Wiki Leaks: GITMO

Funny, the Wiki Leaks dump on this stuff came last year but somehow they are just now finding their way to the press, right before the congressionally-approved military tribunals begin.

Anyway, here's the Times on their big new secret:

A trove of more than 700 classified military documents provides new and detailed accounts of the men who have done time at the Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba, and offers new insight into the evidence against the 172 men still locked up there.

And their competition a bit further south, who decided to take a different tact:

The documents also offer some tantalizing glimpses into the whereabouts and operations of Osama bin Laden and his Egyptian deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Meanwhile McClatchey focuses on "disarray":

Viewed as a whole, the secret intelligence summaries help explain why in May 2009 President Barack Obama, after ordering his own review of wartime intelligence, called America's experiment at Guantanamo "quite simply a mess."

In other words, McClatchey is confirming that war is sometimes confusing after a surprise attack.

Scorecard so far--Times is still looking for the Gulag; WaPo is affirming Bush-Cheney's version of a serious threat and the escape of AQ's leadership; McClatchey is pointing out that Obama is still awesome. All are trying to muddy the waters of upcoming tribunals by publishing this top secret classified info not meant to be released for another 20 years.

Once again, this new leak does nothing to persuade the public that that any particular Wiki Leak provides the complete picture of events or just the picture of events the Wiki Leaker wants to show. Cherry picking is in the eye of the leaker, in other words. And since all the docs are classified the government can't easily leak stuff not included in the Wiki Leak to complete the picture and still go after the leakers for leaking. Finally, if the birth certificate was leaked would the press publish it?