WikiLeaks Backers Oversimplify International Relations
Comments (13)
Julian Assange, creator of WikiLeaks (Creative Commons)
Imagine what would have happened during World War II if WikiLeaks had revealed that Alan Turing and his colleagues at Bletchley Park in England had broken the German ciphers. It could well have been goodbye England and hello to Adolf.
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, hails from Australia, a member of the British Commonwealth. He should be particularly sensitive to the considerations of national security without which he would probably be singing his national anthem in German. Since information was passed to him by a misguided American serviceman, who has been charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and is awaiting hearing, Mr. Assange has been waging cyber warfare against the United States and should be treated as someone engaged in espionage against America.
Certainly several of the cables released can be characterized as fluff, amusing even, but most of them contain more important details than the peccadilloes and prurient interests of Muammar Gaddafi.
Although not surprising, a significant Cablegate revelation shows the entire Middle East, despite virulent hatred for the Israelis, maintains a well-grounded fear of the Iranian mullahcracy attaining nuclear weapons. Indeed Saudi Arabia’s leader likened Iran to a snake and implored the United States to attack the regime. This is not surprising considering the utter hatred Sunnis and Shi’ites harbor for one another, but also demonstrates the Saudi instinct for self-preservation.
Many fascinating details have emerged from the leaks, with a bulk of the documents having the opposite effect or showing details in a far different light from what supporters of Julian Assange had hoped.
For instance, Israel’s detractors are deafeningly silent following one leak that showed Israel’s leaders wanted Egypt or the Palestinian Authority, backed by the United States, to take over the Gaza Strip following Operation Cast Lead. Neither Egypt nor the Palestinian Authority wished to be accountable for the area even with Israel’s promise to rid Gaza of Hamas.
In essence, several of the cables are a confirmation of what many suspected but were unable to confirm until now.
Nevertheless, there are some matters about which those who may wish us harm should remain ignorant. Thus we maintain a certain freedom of action. Otherwise, we provide potential enemies with a road map to circumvent our strategies. This should be obvious even to the slowest of minds.
WikiLeaks and Julian Assange are not merely on a quest for transparency. Even if they were they should not be allowed to derange America's national security and imperil those involved in protecting it.
Whatever Mr. Assange's motives may be he has stepped far beyond the bounds of investigative journalism and into the arena where his callous and deliberate disregard for the safety of a fellow democracy has turned him into a grievous security risk worthy of the most serious charges and prosecution.
WikiLeaks, furthermore, undermines the security of Western nations by unveiling crucial war documents. We forget that the point of war is not to ensure the prospects of our enemies but to win victory for ourselves and preserve our civilization. Unfortunately, victory and self-interest are often considered to be unworthy notions by those who blame the West for the world's troubles.
Despite the support exhibited by many pundits, the bulk of America is not so shortsighted about WikiLeaks. According to a recent PEW research poll, most Americans agree that the WikiLeaks' release of a trove of classified documents does much more harm than good.
Indeed the leaks are more than just a collection of off-the-cuff remarks.
One major leak damages national interests in fighting Al Qaeda in Yemen, a breeding ground for the terrorist regime. According to the leak, President Ali Abdullah Saleh is quoted as assuring the United States he will continue telling his nation “the bombs are ours, not yours.”
The release of such sensitive information about strikes on Al Qaeda has the power to undermine an already fractured government in Yemen by making Saleh appear to be a puppet of the United States.
Supporters seem to expect our nation to live by a different set of standards, to explain every strategic deal or publish information on the web about warfare, while our enemies enjoy the fruits of misguided Internet harlots.
Thus far this administration has shown no sign of taking the aggressive action necessary to stop these harmful leaks nor has it indicated that the traitors responsible will suffer any repercussions.
Since the Afghan War Documents were first released over 5 months ago the administration has done nothing when it should have immediately invoked the provisions of the 1917 Espionage Act and stopped WikiLeaks in its tracks.
Comments
As a science journalist, IRE-SEJ-SPJ longtime member, historian-in-training, world citizen, pacifist/green/progressive, and four-time voter for openness advocate extraordinaire Ralph Nader for president of the USA, I am delighted by the existence of WikiLeaks and its outstanding work. Governments and corporations (if the latter is to exist at all) should operate in the full transparency of disinfecting sunshine. Julian Assange is by his own statements not a perfect person in his personal life and doesd not follow my moral code, but he is a journalistic and human rights and world peace hero to me and millions more worldwide and he would be an excellent candidate for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize (unlike pro-war B.H. Obama, for example). Moreover, I doubted I would ever praise someone in the military, the USA's or any other one, but if political prisoner Bradley Manning did what he is charged with/suspected of, he also is a true journalistic and human rights and world peace hero, deserving of high commendations not horrible incarceration (he has not even been tried yet and yet is being held in a military prison in VA). We can only hope for lots more people to be inspired to come forward with "secret materials" that should be public record. And I heartily applaud the hundreds and hundreds of hard-working journalists, mostly volunteering, who contribute to WikiLeaks tremendous successes, despite daunting odds and powerful evil interests who oppose, distort, and hamper their wonderful efforts. Anti-WikiLeaks reactions by editorially conservative news outlets such as the Washington Post (which has yet to publish just where those secret CIA torture prisons were located, for example, because of its cozy and deferential relationship to USA political, military, and corporate leaders) reveal again some sad truths about less-than-robust journalism. In all substantive meetings in the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, White House Situation Room, EOB, and elsewhere, USA presidents should have at least a two-member mini-press-pool present, consisting of an AP reporter and another rotating from other news organizations. All USA government classified documents should be declassified PDQ, and going forward no further documents should ever be classified. Ditto for other governments as well. WikiLeaks and its anti-secrecy credo represent journalism at its truly best, and I hope that many journalists will follow its shining example. Much news coverage of WikiLeaks has grown more and more frighteningly and strangely biased and contorted and hostile, as all too often happens these days with just about anything or anyone progressive.
As a science journalist, IRE-SEJ-SPJ longtime member, historian-in-training, world citizen, pacifist/green/progressive, and four-time voter for openness advocate extraordinaire Ralph Nader for president of the USA, I am delighted by the existence of WikiLeaks and its outstanding work. Governments and corporations (if the latter is to exist at all) should operate in the full transparency of disinfecting sunshine. Julian Assange is by his own statements not a perfect person in his personal life and doesd not follow my moral code, but he is a journalistic and human rights and world peace hero to me and millions more worldwide and he would be an excellent candidate for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize (unlike pro-war B.H. Obama, for example). Moreover, I doubted I would ever praise someone in the military, the USA's or any other one, but if political prisoner Bradley Manning did what he is charged with/suspected of, he also is a true journalistic and human rights and world peace hero, deserving of high commendations not horrible incarceration (he has not even been tried yet and yet is being held in a military prison in VA). We can only hope for lots more people to be inspired to come forward with "secret materials" that should be public record. And I heartily applaud the hundreds and hundreds of hard-working journalists, mostly volunteering, who contribute to WikiLeaks tremendous successes, despite daunting odds and powerful evil interests who oppose, distort, and hamper their wonderful efforts. Anti-WikiLeaks reactions by editorially conservative news outlets such as the Washington Post (which has yet to publish just where those secret CIA torture prisons were located, for example, because of its cozy and deferential relationship to USA political, military, and corporate leaders) reveal again some sad truths about less-than-robust journalism. In all substantive meetings in the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, White House Situation Room, EOB, and elsewhere, USA presidents should have at least a two-member mini-press-pool present, consisting of an AP reporter and another rotating from other news organizations. All USA government classified documents should be declassified PDQ, and going forward no further documents should ever be classified. Ditto for other governments as well. WikiLeaks and its anti-secrecy credo represent journalism at its truly best, and I hope that many journalists will follow its shining example. Much news coverage of WikiLeaks has grown more and more frighteningly and strangely biased and contorted and hostile, as all too often happens these days with just about anything or anyone progressive.
As an American I find it disgusting that our government is out committing war crimes in my name. Which we know for a fact now happened during the Bush administration. At this point I think anything that provides oversight by the population is probably doing more good than harm. Especially since the leaks have not been devastating as of yet and in light of the ridiculous response to wikileaks by our politicians (Joe Lieberman calling for Assange to be assassinated?). Americans need to know more about what our government does because they can't be trusted to do the right thing on their own. Without accountability congress and the executive branch are all ruling for themselves and not for the people.
The U.S. didn't win the war you ignorant girl. Just like an American, no comprehension of the world. You have no understanding of Britain, but you happily throw around Alan Turing's name. He revealed to the world that the U.S. are full of liars and fraudsters. U.S. won the war in your book, I bet you think Chewbacca is real too. Russia? I guess they just happened to be there.
You must lack basic reading comprehension skills. She explained what the point of war is- victory.
Like the majority of Assange's brainless anti American supporters, you sit behind a computer while anonymously attacking those who disagree with your view of anarchy.
Reut, excellent article. Wonderfully written.
Assange is no hero, no champion of transparency - which is demonstrated by WikiLeaks' own lack of transparency on their financing. In typical fashion, they consider themselves exempt from what they not only demand from others, but enforce against their will.
Assange is a nihilist, and simply wants to watch the world crumble and burn while he sits and marvels at his own power and influence. At the end of the day, he is just some schmuck with a website, and the same viewpoint of any high-school Goth social reject in skinny jeans and eye-liner.
While it might be tempting to focus our anger, or even misguided respect, on Assange, he is merely a conduit for the work of others. If it were not him posting these documents, it would be someone else.
The real villain here is Bradley Manning, the U.S. serviceman who violated his oath to protect his country, who betrayed the allies of his country, who endangered Afghan civilians who are working with NATO forces against the Taliban, and who has enabled our enemies to target our infrastructure with far greater precision, thanks to the stolen intelligence he has handed them.
I'm all for making an example of Julian Assange, as a warning to the next person who seeks to traffic in stolen documents and America's national secrets, but we should not lose sight of who the REAL criminal is - the traitor Bradley Manning. His punishment should be meted out accordingly.
You make a good point Sayan.
It's tough to call Manning a whistleblower because he released so much stuff at once, which is more like stealing than it is shining a light on a major problem.
It would seem that principals such as freedom of speech, presumption of innocence, free press apply only to Americans .. The same people who profess to champion such ideals .. Anybody else who indulges in such ideals is either a terrorist, a traitor (regardless of their citizenship) and should be subjected to imprisonment or the death penalty. The Australian government is now taking a measured stand, in supporting Mr Assanges basic human rights, which is testament to the moral bankruptcy of the USA in ignoring systemic military failure, hypocrisy and vested interest.
For me Julian Assange and his colleagues are ticking bombs threatening individual lifes and the security of whole nations. He is not at all a libertarian who would care for the principles of nations and their primarily job to secure their citizens. In contrary he takes the risk to undermine democracy, nations and the liberty of individuals world wide.
It's like these morons didn't even bother to read the info that's been leaked, and because of that I think it would be a safe bet to say they're all bleeding Liberals; they have a nasty habit of developing an opinion based on almost no research, like Israel and the Palestinians.
I mean, come on. A list of the most vulnerable locations in the US? Why in the hell would anyone besides al Qaeda want that available for the public eye?