Thinking about Wikileaks ...
Unlike the mainstream media which roundly condemned the revelation of embarrassing global warming-related e-mails in the so-called “climategate” affair – and which were characterized as stolen e-mails by most -- the current Wikileaks’ revelations are being openly welcomed by the mainstream media. Especially those who have a far-left bias and want to see the United States embarrassed on the world stage as well as those who want to turn these leaks into a cheap source of material that might boost their audience numbers.
Is there anything that we really didn’t know or was not already mentioned by the media pundits?
“At the start of a series of daily extracts from the US embassy cables – many designated ‘secret’ – the Guardian can disclose that Arab leaders are privately urging an air strike on Iran and that US officials have been instructed to spy on the UN leadership.” <Source>
Arab countries have been pushing for an attack on Iran, the US is deeply concerned about loose nuclear material in Pakistan, and China’s politburo may have ordered this year’s cyber-assault on Google, according to documents released on Sunday in the world’s biggest leak. <Source>
Is this another diplomatic kerfuffle or are their real truths that need to be exposed?
There is no doubt that politicians, the world over, act differently when they are behind closed doors and in the company of their own trusted people.
The fact that our administration, no matter which party is in power, touts their transparency and accountability, even when being confronted with high-profile examples to the contrary, proves the point that much of what they do is motivated by self-interest. The self-promotion of individuals, their own political party and their own political ideology. A giant shell game if you will.
Like the revelations about Vietnam and the release of documents to the New York Times by Daniel Ellsberg, we have found that our government does not always act according to their public pronouncements and possibly not in the short-term or long-term best interests of the nation. And that foreign governments do not act with the best interests of the United States in mind – even as we pour billions of taxpayer dollars into their economies. Nothing particularly new and exciting here.
Should this particular information remain classified is now moot. The information has been widely disseminated and is available, for good or bad, for all to see.
The justification for re-publishing …
“The [New York] Times believes that the documents serve an important public interest, illuminating the goals, successes, compromises and frustrations of American diplomacy in a way that other accounts cannot match.”
“The Times has taken care to exclude, in its articles and in supplementary material, in print and online, information that would endanger confidential informants or compromise national security. The Times' redactions were shared with other news organizations and communicated to WikiLeaks, in the hope that they would similarly edit the documents they planned to post online.”
“After its own redactions, The Times sent Obama administration officials the cables it planned to post and invited them to challenge publication of any information that, in the official view, would harm the national interest. After reviewing the cables, the officials — while making clear they condemn the publication of secret material — suggested additional redactions. The Times agreed to some, but not all. The Times is forwarding the administration’s concerns to other news organizations and, at the suggestion of the State Department, to WikiLeaks itself. In all, The Times plans to post on its Web site the text of about 100 cables — some edited, some in full — that illuminate aspects of American foreign policy. <Source>
What is the public interest and what will the ordinary American think of the information released?
Most individuals could care less about the Wikileaks’ document drop. Other than information filtered through the media, both news and commentary, the information is little more than a momentary diversion which has little or no effect on their daily lives. Of more interest and impact would be knowing what the Obama administration plans to do about the upcoming expiration of the Bush tax cuts. Something which would have a substantial affect on our national economy.
For the political junkies who will pore over this material in search of supporting their particular viewpoint – no big deal here. They will spin the documents to support their viewpoint as is their common practice. If anything, these documents may have value to historians years from now as they assess the progression of world diplomacy.
And to think that the New York Times is capable of acting as a honest broker for the American citizen when reporting the news is to be naïve. They have been shown, time and time again, to have a far-left bias and are guilty of shading news and commentary towards a “left of center” slant. To allow them to pick and choose what they decide to edit and/or publish is to recognize that they may be consciously slanting the news rather than presenting the American public with critical or crucial information.
Truth be told, there is little of interest to the average citizen. And of that, there is nothing of actionable interest that will affect your daily lives. people with the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
News outlets compounding the damage …
“England's The Guardian newspaper is one of several who have not only published WikiLeak's so-called classified cable documents today, they also have an interactive application already in place, allowing visitors to search by person, country, event or other keywords.” <Source>
In many cases, the news outlets are going above and beyond publishing the documents. Right to assisting our enemies in reducing the time required to sift through the documents and analyzing their contents.
What should happen to the leaker …
Whether or not you consider the leaker or leakers a patriot or a traitor, the fact remains that the person or persons violated their oath of office and must deal with the consequences of their actions. There is little doubt in my mind that a document dump of this magnitude is a major offense, not by a civilian whistleblower to be punished in a civilian court, but as a nation-damaging offense – a capital offense -- that needs to be addressed in a military tribunal.
Bottom line …
For any official to compromise their oath of office and leak classified materials, possibly to provide aid and comfort to our enemies, is an act of betrayal to the nation and they should be prepared to accept the consequences of their actions. Including long imprisonment and a sentence of death for the most egregious cases.
To believe that these documents, many of which are interpretive impressions by the document’s author, are complete, correct and tell the entire truth is ludicrous.
Some of these documents appear to involve self-aggrandizement by official agencies or individuals. There is also the possibility that some of the documents contain disinformation designed to root out spies and identify compromised sources.
If there is any major non-surprise that is revealed it is that the Saudis are both continuing to support al Qaeda (perhaps to prevent an overthrow of the Kingdom) and urging the United States to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon; which all nations in the Mideast greatly fear.
And, once again, we find that the United States’ taxpayers are continuing to fund foreign efforts that appear to be counterproductive to American interests and using money which could be better spent repairing and replacing our crumbling infrastructure – and rebuilding our decaying inner cities.
Look for more breathless pronouncements which are only a diversion from the damage that is being inflicted on the United States by its enemies, both foreign and domestic.
And if there is anything more important than these revelations, I believe it should be citizens thinking about cleaning up the current cesspool of corrupt and complacent politicians as well as restricting the flow of taxpayer money to the special interests, be they domestic or foreign.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius “A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell “Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar “Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS