HE is putting good men and women in harms way. It is irresposible and technically what he did is an act of agression against the NATO forces. THen he hides. Like bin laden. a coward really
i am all for antiwar sentiments and movements but not when they put others in harms way. he also inadvertantly has helped continue the war and will cause greater conflict between india and pakistan. this guy isn't antiwar, he is a self promoting buffoon that doesnt realize he isn't going to stop violence in afghanistan. lets see him go after russian or chinese secret files. he's be a pile of ash in weeks.
On the CBC this morning they were interviewing the parents of dead Canadian soldiers, who all said they did not believe the documents accounts of the deaths of their sons because they already heard what they felt was the truth from guys who were there. So either these people are easily fooled or the documents may not be all that.
@angryislander56 they are smiply low classified documents. its obvious this wikileaks guy knows nothing about how war works or the information that is already available. he thinks this is some grand revelation when in fact its nothing.
Did you read the wikileaks CIA report on getting European support for the war? About promoting it as a humanitarian effort that improves things for women? This recent leak reaffirms that this is not the reality. It gives legitimacy to those who would voice against the Afghan war. I am concerned that the US media has chosen to focus on the revelation that the US tax money is used to fund insurgents (as if that has not been already reported) to further more imperialistic wars.
@norehct affghanistan is not about imperialism. there is nothing to gain there. it was a war of politics and ideology. iraq you could argue was about imperialism. the EU promoted it as a war for womens rights and has the same intel the CIA does so bringing the CIA into means nothing. i think wikileaks is full of hot air. he really doesn't expose much at all. he just loves to get facetime and be self righteous. what of the women in afghanistan, do you think noone should stand up for them?
@battim you are right it didn't expose much what we swedes didn't know all ready, but now is it paper we can use to motivate end the fucking war. for it goes nowhere and waste of money and human resources.
And one thing you are wrong about is it is all about imperialism, read the plans new American enterprise, heritage foundation and the new American century has for plans in Afghanistan and the recently resource finds in Afghanistan plus the geostrategical point Afghanistan is.
@Gripen1974 china and others are already exposing these. having a geopolitical interest in a regioni s not imperialism. noone is dumb enough to beleive that anyone can imperialize afghanistan better than afghanistan itself.
Here in Spain the conservatives support the EEUU and the war and the socialist agree with a peace mission like you say. So it is all the same after all...
CIA can be proud of themselves. This is like 1984 Orwell.
@rapidopato nato knew what it was getting into. the CIA never claimed it was solely a humanitarian mission. thats called blame defelection and absolutely dishonest on the part of wikileaks, who only leaks what furthers their goals. wikileaks is turning into a joke.
Of course it is not only a humanitarian mission. That is precisely the point.
Here the Goverment wants the people to believe that Irak was a war (when the Conservatives where in Power) and Afgansthan is a humanitarian mission (now that they are in power). Both parties support the war at the end...I don´t blame it on the CIA, I didn´t mean that.
Eric Holder has announced that there will be a probe to find the source of the leaks. Do you think that this is because the leaks are considered damaging by the admin, or is the admin just trying to appease political interest groups?
@marklross2 i think its because someone broke the law. to have such an individual in the rank and file in the pentagon is dangerous. they'll find him and you'll never hear from him/her again.
Here in Spain the discussion was if about there was a war or not. You only had to read the papers or watch the tv in Spain. You can believe or not but it was so till very recently. As our Goverment wanted to be the promoter of the peace between Civilizations they didn't use the word war, they called it peace mission. When a helicoper was shot down by the Talibans it was said it was an accident, and so on...
Here in Spain the discussion was if about there was a war or not. You only had to read the papers or watch the tv in Spain. You can believe or not but it was so till very recently. As our Goverment wanted to be the promoter of the peace between Civilizations they didn't use the word war, they called it peace mission. When a helicoper was shot down by the Talibans it was said it was an accident, and so on...
@rapidopato i actually referred to you in the video. you should have seen the profanity laced comment i got from a norwegian. those norski's can be tough huh. nobel indeed!
Don't worry about him. There is rude and ungentlemantly people everywhere in the world. And forget me for my poor english. I hope I make me understand.
Both incidents are being used by everyone with agendas to further their cause... I'll be out a few weeks on the Pacific for fishing... See ya when I get back...
@PappyStu yes. sherrod wasn't even an incident and she's turned into an odd woman since it all began. she understood it all the first few days but the administration has turned her into a pawn. its sad.
i don't see how other europeans could've thought it was a "peace keeping mission", but then again i'm british and we have troops there too, and i've never quite seen where the peace keeping is between the coalition and insurgents shooting 7 kinds of shit out of each other. also, from what we gather from our media coverage here, IEDs seem a massive problem to which we've lost a huge proportion of those soldiers who never made it back alive. i just hope that the end justifies the means eventually.
@battim yeah... sorry i'm not the best at interpreting larger bodies of text despite rambling on and writing so much myself... is it basically about how the government and media put a spin on the truth to develop an image that gets the public on their side? if so, i was aware of this, hence why i said "from what we gather from our media coverage", rather than immediately stating it as unquestionable fact... if not, sorry for incorrectly interpreting it, what were you trying to point out?
@rabbitspliff in the video i am trying to point out that the intent of the whistleblower will backfire, as it already has. in my comment i was pointing out that the justice department is talking a big game...the military justice and DIA will handle this. i think our attorney general blows, personally.
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lol how dare you insult europe in such a way? the norgewians, hipocrites? never!ahahah great vids :D
madbcc 3 months ago
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madbcc 3 months ago
two conflicting peoples should never attempt to live together
0058333 1 year ago
I am a European and I do not feel offended bye you comments.
Ppl ar all the same, we try to throw the blame on a country closer to the center of the conflict just as America, Norway, or any other nation would do.
And the Most reliable press in the EU is the French press, they ar the most balance country in terms of Fairness.
Just my opinion ... TY
TheNigel01 1 year ago
@battim I don't doubt that Assange enjoys the attention he's getting somewhat and may consider himself an important figure in the fight against US imerialism or something like that. Who knows? He may turn out to be that. But I don't think it's quite logical to say he "literally united the legislature" and got it to pass the war supplemental. Do you really think that thing wouldn't have passed if it weren't for the publication of the leaks?
thefreeassociation 1 year ago
@thefreeassociation its not logic, its what was used to get the bill passed. lol. did you even watch the debate? of course not. it would not have passed 48 hours after...the leaks literally got the debate going again and by their own admission, pushed fence sitters to the yeah side. not my words, theirs. as for american imperialism in afghanistan, as opposed to silamic drug imperialism in afghanistan? oh i forgot, you probably blame the jews.
battim 1 year ago
@thefreeassociation My wife works for a democratic congressman here in DC. It was precisely the wikileaks debate which made him change his mind about more funds for the war in afghanistan. Battim is right, you speak without even researching the topic. Such is youtube
pigsflyinny 1 year ago
Thanks Tim, a change from the online reader comments in the UK press. The Guardian is our foremost 'liberal' (US sense) paper: you'd think from comments there, overwhelmingly, that Assange was a prophet of the New Democracy: the only one who can be trusted. The naivete is terrifying. The right -wing stuff, elsewhere, is phrased differently but no less alarming. (& as I type, Obama's said Iraq combat ops will stop by end Aug. He's getting no credit for that. Hey, you can't please all the people.)
jonno52 1 year ago
@jonno52 thanks jonno. the troops will still be in iraq and obama is just going by bush's plan. gates, same DOD chief already said that was the plan before obama said a word, in fact obama said the surge wouldn't work and his vicepresident wanted to split iraq into three countries. so he deserves little credit on that front. its amazing, the assange guys has blood on his hands, yet they still rave about him. odd.
battim 1 year ago
@jonno52 Re-reading my last post: unintended non sequitur at the end - I do know the difference between Iraq & Afghanistan, or at least where to find them on the map...
jonno52 1 year ago
@jonno52 as oppoed to most who don't. i believe you. but obama did not say he was pulling combat troops from afghanistan, he said that about iraq, and he isn't actually pulling them from combat at all.
battim 1 year ago
@battim OK - just going by the BBC saying "US President Barack Obama has confirmed the end of all combat operations in Iraq by 31 August. Some 50,000 of 65,000 US troops currently in Iraq are set to remain until the end of 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect US interests."
BBC more palatable than Assange, but "advisers" ... heard that term before somewhere. Vietnam napalm footage on TV nightly... too young to understand the full horror then.
Anyway it's late here & I'm signing off. Peace!
jonno52 1 year ago
@jonno52 we saw a lot of that horror here too. obama did confirm what was already planned in iraq. correct. hard to give him credit for a situation that calmed down before he took power. 65000 will remain and the others will be sent to afghanistan. stretched is the operative word.
battim 1 year ago
Some time last year the economist ran a cover article that called Pakistan, "the most dangerous place on earth" Though I think more because they're a nuclear power than anything else.
As for wikileaks, I doubt they want to stop the war, from the interviews I've seen they're more talking about transparency in government, and the fact that governments cannot expect a free hand to operate in private any more, if they get hold of something they will publish. I think that's the message.
praxis22 1 year ago
@praxis22 there is a different between transparency and putting a current war tactics online. onw he is playing gwith the big boys and he has blood on his hands. he is already responsible for taliban knowing where informants are. the guy is no better than those he whines about.
battim 1 year ago
are you drying your clothes in the background?
CrappyCartoons 1 year ago
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Don't play your European shit with me? Fuck you Americans
sandorcsaba1972 1 year ago
What about the report that 4 Canadian soldiers were killed by friendly fire (bomb dropped on them) and it was reported they were killed by taliban in a fire fight. Don't get me wrong, not blaming U.S. for killing them, but the higher ups for covering it up (if it's true). Mistakes happen in war, but don't cover it up.
pornfartin 1 year ago
@pornfartin Do you mean the report being 100% disputed by the 50+ Canadian soldiers who survived that battle? The report where it was disclosed that yes, an American bomb was in fact dropped (by mistake) on the Canadian troops, but it was a dud and did not explode? The 50+ Canadian soldiers absolutely said their 4 died from Taliban grenades and NOT the US bomb...because it never exploded. Is that the incident to which you refer? Are you calling the Canadians who were there, liars?
Michelle5451 1 year ago
@Michelle5451 ok, I've read my comment over, I can see you blowing a gasket. But I think you took it the wrong way, I was just trying to get tim to add some Canadian content. I'm not sure if it happened or not. Sucks for the families though. Also I don't think Tim made any comment of none of the leaks being untrue, and had read that Hillier had denied the reports. just comenting was all
pornfartin 1 year ago
@pornfartin i could work more canadian perspective stuff in. its certainly doesnt deviate from american interests much.
battim 1 year ago
@pornfartin Wow, "blowing a gasket" how dramatic and hardly the case. I pointed out your BS with facts is all. You think I took what you wrote the wrong way? Your comment absolutely conveys you believe what you read is true, when in reality...it's not. You clearly indicate you believe a US bomb killed those 4 Canadians and that the US government may have been involved in a cover-up, pointing the finger at the Taliban.
Michelle5451 1 year ago
Had you dug beyond whatever "report" you read, you would have learned even the Canadian solders..who..were..there..said it was a Taliban grenade who killed those 4 men and that the US bomb never exploded. I corrected you because I have a severe dislike for wrong information being perpetuated and passed off as "truth." Sorry you don't like being corrected. When you have spread wrong information, man up and acknowledge it, don't say the other person "took (you) the wrong way."
Michelle5451 1 year ago
Is there any time the Europeans don't start up with the holier than thou crap? And anyone who thought that Pakistan AT LEAST didn't have a finger or two up the ass of the Taliban is an IDIOT. Our goods friends in Pakistan, on man...
uglyengineer 1 year ago
@uglyengineer agreed. and yes, the europeans are just look silly when they whine about messes that in the ned, they created for centuries and we are still deaqling with them.
battim 1 year ago
Wholeheartedly agree with your take on Assange and Wikileaks. There was nothing revealed that anyone following the bouncing the ball didn't already know. What I take serious issue with is a PFC (or any rank for that matter) leaking classified documents. I agree with the argument that the public deserves a consistent truth, but I draw the line at when that revelation of truth puts lives in danger.
Michelle5451 1 year ago
I'm not real willing to write this crime off as meaningless since it wasn't earth-shattering information. I refuse to make exceptions to laws, no matter how minimal the damage, because it opens the barn door. I believe in consistency and no gray area, particularly with military laws. Assange sucked up the limelight for an increasing anti-American audience eager to knock the US down several rungs in the ladder of self-importance.
Michelle5451 1 year ago
I hope anyone who partook in the leakage of these documents is convicted. I have zero issue with putting aside my right to the truth from my Government if it will keep military personnel out of harm's way. My right to any information never trumps the right to keep fighting forces as safe as possible.
Michelle5451 1 year ago
@Michelle5451 convicted is being nice. the more i read about this assange moron, the more i think he should be treated like an enemy combatant. i can guaruntee isi is already looking for him.
battim 1 year ago
@battim Assange finally bit off more than he could chew. He's had a hard-on for the United States for quite some time. He perverts Supreme Court rulings on journalism to justify what he does. The US can't touch him obviously, but ISI isn't under the world's moral microscope - let them have him.
Michelle5451 1 year ago
@Michelle5451 the kids in solitary confinement and probably won't see the light of day for the rest of his life. probably best.
battim 1 year ago
@battim He certainly fucked up big time and definitely isn't making any of this easier on himself. I won't feel bad about whatever fate he suffers.
Michelle5451 1 year ago
It's always interesting to hear your commentary.
LJonYT 1 year ago
And here I thought I had just become jaded.
Whew!
OhCurt 1 year ago
@OhCurt. Perhaps we both are
battim 1 year ago
I am grateful for this vid, Tim. I was actually thinking of going to India, for Durga Puja this October. I'm now reconsidering, at this point. I've been reading however that India is quite dangerous at the moment for other reasons, as well.
I might have to wait a year or two.
petrus4 1 year ago
I wanna see obama go to tehran and have a sitdown with ahmadinejad.
serious. I'd like to see it.
jx14aby 1 year ago
"The guy" is called Julian Assange and he's Australian, not European. Frankly I'm surprised he's still walking around breathing. I will say that I think your assumption that wikileaks has a specific agenda is off-base. While they're certainly not pro-war, my impression of their ideological position is that they are freedom-of-information anarchists, and believe that nation states and/or corporations have no business withholding information they feel should be in the public domain.
lazlo5149 1 year ago
@lazlo5149 I agree. Wikileaks seems to neutral to be having an Agenda. Plus he says read the files for yourself and create a opinion, he doesnt tell us "what to think" and that gives him credibility.
amasuEnd 1 year ago
@lazlo5149. I never said he was european. Odd that you would say that. Assange has said he had a specific agenda. His words...to save journalism. He also claimed the atrocities are war were being hidden. Not true. He makes millions off this while the guy who actually did the leaking sits in jail. Nice guy. Anarchist using apple computers...precious.
battim 1 year ago
@battim
Apple computers? No idea what OS they were running would matter, but:
88.80.17.21 | Linux | Sun-Java-System-Web-Server/7.0 - Definitely running linux.
By agenda I meant Political agenda. I have no idea what his professional or personal agendas might be. Staying alive is fairly high on the list these days I'd imagine.
lazlo5149 1 year ago
@lazlo5149. Assange had an apple at his press conference. Anarchist freedom of information is a political agenda iof I ever head of one. He should be afraid for his life...technically what he did was an act of war.
battim 1 year ago
Comment removed
lazlo5149 1 year ago
@battim I'm not particularly interested in his laptop - it's his web servers that are causing all the ruckus. It seems to me his POV is that of a hacker as opposed to any sort of political agenda. It's world view that's directly at odds with the notion of the Nation State and Institutions.
As for this being an act of war... we're already fighting one ridiculous battle against a concept (Terrorism) that's not possible "win" in any meaningful sense. Probably don't need another.
lazlo5149 1 year ago
Someone should tell Rudyard Kipling that suicide - according to the Bible - is murder of the self and is thus the one sin that you can never repent for.
vcdaniels 1 year ago
@vcdaniels. Is it suicide when impending death is there? Bible? The bible speaks specifically of being caught in combat and the ethic involved?
battim 1 year ago
The general analysis that I've been hearing has been as yours, nothing really new, nothing shocking, no WikiGate. Of course Julian Assange is jumping at the opportunity to broadcast his site while all the time playing the role of hero and martyr for having done nothing more than upload stolen documents that were given to him.
Perroquet51 1 year ago
I know what you mean about the Wikileaks guy but, at the same time, I don't mind less secrets of this nature being published, even by someone I find distasteful. Absolutely great video! Your analysis is pretty spot on here...I always look forward to see what you have to say.
grumpychuck 1 year ago
I am looking at wikileaks page and Assanges name is nowhere on it today.What is more interesting than Assange is what wikileaks means to journalism. I have friends around the world who tell me stories of journalists being targeted. Not all centres of power have the same interests, people need information to make informed decisions.
norehct 1 year ago
@norehct his name doesnt have to be, because he didn't do anything. he didnt provide this someone else did, he just published it. yet he shows up on every news channel taking credit for it while hiding. he didn't informe us, someone broke the law and leaked info. not him.
battim 1 year ago
@battim New York times, Der spiegel, and the Guardian published it, not Assange. The somebodies who broke the laws to give us knowledge are heroes (as the Prometheus story)
norehct 1 year ago
Interesting perspective as always my friend. I'm not entirely sure that I agree with all of it, we had general accounts of just how bad things have gotten in Afghanistan, but this now recalls specific events and numbers, it makes it just a little more personal and will hopefully appeal to the better senses of those who have paid little attention to this mess thus far. As for Julian Assange, I had quite the opposite impression of him after watching him in various interviews.
cont.
KazukiSeirei 1 year ago
@KazukiSeirei I found him to be somewhat humble... though in retrospect, I think his position was far superior when he remained anonymous - perhaps he did want a taste of the limelight.
Either way. awesome vid as always my friend and agreed, Afghanistan since day one, has been a disaster.
Peace.
KazukiSeirei 1 year ago
@KazukiSeirei he is humble by putting his face on every new channel from here to tokyo? he didn't even do anything, he was given these files. what does he get credit for doing nothing?
battim 1 year ago
@KazukiSeirei those numbers have been reported every week on pentagon watch websites. things are getting worse because taliban is getting funded. al quaeda was dismantled years ago, that should have been all. assange is a self promoting goon. if he simply wanted to put out information, that really isn't new, he should have let others do the interpretation. this guy has NO ecperience interpreting military documents.
battim 1 year ago
@battim Still not sold my friend. Wikileaks is far more than this particular "paper" event, it's been around for awhile and has been a wonder for unfettered/uninterpreted information. It's raw and more importantly, it provides an avenue for whistleblowers that has never existed before, at least an avenue with an audience. As for Assange, he's not the only one to blame for having his face painted everywhere, the media and public surely demanded it, people seek faces, that simple.
Peace friend.
KazukiSeirei 1 year ago
@KazukiSeirei. Actually maybe assange needs leak page to expose him. He appraoched the media....not vice versa. Sorry. He would been better off playing the unheralded leaker...this is not only no big deal but his interpretation has been way off.
battim 1 year ago
I see I should have watched your previous videos, I do not support the war in Afghanistan at all.
norehct 1 year ago
@norehct if you watched them then you would know that i do not support the war at all either. its been a piss poor policy. but certainly you could see going after al aquaeda, right?
battim 1 year ago
@battim I thought it was talibans, CIA Director Leon Panetta said that there were “at most” only 50-100 Al Qaeda in Afghanistan on June 27
norehct 1 year ago
@norehct thats my issue with this war. we arent fighting the enemy anymore. if we were i'd be for it. obama escalated this and forced taliban's hand. blood is on obamas hands.
battim 1 year ago
Not sure if I agree with you that it's all entirely rehashed stuff, although I haven't seen the documents myself so am not in a credible position to judge. Just based on what I've heard on the news *gasp*
I like the attitude of the wikileaks guy and he seems to be very careful with what he says and how he responds to the media. I am surprised to see a "Yeah, so?" kind of response from ya. Expected you to be pretty happy that we have legit[?] documents that strengthen the anti-war movements.
YourBrainOnReligion 1 year ago
@YourBrainOnReligion this is nothing new. manyy news sources have already reported this tuff and again hillary clinton already addressed the pakistan issue. it really is nothing new. we are'nt fairing well in afghnaistan and ISI is helping the Taliban. not new stuff really. I don't like his attitude. HE is putting good men and women in harms way. It is irresposible and technically what he did is an act of agression against the NATO forces. THen he hides. Like bin laden. a coward really
battim 1 year ago
i am all for antiwar sentiments and movements but not when they put others in harms way. he also inadvertantly has helped continue the war and will cause greater conflict between india and pakistan. this guy isn't antiwar, he is a self promoting buffoon that doesnt realize he isn't going to stop violence in afghanistan. lets see him go after russian or chinese secret files. he's be a pile of ash in weeks.
battim 1 year ago
On the CBC this morning they were interviewing the parents of dead Canadian soldiers, who all said they did not believe the documents accounts of the deaths of their sons because they already heard what they felt was the truth from guys who were there. So either these people are easily fooled or the documents may not be all that.
angryislander56 1 year ago
@angryislander56 they are smiply low classified documents. its obvious this wikileaks guy knows nothing about how war works or the information that is already available. he thinks this is some grand revelation when in fact its nothing.
battim 1 year ago
Did you read the wikileaks CIA report on getting European support for the war? About promoting it as a humanitarian effort that improves things for women? This recent leak reaffirms that this is not the reality. It gives legitimacy to those who would voice against the Afghan war. I am concerned that the US media has chosen to focus on the revelation that the US tax money is used to fund insurgents (as if that has not been already reported) to further more imperialistic wars.
norehct 1 year ago
@norehct affghanistan is not about imperialism. there is nothing to gain there. it was a war of politics and ideology. iraq you could argue was about imperialism. the EU promoted it as a war for womens rights and has the same intel the CIA does so bringing the CIA into means nothing. i think wikileaks is full of hot air. he really doesn't expose much at all. he just loves to get facetime and be self righteous. what of the women in afghanistan, do you think noone should stand up for them?
battim 1 year ago
@battim you are right it didn't expose much what we swedes didn't know all ready, but now is it paper we can use to motivate end the fucking war. for it goes nowhere and waste of money and human resources.
And one thing you are wrong about is it is all about imperialism, read the plans new American enterprise, heritage foundation and the new American century has for plans in Afghanistan and the recently resource finds in Afghanistan plus the geostrategical point Afghanistan is.
Gripen1974 1 year ago
@Gripen1974 china and others are already exposing these. having a geopolitical interest in a regioni s not imperialism. noone is dumb enough to beleive that anyone can imperialize afghanistan better than afghanistan itself.
battim 1 year ago
@norehct
Here in Spain the conservatives support the EEUU and the war and the socialist agree with a peace mission like you say. So it is all the same after all...
CIA can be proud of themselves. This is like 1984 Orwell.
rapidopato 1 year ago
@rapidopato the CIA? what do they have to do with it?
battim 1 year ago
@battim
I mean wikileaks CIA report on getting European support for the war by promoting it as an humanitarian effort.
rapidopato 1 year ago
@rapidopato nato knew what it was getting into. the CIA never claimed it was solely a humanitarian mission. thats called blame defelection and absolutely dishonest on the part of wikileaks, who only leaks what furthers their goals. wikileaks is turning into a joke.
battim 1 year ago
@battim
Of course it is not only a humanitarian mission. That is precisely the point.
Here the Goverment wants the people to believe that Irak was a war (when the Conservatives where in Power) and Afgansthan is a humanitarian mission (now that they are in power). Both parties support the war at the end...I don´t blame it on the CIA, I didn´t mean that.
rapidopato 1 year ago
@rapidopato youre right. i know the language barrier is hard and i appreciate your effort. you can talk here inspanish, i am pretty decent with it
battim 1 year ago
@battim
I have to go now. It is been a pleasure to talk with you all.
Bye
rapidopato 1 year ago
@rapidopato Gracias por visitarnos y esperamos verte pronto!
battim 1 year ago
Eric Holder has announced that there will be a probe to find the source of the leaks. Do you think that this is because the leaks are considered damaging by the admin, or is the admin just trying to appease political interest groups?
marklross2 1 year ago
@marklross2 i think its because someone broke the law. to have such an individual in the rank and file in the pentagon is dangerous. they'll find him and you'll never hear from him/her again.
battim 1 year ago
Thank you for your answer.
I find your point of view very interesting.
Here in Spain the discussion was if about there was a war or not. You only had to read the papers or watch the tv in Spain. You can believe or not but it was so till very recently. As our Goverment wanted to be the promoter of the peace between Civilizations they didn't use the word war, they called it peace mission. When a helicoper was shot down by the Talibans it was said it was an accident, and so on...
rapidopato 1 year ago
Thank you for your answer.
I find your point of view very interesting.
Here in Spain the discussion was if about there was a war or not. You only had to read the papers or watch the tv in Spain. You can believe or not but it was so till very recently. As our Goverment wanted to be the promoter of the peace between Civilizations they didn't use the word war, they called it peace mission. When a helicoper was shot down by the Talibans it was said it was an accident, and so on...
rapidopato 1 year ago
@rapidopato i actually referred to you in the video. you should have seen the profanity laced comment i got from a norwegian. those norski's can be tough huh. nobel indeed!
battim 1 year ago
@battim
Don't worry about him. There is rude and ungentlemantly people everywhere in the world. And forget me for my poor english. I hope I make me understand.
rapidopato 1 year ago
@rapidopato your english is fine and you can write in spanish here...i do ok with it.
battim 1 year ago
Both incidents are being used by everyone with agendas to further their cause... I'll be out a few weeks on the Pacific for fishing... See ya when I get back...
PappyStu 1 year ago
@PappyStu yes. sherrod wasn't even an incident and she's turned into an odd woman since it all began. she understood it all the first few days but the administration has turned her into a pawn. its sad.
battim 1 year ago
@PappyStu btw tell that gorgeous daughter of your i said hi.
battim 1 year ago
i don't see how other europeans could've thought it was a "peace keeping mission", but then again i'm british and we have troops there too, and i've never quite seen where the peace keeping is between the coalition and insurgents shooting 7 kinds of shit out of each other. also, from what we gather from our media coverage here, IEDs seem a massive problem to which we've lost a huge proportion of those soldiers who never made it back alive. i just hope that the end justifies the means eventually.
rabbitspliff 1 year ago
@rabbitspliff look at the comment from my friend in spain. i've heard this alot.
battim 1 year ago
@battim yeah... sorry i'm not the best at interpreting larger bodies of text despite rambling on and writing so much myself... is it basically about how the government and media put a spin on the truth to develop an image that gets the public on their side? if so, i was aware of this, hence why i said "from what we gather from our media coverage", rather than immediately stating it as unquestionable fact... if not, sorry for incorrectly interpreting it, what were you trying to point out?
rabbitspliff 1 year ago
@rabbitspliff in the video i am trying to point out that the intent of the whistleblower will backfire, as it already has. in my comment i was pointing out that the justice department is talking a big game...the military justice and DIA will handle this. i think our attorney general blows, personally.
battim 1 year ago
well said brother
matrix2k3 1 year ago