When we published the Iraqi Warlogs, Wikileaks contacted us directly and we worked with them on the browsing interface that helped users analyze the 400,000 Sigacts from the US Army. This time, as Wikileaks might be on the verge of releasing new information on a scale larger than before, we decided not to be bound by a Non-disclosure Agreement, as last time, and to keep our hands untied. Together with Le Soir in Brussels and Slate.fr in Paris, we will provide the tools and context to explore the logs.
OWNI decided to name this project #StateLogs.
Below is our narration of the events as they unfold, augmented by the work of OWNI's developers and partners.
[12:06] StateLogs to expose corruption in Central Asia, Russia (Reuters)
News agency Reuters reveals that the upcoming StateLogs might contain sensitive information about corruption dealings in Russia, Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics. US officials reportedly said that the revelations are "major enough to cause serious embarrassment for foreign governments."
[11:51] Wikileaks submissions dead? Alternatives exist
Wikileaks' submission service has been down for several weeks, prompting other solutions to be created for would-be whistleblowers. One of these is German privacy service Privacy Box, which allows for messages to be delivered anonymously. To send us a message securely, use this URL:
privacybox.de
[11:42] Official release date might be 22:30 CET
As OWNI informally told AFP yesterday evening, the official launch time might well be 22:30 CET (4:30pm EST), as hinted by the fact that Der Spiegel announces on its home page that the e-edition of the magazine will exceptionally be made available tonight.
[10:39] StateLogs to be "drip fed" over the week
The Telegraph states that the StateLogs will not be published in bulk tonight but will be "drip fed" over the course of the coming week, quoting sources from inside the British government.
[10:30] US refuses talks with Assange
AFP reports that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange wrote to the Department of State on Friday to know who were the persons at risks in the 250,000 documents that might be published today.
US officials answered sternly that:
[They] will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained US government classified materials
[10:16] Mandela, Gaddafi, Mugabe in the leaks (Daily Mail)
According to the Daily Mail, the StateLogs mention former and current leaders of South Africa, Libya and Zimbabwe. The British newspaper hints at the fact that they are vividly criticized by the American Department of State.
[Sunday 10:09] Der Spiegel's article has been found
German weekly and Wikileaks partner Der Spiegel published the details of the operation in an article yesterday, before taking it offline. The contents of the article have been found and can be read here (German). See here for an automatically translated version.
[21:30] Larry Sanfer shouts at WikiLeaks. Larry Sanfer, who was once a member of the core Wikipedia team, [takes it out] on Wikileaks (more in a [second tweet])
Speaking as Wikipedia's co-founder, I consider you enemies of the U.S.-not just the government, but the people. What you've been doing to us is breathtakingly irresponsible & can't be excused with pieties of free speech and openness.
[21:15] Is Obama threatened?
Toby Harnden, The Telegraph correspondent in Washington, wonders if StateLogs will "blow Obama's nice guy image". The journalist thinks the release could "seriously damage his foreign policy", fearing "brutal assessments of Gordon Brown's personality and cold-eyed judgements of David Cameron's capabilities."
[20:45] France criticized
According to The Daily Mail, France [might be upset] about the release. The tabloid reports a comment of a British official fearing "that mutual American and British contempt for the French would emerge", tell the Daily Mail.
Moaning about the French was practically a sport
[20:40] Poland warned. According to Polska Agencja Prasowa, the Polish press agency, Poland would have been contacted by the Secretary of State.
[20:30] 85% approve the release. After asking its readers if Wikileaks "should publish sensitive U.S. diplomatic files", Canadian TV website CBC gives the first results: 84,62% of votants (almots 50 000 votes) approve the release, against 11,54% of negative opinions (6 705 votes).
[20:15] Jeff Jarvis comment. The US journalist [wonders] "what if diplomacy had to happen in public?", before he adds "we'll soon find out."
[20:00] A Guardian journalist talks. On Twitter, David Leigh, a Guardian journalist, [states the imminence] of the Statelogs publication:
The truth about the #wikileaks cables is going to come out in the #guardian soon.
newsnet_45716_ThereIsNothingNew-e1290887631334.jpg[19:30] What is SIPRNET?
Mentioned in Der Spiegel, SIPRNET (Secret Internet Protocol Router Network) allows the employees of US Department of State and Department of Defense to communicate potentially sensitive informations whith each other. This interconnected network protects the confidentiality of this communications until the "secret" level of classification. Global Security also tells that this network is used to convey "SECRET NOFORN" (Secret - Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals) documents.
Since its general implementation in the middle of the 90's, SIPRNET has become the standard channel to share data.
[18:28] Former ambassadors warn of serious damages
Over at the BBC, John Bolton, the former US Ambassador to the UN, warns of serious consequences of such leaks. In the past, revelation of confidential diplomatic material caused huge problems that took decades to calm down. For him, diplomacy is about handling murky business and no alternative exist.
I'm afraid this is only about discrediting the US. And I'm afraid it'll succeed.
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[17:34] Less than 600 documents concern France
According to sources close to the project OWNI contacted, less than 600 documents are about France, or.2% of the total dump. Considering Der Spiegel's map (below), this means that no European country accounts for more than.5% of the total and that the EU as a whole represents less than 5% of all documents. In other words, expect lots of revelations in the Mid-East and Asia.
[17:31] Clinton personally called China
According to reports by Hong-Kong-based television RTHK, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton personally called her Chinese counterpart. This is significant, since none of the other communications that have been reported involved the highest diplomatic figure in America. It might point at severe revelations about US-China relationships.
[16:52] Spiegel gives out the details
German weekly Der Spiegel, a previous Wikileaks partner, announces on its website the details of the upcoming leak (UPDATE 17:50 page is now down).
- 251,287 diplomatic cables will be released.
- 8,000 directives from the State department.
- Wikileaks partners are The New York Time, the Guardian, Le Monde, El Pais and Spiegel.
- 15,652 documents are classified 'secret'
Below is a snippet of the geographic distribution of the logs as seen on spiegel.de at 17:00
Politico White House correspondent Mike Allen [states on Twitter that]:
There's not a single TOP SECRET document in the wikileaks dump. All are classified at the SECRET level
Secret is the 4th higher gradation on the 5-point secrecy scale. It is defined as material that could "cause "grave damage" to national security if it were publicly available".
[Saturday 08:25] UK government tries to intimidate newsrooms
Based on an antique piece of legistlation, the British government has sent several DA-Notices (short for Defence Advisory Notice) to newsrooms throughout the country. This is a non-binding procedure that advises editors to consult with the Ministry of Defence before publishing any information. On his blog, Guido Fawkes published the email sent to all media institutions:
May I ask you to seek my advice before publishing or broadcasting any information drawn from these latest Wikileaks' disclosures which might be covered by the five standing DA Notices. In particular, would you carefully consider information that might be judged to fall within the terms of DA Notice 1 (UK Military Operations, Plans and Capabilities) and DA Notice 5 (UK Intelligence Services and Special Forces).
On his blog, Sky News editor Simon Bucks explains that DA-Notices have almost always been followed, at least by ways of compromise, where journalists make sure to obfuscate some elements.
[22:35] Documents might reveal murky US implications in Turkey
Even before the leaks are published, some media expose the content of some of them. London-based, Arabic-speaking daily al-Hayat talked of several documents involving Turkey. Quoted by the Jerusalem Post, the newspaper states that the Turkish government is unable to control its border with Iraq, letting arms trafficking develop. It also explains the role that Washington plays in the guerrilla led by terrorist group PKK, to which the US have been providing weapons since 1984.
To the East, documents might reveal how Washington sees Moscow officials, giving names. According to South-African website IOL, quoting the Russian daily Kommersa nt, some documents could show a state of affairs in terms much less diplomatic than usually heard. Discussions between US diplomats and Russian businesspeople could be among the documents.
newsnet_45716_wikileaksdiplo1-e1290868412901.jpg[21:40] Department of State gets ready
The US Department of Sate has been calling out all governments so that they can get ready for "a worst-case scenario", said P.J. Crowley, a spokesperson for Hillary Clinton. Several embassies already contacted the governments of the following countries:
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- Canada
- Denmark
- Norway
- Israel - Russia
- Turkey
- Saudi Arabia
- UAE
- Finland
- Afghanistan
- And France
A spokesperson at the US embassy in Paris explained that the French government too has been contacted but refused to give out details:
The US embassy maintains daily contacts with the Elysee Palace, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Ministry. Many things have been said but I cannot disclose the content of these conversations, for now.
[Friday 21:07] Wikileaks' website remains unstable
We revealed the information on Nov. 23rd, the organization's website is unstable and remains so. Our Warlogs application was subject to the same hiccups, so that the host of both platforms, Bahnhof.se, might be to blame. In case of more problems, you can always check out the mirror site.
On November 24, Wired's Threat Level blog (famous for its uneasy relationship with Julian Assange) and Bloomberg cautiously announced an "imminent release of diplomatic memos", based on an email sent by Elizabeth Levy, in charge of legislative affairs with the Department of State. She also quotes the New York Times, the Guardian and Der Spiegel as partners.
This new batch should be about the diplomatic cables analyst Bradley Manning might have forwarded to the WikiLeaks team, at the same time as the Collateral Murder video, in which an Apache helicopter opens fire on civilians in Iraq.
A known model
In January, WikiLeaks had already published a single memo concerning the rescue of the Icelandic banks. This lets us imagine the documents' format:
Click here for a bigger version
newsnet_45716_Iceland-leak-300x200.jpgBrowse the Iraqi warlogs with our interface
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WikiLeaks expanded collaboration with media to 'maximise exposure' for Iraq War Logs sources
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Crédits photo: CC WikiLeaks
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