QUANTICO, Va. – Unauthorized disclosures and whistleblowers. What is the difference and why is it important for Americans entrusted with classified and controlled unclassified information (CUI) to understand the difference? In either case – how is national security affected?
DOD Unauthorized Disclosure Program Management Office (UDPMO) Chief Henry Nelson answered the questions from his Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) office while citing a series of unauthorized disclosure cases, including a case that involves two infamous individuals familiar to the U.S. and international public.
The crimes committed by Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning – responsible for one of the largest incidents of unauthorized disclosure in U.S. history – began when Manning leaked hundreds of thousands of classified documents to Assange for publication in the WikiLeaks website. Classified State Department diplomatic cables, significant action reports filed by U.S. troops and assessments about detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in addition to visual imagery such as video footage of an airstrike that killed civilians were among Manning’s massive uploads to a Wikileaks dropsite.
“We don’t know what the repercussions will be but we do know that the impacts of unauthorized disclosure are extremely damaging to national security,” said Nelson in a recent interview. “DOD civilians, service members and contractors are privy to some of the most sensitive and closely held...
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