By Dan Lamothe The Washington Post September 17, 2014

The simmering debate about the evolving U.S. military strategy in Iraq and Syria was joined on Tuesday by an unlikely pundit: Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning.

Manning, a former U.S. intelligence analyst convicted last year of leaking classified U.S. information to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, argues in a new piece for the Guardian newspaper that the United States cannot defeat the Islamic State militant group by bombing them, and should focus on containing them instead.

The piece says only that the writer, who joined the Army as a man known as Bradley Manning, was "in Fort Leavenworth," and does not mention her conviction or passing of military secrets. In a separate piece, the Guardian reports Tuesday that "Manning wrote the Guardian article in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she is in military custody."

Manning's piece was published as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared on Capitol Hill for a hearing on the U.S. strategy against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Dempsey said that U.S. military advisers could find themselves involved in ground combat missions if needs dictate it.

Conversely, Manning argues in her piece that the Islamic State should be allowed to set up its own region to control. Doing so is a stated goal for the militants, who want to establish a caliphate, a state under the control of strict Islamist law.

"Let Isis succeed in setting up a failed 'state' in a contained area and over a long enough period of time to prove itself unpopular and unable to govern," Manning argues. "This might begin to discredit the leadership and ideology of Isis for good."

Manning argues for the U.S. to pursue three other initiatives. They include countering the narrative the militants have pushed in online recruitment videos and setting up clear, temporary borders that would "discourage Isis from taking certain territory where humanitarian crises might be created."

Her fourth initiative to pursue includes a series of measures to cut off funding from the militants, including establishing a moratorium on anyone paying ransom for hostages and preventing the Islamic State from stealing valuable artifacts and taking over oil reserves in Baiji, Iraq.

Writes Manning:

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Chelsea Manning offers punditry on Iraq from prison

Australian Government agencies will be required to vet their staff on an ongoing basis in order to protect sensitive government data against the kind of "insider threat" posed by the likes of Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning.

Attorney-General George Brandis this morning unveiled revised mandatory requirements for how agencies should screen employees, which could potentially see periodic staff security assessments replaced by dynamically pushed information, to keep tabs on staff on an ongoing basis.

Brandis recently directed his department to review the existing personnel security policy under the Australian Governments protective security policy framework (PSPF), which sets out the controls government agencies are expected to take to protect their people, information and assets.

The changes to the personnel security policy aim to reduce the risk of loss, damage or compromise of Commonwealth resources by providing assurance about the suitability of personnel authority to access those resources in response to risks posed by insider threats such as Edward Snowden and Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning, Brandis said.

They aim to minimise the potential for misuse of those resources either by inadvertent or deliberate disclosure, he told delegates at the Security in Government Conference today.

To address the risks that could arise from a trusted insider, the importance of security vetting, contact reporting and ongoing monitoring of our employees suitability to access information should never be underestimated.

Brandis also asked the Attorney-Generals department to explore vetting in a paradigm of evolving threat, specifically dynamic vetting in which information about an employee requiring clearance is pushed to the vetting agency, rather than being provided by the employee themselves.

There is a need to change our focus from point-in-time suitability assessments to continuous monitoring and assessments of each persons ongoing suitability, Brandis said.

The new and emerging threats we face require Government to constantly revisit and revise our approach to national security. This should be extended to personnel security and vetting, where it is not enough to simply tick and flick an application every few years.

We must take a dynamic, not a static approach, to the assessment of suitability."

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Brandis boosts vetting of APS staff to prevent insider threats

It is the hottest leak since Bradley Manning got busted. An anonymous hacker claims to have hacked iCloud accounts for a number of celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Victoria Justice, Ariana Grande, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and several other stars. The hacker clims he has nude photos from these iCloud accounts, and is starting to leak them online.

While some of the celebs he claims to have nudes of have come forward to say that the pics are fakes, not everyone is so lucky, including Jennifer Lawrence.

A spokesperson for Jennifer Lawrence gave a statement to Huffington Post, saying, This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.

However, something seems to be amiss since the L.A. Police Department claims to have no knowledge of the whole situation. It might all sound like a case of a hoax, with Lawrences reps playing along for the publicity, but we can confirm that the pics have indeed been posted on Imgur.

Another celeb is also confirming her own pics authenticity, Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves, she said. Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked.

And that is how this sort of thing happens. People take nude pictures, then delete them from their devices, not realizing that their devices are uploading them to iCloud accounts or syncing them across other devices. This is not a flaw, it is how iCloud and other such sync services are designed to work.

The moral of the story here is simple: never take a nude photo with any device that can be connected to the Internet in any way. In fact, the better course is to do what The Boss suggests.

Bruce Springsteen tells the story of a photographer girlfriend who was shooting a private photo session with him. Jokingly, Bruce started peeling off his clothes. His girlfriend stopped him with a warning: Never strip for photos, no matter how much you trust the photographer. As the years go by, you never know where those shots may end up, and how.

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Jennifer Lawrence Nude Photos Leaked by Hackers

"Illuminati Exposed" | What The Bradley Manning Verdict Tells Us About America
"Illuminati Exposed" | What The Bradley Manning Verdict Tells Us About America , By Stormcloudsgathering , Revealing the truth about "The Greater Darkness" I...

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The US military has yet to offer Pte First Class Chelsea Manning sex change treatment despite medical recommendations, her lawyer has said.

Defence secretary Chuck Hagel approved treatment for a condition known as gender dysphoria in July.

But lawyer David Coombs says her requests for hormone therapy and other accommodations have been "ignored".

The soldier formerly known as Bradley Manning is serving a 35-year sentence for leaking secret files to Wikileaks.

"This time last year I publicly asked that I be provided with a treatment plan, to bring my body more in line with my gender identity," Pte Manning said in a statement to NBC News.

"Unfortunately, despite silence, and then lip service, the military has not yet provided me with any such treatment."

Hair and grooming

She adds that despite legally changing her name in April, she is not referred to as Chelsea at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she is currently held.

"In my daily life I am reminded of this when I look at the name on my badge, the first initial sewed onto my clothing, the hair and grooming standards that I adhere to and the titles and courtesies used by the staff," Pte Manning said.

The Pentagon has not yet responded to a BBC request for comment.

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Chelsea Manning 'Denied Gender Dysphoria Treatment'

By Tracy Connor

A year after requesting gender-reassignment treatment, convicted national-security leaker Chelsea Manning says the military has given her nothing but "lip service." In an exclusive statement to NBC News, the former Army private once known as Bradley Manning said life in the military lockup at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, has restricted her ability to express her gender identity. "For example, in my daily life, I am reminded of this when I look at the name on my badge, the first initial sewed into my clothing, the hair and grooming standards that I adhere to, and the titles and courtesies used by the staff. Ultimately, I just want to be able to live my life as the person that I am, and to be able to feel comfortable in my own skin."

Manning is serving a 35-year sentence after being convicted of sending classified documents to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. She became the first military inmate to ask for treatment for gender dysphoria and went public with her decision to live life as a woman in a TODAY interview last August. She asked for a treatment plan that would consider three measures: dressing and living as a woman, hormone therapy and possible surgery.

Last month, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel approved an Army recommendation to begin the early stages of gender reassignment, including counseling and approval to dress as a woman, officials said. But Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, said in a statement that the military has failed to carry out the recommendation and that he is prepared to sue. "The military's failure to comply with the treatment recommendations and protocols for Chelsea's diagnosed gender dysmorphia violates her well-established constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment," Coombs wrote.

The Army declined to say when treatment might begin.

"The Department of Defense has approved a request by Army leadership to provide required medical treatment for an inmate diagnosed with gender dysphoria. I can't discuss the medical needs of an individual," Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Alayne Conway said.

"In general terms, the initial stages of treatment for individuals with gender dysphoria include psychotherapy and elements of the 'real life experience' therapy. Treatment for the condition is highly individualized and generally is sequential and graduated."

First published August 22 2014, 1:48 AM

Tracy Connor is a senior writer for NBC News. She started this role in December, 2012. Connor is responsible for reporting and writing breaking news, features and enterprise stories for NBCNews.com. Connor joined NBC News from the New York Daily News, where she was a senior writer covering a broad range of news and supervising the health and immigration beats. Prior to that she was an assistant city editor who oversaw breaking news and the courts and entertainment beats.

Earlier, Connor was a staff writer at the New York Post, United Press International and Brooklyn Paper Publications.

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Chelsea Manning: Military Is Denying Me Gender Treatment

At a press conference Monday, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said he would leave the embassy where he been hiding in plain sight soon, the Guardian reported.

He did not say when soon meant, however.

Assange, whose organization facilitated the publication of materials leaked by Bradley Manning (now Chelsea Manning), has been in exile at the Ecuadoranembassy in London for more than two years. He is wanted in Sweden, where he allegedly sexually assaulted two women.

It has been two years since I have been granted political asylum in this embassy, said Assange, sporting a white beard. He added: I have not been charged with an offense in the United Kingdom or in Sweden, and there has been no public indictmentsin relation to my work in the United States. How can it be that such a situation in Europe arises where a person is held and his freedom of movement restricted?

Sky News reported Assange sounded very dispirited in a newspaper interview yesterday.A lot of the fighting spirit seems to have gone out of him, according to Martin Brunt. Its also been made clear from those around him that hes quite ill. Hes said to have a heart condition, a chronic lung complaint, bad eyesight, high blood-pressure, all as a result of two years in the Ecuadoranembassy.

Assange said he is able to get only one hour of exercise per day.

Ecuadoranforeign minister, Ricardo Patino, said his country will continue to offer him our protection, according to the Guardian.

In April, the Daily Mail reported London police had spent $10 million keeping watch on the embassy.

Justin Moyer is deputy editor of the Morning Mix.

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Julian Assange will leave embassy ‘soon’

A man who ambushed a love-rival's car and set about him with a belt has been made the subject of a 12-month supervision order.

Mark Coley, of Westbourne Road, Halesowen, was told he must take part in an alcohol awareness course as part of the terms of the order when he appeared before Wolverhampton Crown Court this week.

Mr David Lees, prosecuting, said victim Bradley Manning had been in a relationship with Coley's ex-girlfriend for around 18 months, leading to considerable ill feeling on Coley's part.

He said that on May 5 Mr Manning was driving along Dudley Road in Rowley Regis. When he passed The Cock Inn, he became aware of Coley emerging from an alleyway.

"He stepped out in front of Mr Manning's vehicle, Mr Manning describes the defendant as having no concern for his safety," said Mr Lees.

"Mr Manning had to brake hard to avoid a collision, and swerve around the defendant.

"He saw that the defendant had something in his hand which he swung towards Mr Manning's car. He heard a bang as it struck his car, and Mr Manning stepped out of his car to see what was going on.

"The defendant came running towards Mr Manning, swinging what turned out to be a belt with a large metal buckle at Mr Manning."

The belt struck Mr Manning on the right cheek, said Mr Lees, and Coley then started punching Mr Manning in the face. Two bystanders broke the men up, and Mr Manning was left with a half-inch cut to his face.

Under questioning by police, Coley said he had been drinking heavily that day.

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Man attacked love rival with belt after drinking session

Military officials have until Sept. 4 to provide gender identity disorder treatment to Chelsea Manning (formerly known as Army Pvt. Bradley Manning), or face a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, according to The Associated Press.

In July, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel approved the early stages of treatment for Manning, whom the Army diagnosed with gender identity disorder.

But Manning's attorney, David E. Coombs, and the ACLU say that treatment has yet to begin.

ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio released a statement on Manning's behalf that reads, in part:

Our constitution requires that the government provide medically necessary care to the individuals it holds in its custody. It is cruel and unusual punishment to withhold from Ms. Manning the care that the militarys own doctors have deemed medically necessary. The Army is withholding her care for political reasons, which is simply not permitted by our Constitution.

As Home Post has previously reported, a military judge found Manning guilty of espionage in 2013 for providing top secret government documents to Wikileaks.

Manning announced her desire to receive treatment for gender identity disorder a day after being sentenced to 35 years in prison.

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ACLU To Military: Provide Gender Treatment To Chelsea Manning Or Get Sued

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