Wikileaks
Excuse me for not signing up with enthusiasm for Wikileaks and its founder who I described below as an under-educated egomania.
Why ? Consider one possibility. A Lebanese minister talks candidly to an American diplomat about issues of war and peace. Without warning thanks to Wikileaks these get splashed in the region’s papers. The next step ? Who knows but a Hezbollah bomb in the family run-about would seem at least an outside possibility. No illegalities have been revealed in this trove of documents and governments are entitled to confidentiality in their relations with non-nationals. Lives could depend on such confidentiality.
I’ve praised Tom Friedman and I’m happy his take is similar. Writing in his latest column he says :
“…I also don’t want to live in a country where any individual feels entitled to just dump out all the internal communications of a government or a bank in a way that undermines the ability to have private, confidential communications that are vital to the functioning of any society. That’s anarchy .”
Thoughtlines with Bob Carr 
I understand you have your opinion and I understand that leaking top secret information is a hazard to US national security but I think it also makes for a healthy world. A world that’s governing bodies are on their toes (just like this blog is healthier with discussion then if would without), that’s my opinion, so there for I will have to decide against you.
It appears as if the US Government is making the leaks look like ‘attacks’ on US National security but in no way is that true. It’s actually an attack on US Government Security which in my opinion is what the people of America need. A need to know, what’s going on within it’s own country.
Also wikileaks would have done the same thing had the country in view was Afghanistan. It’s a public organisation providing information to the people and although you may disagree, terrorists are people.
With respect, i disagree.
For those who have “leaked’ documents over the last year to WikiLeaks have done so out of what appears to be conviction. I refer you to this very interesting and poignant documentary : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhTfOL9_HBE&feature=related – and particularly the online conversation involving Manning.
Assange, perhaps in some ways a maniac, is also a man of conviction. To have been given such horrific footage as in Iraq and not share it – how could he not? As well as the corruption in Kenya? The corruption in Iceland? The torture manual for Guantanamo? And documents now that reveal what we all know about America and its view on the countries it deals with?
As to the cables – United States and its diplomatic corp are not held accountable. In anyway. But they are a necessary institution. If anything these leaks will perhaps shake things up a bit, and maybe see that there actions are more closely monitored. Yes, maybe someone’s life could possibly be put in danger. But Wikileaks has taken to blacking out names, dates, locations, etc that may be incriminating.
And for the world to turn to Assange and accuse him of recklessness in releasing these documents? How can they be so hypocritical? How was the decision to go into Iraq not reckless, immoral and the catalyst for the loss of SO SO many lives? How was it that the worlds media stood by and hardly questioned the motives for such an invasion? Where are the WMD’s?
I cannot help but admire Assange. He is a brave man. A convicted man.