CIA chief calls WikiLeaks a ‘hostile intelligence service’: HumSub.TV
CIA chief calls WikiLeaks a ‘hostile intelligence service’: HumSub.TV: CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Thursday called WikiLeaks a “hostile intelligence service,” using his first public speech as spy agency chief to denounce leakers who have plagued US intelligence.
Pompeo, in an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies thinktank, called WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange “a fraud” and “a coward.”
“It is time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is, a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia,” Pompeo said.
He said Russia’s GRU military intelligence service used Wikileaks to distribute material hacked from Democratic National Committee computers during the 2016 US presidential election.
US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia stole the emails and took other actions to tilt the election in favour of eventual winner Donald Trump, a Republican, against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Pompeo and President Donald Trump, who chose him to head the CIA, have not always been so critical of WikiLeaks. During a campaign rally last October, Trump praised the group for releasing hacked emails from the DNC by saying, “I love WikiLeaks.”
In July, Pompeo, then a Republican member of the House of Representatives, mentioned it in a Twitter post referring to claims that the DNC had slanted the candidate-selection process to favour Clinton. “Need further proof that the fix was in from Pres. Obama on down? BUSTED: 19,252 Emails from DNC Leaked by Wikileaks.”
WikiLeaks has published secret documents from the US government and others and says its mission is to fight government secrecy and promote transparency. Pompeo said it has “encouraged its followers to find jobs at CIA in order to obtain intelligence.”
Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, after taking refuge there to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape, which he denies.
Two of Assange’s lawyers and a Wikileaks spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Pompeo’s remarks.
Pompeo’s speech on Thursday follows a series of damaging leaks of highly sensitive CIA and National Security Agency material.
In March, WikiLeaks published thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions that revealed hacking techniques the agency had used against iPhones, Android devices, and other targets.
Pompeo also had harsh words for Edward Snowden, the former National Security Administration contractor who downloaded thousands of documents revealing some of the electronic eavesdropping agency’s most sensitive programs and shared them with journalists.
“More than a thousand foreign targets, people, groups, organisations, more than a thousand of them changed or tried to change how they communicated as a result of the Snowden disclosures,” Pompeo said. “That number is staggering.”
US intelligence agencies have struggled to deal with “insider threats” – their own employees or contractors who steal classified materials and, in some cases, publicise them.
In response to a question, Pompeo disputed Russia’s account of a chemical weapons attack in Syria that prompted retaliatory cruise missile strikes by Trump last week.
“None of the (accounts) have an ounce of truth in them,” Pompeo said, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “a man for whom veracity doesn’t translate into English.”
CIA chief calls WikiLeaks a ‘hostile intelligence service’: HumSub.TV
CIA chief calls WikiLeaks a ‘hostile intelligence service’: HumSub.TV
About HumSub TV
Introduction
HumSub TV is Pakistan’s leading forwarding-thinking, edutainment channel, aimed at promoting and upholding peace, interfaith harmony and social responsibility within Pakistan through informative and insightful programmes and documentaries; analytical interviews on issues pertaining to social, economic, legal and environmental set-up; dedicated shows to canvass and thereby promote the culture and heritage of Pakistan and in-depth coverage of national and international news.
HumSub TV is the first channel and thus a pioneer within its own right that mainly focuses on emphasising the “Rights” as well as the “Obligations” of the citizens in light of the Constitution of Pakistan, numerous International declarations signed by the Government and various laws that have been promulgated over the years but are not in the knowledge of the common citizen.
HumSub TV also aims to enter into bilateral agreements with other countries to promote not only their culture, heritage and tourism, but also their educational and medical facilities.
Following the successful launch of HumSub TV’s head office in Blue Area, Islamabad; the bureau office has been set up in Lahore.
Vision
To project positive image building of Pakistan and inculcate nationalism, as per the vision of the founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
Mission
HumSub TV is resolute about the promotion of a pluralistic, inclusive and egalitarian society in Pakistan where all citizens are allowed to contribute to promote interfaith harmony, peace and collective wisdom in the social, political and economic development of Pakistan and to encourage critical and lateral thinking in the society. HumSub TV strives to make a positive contribution to this end.
HumSub TV’s Theme
HumSub TV, Pakistan’s first EDUTAINMENT Channel, has been set up for not only those audience residing in Pakistan or overseas but the international community on the whole. The vision of the channel is to project positive image building of Pakistan and inculcate nationalism as per the vision of the founder of the nation.
HumSub TV strives to make a positive contribution to this end by promoting pluralism, inclusiveness and egality in Pakistan and give voice to the suppressed. It endeavors to act as a positive catalyst for social change and Pakistani nationalism. It envisions providing a platform for airing critical and lateral thinking and collective wisdom by inviting positive minded intellectuals and opinion forming individuals for the promotion of interfaith harmony and peace in the social, political and economic development of Pakistan.
Whereas the channel airs upbeat edutainment programmes, it, nonetheless, has the primary objective of countering negative anti-Pakistan regional and international propaganda as well as advancing fundamental rights as encapsulated in the Constitution of Pakistan.
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