Manning and Woodward -of real and of 'official' leaks

Printing  officially leaked  "Top Secrets" is considered to be 'real' Journalism. Leaking the reality of criminal, Government behavior and doing it without official consent, is  Treason. 

Such is the  weird reality  of America's Free Press and its famed Freedom of Expression regime. The one that it seeks to  sell  to  the  rest of the world as a role model. 

Another important Greenwald article on the Manning prosecution. 




There are numerous travesties defining the ongoing prosecution of accused whistleblower Bradley Manning, but none more dangerous than the accusation that by leaking classified information, he "aided and abetted the enemy" (al-Qaida) - a capital offense. Not even the government claims he intended to help al-Qaida. The theory is that, even though it was not his intent, the information Manning disclosed may end up being of value to the terrorist organization: a claim that applies to virtually every leak of classified information to any media organization, thus transforming standard whistle-blowing into the equivalent of treason.

But let's apply the government's theory in the Manning case to one of the most revered journalists in Washington: Bob Woodward, who has become one of America's richest reporters, if not the richest, by obtaining and publishing classified information far more sensitive than anything WikiLeaks has ever published. For that reason, one of Woodward's most enthusiastic readers was Osama bin Laden, as this 2011 report from AFP demonstrates:

"Al-Qaeda has released a video marking the anniversary of 9/11 which includes a message from its slain leader Osama bin Laden to the American people . . . . He recommended that Americans read the book 'Obama's War' by Bob Woodward which details wrangles over US military decision-making."

If bin Laden's interest in the WikiLeaks cables proves that Manning aided al-Qaida, why isn't bin Laden's enthusaism for Woodward's book proof that Woodwood's leakers - and Woodward himself - are guilty of the same capital offense? This question is even more compelling given that Woodward has repeatedly published some of the nation's most sensitive secrets, including information designated "Top Secret" - unlike WikiLeaks and Manning, which never did.

Identically, why is there a Grand Jury investigation convened to explore the criminal prosecution of WikiLeaks for publishing classified information, but none convened for Woodward, who has repeatedly disclosed far higher-level and more damaging secrets?

The answer to these questions are, of course, obvious: the Obama administration is not interested in punishing the disclosure of classified information generally. It is interested in punishing - and deterring - only those leaks which reflect poorly on the US government by disclosing its bad acts. Bob Woodward is a servant-journalist for US government officials, and his continuous unauthorized disclosures of highly sensitive secrets advance the agenda of those officials, and are therefore not viewed with disfavor, even though they are just as arguably criminal, if not more so.

As Lowell wrote in his letter, the leaks by these high-level officials to Woodward are intended "to curry favor with the media and the public". By contrast, Manning's leaks - and those of the other whistleblowers prosecuted at record rates by the Obama administration - were designed, as Manning wrote in the chat logs when he thought he was speaking in confidence, to trigger "worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms".

The fact that Woodward's far more sensitive leaks have never been the subject of any investigation underscores the clear and obvious point: protection of government secrets is the pretext for these prosecutions. The actual purpose is to intimidate everyone from exposing secret government wrongdoing and to severely punish those who do.

But whatever else is true, the theory now being used to depict Bradley Manning not as a whistle-blower or leaker, but as a traitor, is one that can be - and almost certainly will be - just as easily applied to the vast majority of leaks on which investigative journalism has always relied. Perhaps media outlets beyond the Guardian and independent blogs might want to take a serious interest in this fact and marshal opposition to what is being done to Bradley Manning: if not out of concern for the injustices to which he is being subjected, then out of self-interest, to ensure that their reporters and their past and future whistle-blowing sources cannot be similarly persecuted.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/10/manning-prosecution-press-freedom-woodward