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Open Forum: WikiLeaks
updated: Dec 01, 2010, 8:56 AM

Today's open forum topic is WikiLeaks. What do you think: journalism of the future or threat to national security?

Here are links to several articles about the continuing saga and worldwide implicaitons of the controversial documents.

From the Washington Post

CNN

New York Times

Note: Edhat's rule on commenting about non-local issues is suspended on this thread.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 124959P	2010-12-01 09:07 AM
WikiChina: link (brilliant essay, for once)
COMMENT 124966P	2010-12-01 09:20 AM
This whole leak thing is kind of interesting. While our government would obviously prefer this information wasn't leaked, I think some actual good may come of it. People like Putin and countries like China and Iran get a glimpse of what we really think of them, which must be sobering to them. Equating Putin with a Mafia gangster has got to be a wake up call. We'll see what a long term impact this leak has, but in the meantime, it has actually been a breath of fresh air in international relations. Not only are the "embarrassing" incidents in there, but also the things we should be proud of.
COMMENT 124967P	2010-12-01 09:23 AM
Tom Friedman likes to write as though he were someone else, this country's leader or that country's leader. Now, he writes as though he were the embassy! Not impressive. :) But in answer to the question: the WikiLeaks are in the tradition of the Pentagon papers and so not new; they probably are somewhat deleterious to US national security on the short term. However, only the naive think that such things are not said by all governments and government officials. As a German minister said, you should hear what we say about you!
COMMENT 124971	2010-12-01 09:40 AM
No.. Journalism of the Present
COMMENT 124991	2010-12-01 10:16 AM
This is a definite threat to our national security. The wiki-leaks guy should be sentenced to death. I hope he has some dirt on Russia. The Russian's will take him out quick. They don't tolerate this kind of stuff.
COMMENT 124993	2010-12-01 10:24 AM
None of these leaks have been shocking, if anything it confirms what everyone else has already been saying about Iran, China, Russia, and the Middle East. Journalism of the future? No. Threat to national security? No. A peek into the world of foreign intelligence gathering and communication? Yes, but nothing incredibly enlightening or groundbreaking.
COMMENT 125002P	2010-12-01 10:39 AM
Interesting to see what governments are really thinking/saying instead of just the fluff they give to us and the media. My mom always told me to be careful what you say when you think people AREN'T listening, might be a good mantra for many of those involved.
COMMENT 125004	2010-12-01 10:41 AM
they are rather catty in the tone of their comments,
COMMENT 125007	2010-12-01 10:46 AM
A threat to national security perhaps in some instances, journalism not on Wiki's part but in the coverage a mixed bag. The fledgling independent Arab Press is having a hard time with it after all as they cant really report their leaders are (just like Israel) wanting a attack on Iran. In Pakistan the story is the Americans are out to steal their nukes but not so much on other items. Its not shock to those in foreign capitols, they undoubtably write the same things. It can be used to further reinforce whatever negatives Assange wants to drive home which seems to be his purpose.
COMMENT 125024	2010-12-01 11:05 AM
There is a lot of material important to history - both domestically in the US, or interventions in Central America etc, that has remained classified for decades, even though this blocks accountability in government. If people don't know what their government has been doing with their foreign policy, we can't democratically respond at the ballot box, or unelected people can just run their own programs via the State Department without any accountability
COMMENT 125029	2010-12-01 11:38 AM
I seriously question the motives and personal integrity of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Whatever one thinks of our nation's policies, putting others in harm's way for what seems to be a massive sense of ego and accompanying self-righteous rationalization in not a good thing. I just don't like this guy. Read the New Yorker profile of some months back as well as some of the reports from Sweden regarding his conduct towards women.
COMMENT 125033P	2010-12-01 11:59 AM
What was DOD doing letting some dofus kid Private with a high school education browse all these documents? We're groped at the airport, but they let this guy lipsynch to Lady Gaga and use his MP3 player to smuggle out the docs? How many others have stolen and sold this intelligence and we don't know it yet? Shame.
COMMENT 125053	2010-12-01 12:55 PM
This is corporate and governmental espionage at its worst. The people that stole these documents should either be sued out of their pants or sent to federal prison for life. Julian Assange's fate is already sealed. Very soon you will not hear anything from him again, and that will be because he has ceased to breathe.
COMMENT 125070	2010-12-01 01:49 PM
If this is journalism of the future, or the present, I want no part of it. This is theft, plain and simple and the theft may result in more than embarrassment to the U.S. government but actual harm to others. It moves the press instead of elected governments to being the final arbiter of what information should be held confidential and what should be made public. That is not the role of journalism and a dangerous precedent. Not all secrets are sinister and in fact the leaks publicized so far show that the U.S. government is not involved in the conspiracies as some on the left might think. The people involved should be tried, convicted and given harsh sentences. Unfortunately, I fear this won't be the case. On the other hand, the government clearly needs to tighten up it's security. There were already too many leaks of confidential information even before Wikileaks.
COMMENT 125084P	2010-12-01 02:30 PM
Speaking of the U.S. government, I'd be willing to bet many of you have no clue about the shady things we do to maintain a political and economic grip on some of these other countries. I get the 'this is theft', 'this is a violation of national security' arguments but you have to understand that we do much worse in order to secure our political and economic superiority over some of these nations. If we're in a war to fight terrorism and restore democracy, we should hold responsible those who obstruct this goal. And guess what, documents are released that show us exactly that. If you aren't sleeping you know very well that this world needs whistleblowers to keep corruption in check. Dangerous are those who want whistleblowers dead.
COMMENT 125091P	2010-12-01 02:54 PM
PS- Consider reading 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman' by John Perkins. May help you understand Assange's motives. There is corruption in this world and when you expose yourself as a whistleblower you become a target to those who depend on their hegemonic activities being hidden from the public. 'They' are trying to bring him down by pressuring Sweden to charge him for rape, attacking the wikileaks site with viruses, etc.
COMMENT 125172	2010-12-01 11:34 PM
How do i feel about the latest wikileaks release. Brilliant. wonderful.. The best news of the year. Even apart from their role in "cablegate" I think wikileaks is a global treasure. It's more important (and probably more "good") than anything any of us have ever done. No offense, Ed! The spiteful comments about Julian Assange are depressing. And i have a hunch somewhat I'll-informed. He might be a criminal, but he's nothing of a terrorist. Just because you're terrified of light doesn't make the sun a terrorist. Calling for harm to an innocent man is more akin to terrorism. He might be a criminal, but what's that worth? We're all criminals. Sometimes that's an admirable thing. Jesus would be a criminal. Jesus would support wikileaks. Jesus wishes he came up with it first.
COMMENT 125206	2010-12-02 08:11 AM
Glenn Greenwald has a good piece on this in Salon. The U.S. government is only interested in preventing Americans from seeing this stuff -- it is readily available to the bad guys. It has nothing to do with national security -- except that that the policies and actions of American officials that it uncovers are dangerous to our national security -- it is only to cover those officials. The exact same thing was true of the Pentagon Papers, which the government tried to suppress under the guise of national security, which is simply a fabrication; it's butt-covering and nothing else.
RED CREEK	2010-12-02 08:15 AM
Since most Americans can't or don't really sit down and chat with people from other countries, we don't understand what they think of us. After living and talking with people in Europe, Central and South America and Japan in their homes and languages, I can tell you that they would not be surprised at the Wiki leaks. Since Americans usually travel in groups or on cruises, the staff won't tell the truth, but real folks in other countries think we are trying to steal their resources, don't respect their governments or territorial boundaries, and are very stuck in our opinions of ourselves as being right, perfect and above everyone else. Wiki leaks just proves out what they already think and say.
COMMENT 125220	2010-12-02 08:30 AM
Diplomatic spying has been going on for centuries. Elizabeth the First and her ministers created the first underground spy network in Europe. Both sides lie through their teeth. Putin is mad because they say he is an Alpha Dog, the Italian president laughs because they call him a "party animal" and says" Well. I Am !" This is not going anywhere and it's doubtful serious repercussions will materialise. However,the soldier in a position of trust and who leaked the information, is a traitor to his country and should be punished.
COMMENT 125221	2010-12-02 08:31 AM
Wiki Leaks...bad idea as a whole, such a breach of security, information that we really don't need to know. Talk about making the USA more vulnerable, that is exactly what is happening.
COMMENT 125256	2010-12-02 09:31 AM
Today's Greenwald column, as noted by 206, is worth a read. It's at link Greenwald updates his column with an observation by NYU Journalism Professor Jay Rosen as to why many valuable sources prefer to give their documents and other leaks to WikiLeaks rather than traditional press outlets. Rosen says: In the American case, one of the reasons is that the legitimacy of the press itself is in doubt in the minds of the leakers. And there's good reason for that. Because while we have what purports to be a "watchdog press," we also have -- laid out in front of us -- the clear record of the watchdog press' failure to do what it says it can do, which is provide a check on power when it tries to conceal its deeds and its purpose. So I think it's a mistake to try to reckon with WikiLeaks and what it's about without including in the frame the spectacular failures of the watchdog press over the last 10, 20, 30, 40 years - but especially recently. And so without this legitimacy crisis in mainstream American journalism, the leakers might not be so inclined to trust an upstart like Julian Assange and a shadowy organization like WikiLeaks . . . These kinds of huge, cataclysmic events [the Iraq War] within the legitimacy regime lie in the background of the WikiLeaks case, because if it wasn't for those things, WikiLeaks wouldn't have the supporters it has, the leakers wouldn't collaborate the way they do, and the moral force behind exposing what this Government is doing just wouldn't be there. . . . The watchdog press died, and what we have is WikiLeaks instead.
COMMENT 125282	2010-12-02 11:08 AM
The need for WikiLeaks is demonstrated by the inane coverage of the material released so far in the US media. Give them the stuff and they would condense it into gossip and pettiness. Around the world stuff like the US interference in the Spanish and German legal systems is front page news. Not here. At least somewhere the facts are coming out. Basically what we are seeing is confirmation that our government despises democracy and public opinion--thinking that its ability to manipulate the people is paramount, all in the name of American Empire.
COMMENT 125285	2010-12-02 11:14 AM
The truth is the truth, just because you don't like it is still the TRUTH.
COMMENT 125291	2010-12-02 11:53 AM
All I have to say is, if Assange is such a prince why isn't he targeting and reporting on the REAL bad actors on the world stage? America is not perfect and we've made more than our fair share of mistakes, but where are the Wikileaks of documents from China? From Russia? From North Korea? From Iran? Assange is targeting America because it's a soft target. He knows that our response won't be anywhere near as brutal as what he could expect from the companies named above. If the world is looking for an America with an isolationist policy, their wish is probably going to come true in the 10-20 years (if not sooner). And for all of our bad behavior, there's been plenty, the world will be a poorer place for it.
COMMENT 125295P	2010-12-02 12:08 PM
America a soft target? He's on the most wanted list, and I'm sure people want him assassinated (and activists/politicians do get assassinated, mind you). Our country is putting hard pressure on Sweden to prosecute him for rape under iffy charges, and the wikileaks site is attacked with viruses frequently. What you fail to realize about the 'real bad actors' is that America instigated much of the brutality and paranoia they exhibit in the first place. Assange is doing us a favor - waking us up to the reality of bad behavior, not just ours, so we can put pressure on our leaders to make the world a better place. One that doesn't depend on massive hegemony.
COMMENT 125596	2010-12-03 07:00 PM
"The worst thing about being lied to is knowing you weren't worth the truth."

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