Wikileaks not bothered by US Army arrest

The website for whistle-blowers, Wikileaks is apparently not bothered by the arrest today of a US Army analyst who has been arrested on suspicion of leaking classified material to the website, according to the BBC.

The US Army's detention of Bradley Manning was arrested in Kuwait and was "placed in pre-trial confinement for allegedly releasing classified information".

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told the BBC that they could and would not confirm or deny who the source of the original leak was.  "We do not know if Mr Manning is a source, but we understand there are allegations that are being taken seriously so we are naturally inclined to try to defend [him]."

One video that was put on the website shows a US Apache helicopter killing up to a dozen people, including two journalists, in Baghdad during 2007.  It's reported that two children were seriously injured in the attack.

It's been reported that it was a hacker who Mr Manning had contacted who revealed his identity to the US authorities over concerns for US national security and not wanting to be seen to "obstruct justice".

Wikileaks meanwhile have said that no other potential whistle-blowers should be put off posting to the website, adding that they never divulge their sources.  They added "The site does not collect information about its sources and uses numerous web servers scattered around the world to host content."

The website was launched in 2006 and built a strong reputation since.  In November 2009 it "published what it said were 573,000 intercepted pager messages sent during the 9/11 attacks in the United States" according to the BBC.

Earlier this year they published a 2008 Pentagon report saying that the site was a "threat to the US Army" though it's hardly surprising that US authorities wouldn't like such a website.

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