Wikileaks - your thoughts - no politics

[dex]

What are your thoughts on the concept of Wikileaks?

WikiLeaks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My thought is that it would be OK if it included all sides in their leaks. For example, Afghanistan - if they leaked USA and al-Qaida information. And for the recent USA diplomatic leaks they did the same for China, Russa et al.

What they are currently doing is the similar to demonstrators calling for peace by and in one country at war but not in the other.

No politics please.

 

[REWahoo]

No politics please.

Sheesh...

I think Julian Assange has signed his own death warrant with this latest release. Some of those folks in the Middle East will likely remove him permanently from further temptation to air their dirty diplomatic laundry to the world.

 

[Westernskies]

Why is this guy still breathing?

 

[GregLee]

I think it's a gas. What an interesting time we live in!

 

[HFWR]

"Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies.
Got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie..."

Don Henley, Dirty Laundry

 

[ziggy29]

I think it's a gas.

No, that was Jumping Jack Flash.

 

[youbet]

Sheesh...

I think Julian Assange has signed his own death warrant with this latest release. Some of those folks in the Middle East will likely remove him permanently from further temptation to air their dirty diplomatic laundry to the world.

Don't you think that the USA will provide him with protection? You know, put American lives in harm's way to ensure he leads a safe and enjoyable life? Isn't that the "American Way?" He could move here, become a celebrity making brazillions of bux and be given protection such as provided to the POTUS.

 

[RonBoyd]

What are your thoughts on the concept of Wikileaks?

In the particular case of the Diplomatic Leaks: There are some things that should never be available to those who are not party to the actual event. I am thinking along the lines of what goes on in the Jury Room during a Trial or meetings during labor negotiations. That kind of openness would be very destructive to Society. Discussions between duly appointed Diplomats fit into that category... perhaps even more so.

 

[Rustic23]

I believe the person that leaked the information should face the death penalty. It would make the next scum think twice. It would surprise me if Julian Assange survives this. His actions exposes a lot more that just the US side of matters. He is a loose cannon that nations can ill afford to have around.

 

[Tiger]

 

[Westernskies]

Finally, something we COMPLETELY agree on!

 

[FUEGO]

So far I haven't heard of anything particularly damning that wasn't already known or suspected by the parties involved (most likely).

Most of these missives (or those being reported on) appear to be very embarrassing and may damage reputations, but where are the ones that are putting thousands of lives in imminent danger??

Clearly these communications were intended to be confidential and hence full of candor (which you need to convey the true facts). As a result there are a lot of black eyes and red faces (from anger or embarrassment). But is there really danger to the extent the US has suggested? Is leaking these cables a terrorist act as one US statesman has suggested?

Edit to add: I can see I'm in the minority position on this issue so far. I'm still gathering info on this, but just not seeing the imminent threats from all this yet. I imagine the respective intelligence and counterintelligence agencies of the respective countries already knew all this stuff.

And the bigger question may be to what extent do we as a society want to make reading and disseminating information a crime?

A lot of what I'm reading here is that the USA and lots of other countries have dirty little corrupt secrets they want kept and don't want you, the citizenry, to know about. In other words, they are above the rules.

 

[Rustic23]

I don't think it is the kind of thing you are going to see an immediate reaction to. It is going to be behind the scenes type stuff. A request for aid or info that will not be forth coming because one of the parties can not stand their position leaked. Maybe a foreign ruler friendly to the US will be deposed because of the leaks. I don't look for something you can point to and say 'That got X killed.' I am not even sure we will know about what can't be done because of the leaks, without more leaks.

 

[easysurfer]

My thoughts....

It's sad.

 

[misanman]

Code Breakers Bonanza

I was working in the Pentagon at the time that Daniel Ellsberg leaked the "Pentagon Papers". I don't remember that there was that much concern about the contents. Most of the concern had to do with code breaking.

As I understand it, the intellligence services of many countries record and archive nearly everyone's secure communication. Once you have clear text copies of documents that were previously encoded then you have what you need to break the code.

What it meant for us at the time is that we had to up the security classification of even routine documents to Top Secret. There were charges of "over classification" as a result.

I always thought our biggest source of leaks was the Congress. We'd present some secret document to a Congressional committee and then read about it the next day in the Washington Post.

 

[samclem]

So far I haven't heard of anything particularly damning that wasn't already known or suspected by the parties involved (most likely).

Some of the sources whose names wer eleaked in his last batch have since been murdered, almost certainly as a direct result. That sure won't make it easier to get more sources. These sources are helping us capture and kill people who are killing our troops and killing Afghan civilians. Do you think this might be a problem?

And the bigger question may be to what extent do we as a society want to make reading and disseminating information a crime?

I want the American who detrayed his country by stealing and giving away these secrets to be tried and punished. I want Assange to be freed, and for the US government to take no action against him. We have no grounds to act against him. But, he's a big fan of openness, so the US government should make it it's business to track him relentlessly and constantly publish his location, his current phone numbers, his bank account information, the names of anyone who gives him any assistance--from his Wikileaks endeavor to giving him change for a dollar. Mr Assange might find out that there are bad people in the world.

 

[Alan]

Does the USA have an equivalent to the UK's Official Secrets Act? Are the persons passing on this highly confidential information breaking the law and risking being tried for treason?

(I realize that Julian wot'shisname is Australian and probably not covered by any such law)

People working with sensitive information are commonly required to sign a statement to the effect that they agree to abide by the restrictions of the Official Secrets Act. This is popularly referred to as "signing the Official Secrets Act." Signing this has no effect on which actions are legal, as the act is a law, not a contract, and individuals are bound by it whether or not they have signed it. Signing it is intended more as a reminder to the person that they are under such obligations. To this end, it is common to sign this statement both before and after a period of employment that involves access to secrets.

 

[youbet]

So what do you suppose Julius Assange expects to get out of all this? Wealth? Ego stroking? A feeling of accomplishment? BJ's from anti-gov't babes?

Will the time come when he'd feel safe being in the USA doing book tours for his new best seller and doing interviews on late night TV? Maybe he'll be offered a job hosting a reality TV show?

I can see what Michael Moore, Sarah Palin and other current publicity hounds seem to be headed. What about this guy?

 

[FUEGO]

"This document release reveals the contradictions between the US’s public persona and what it says behind closed doors – and shows that if citizens in a democracy want their governments to reflect their wishes, they should ask to see what’s going on behind the scenes."

From wikileaks' site.

Seems like a noble goal, but is it worth the costs?

For the record, of course I'm not in favor of additional military or civilian deaths. Releasing these documents I imagine will make it harder to recruit and retain informants, but only on the margins. They must know that in the circles they are running in, secrets get out, even top secret secrets, and snitches are often not dealt with gently.

I come to the discussion from a position of ignorance mostly - I really don't know what these diplomatic cables entail. After knowing what is contained in the quarter million communications, I may very well change my mind.

 

[MichaelB]

You mean the US government thinks some world leaders are corrupt, others incompetent, egotistical, or ineffective? And they actually write that down but don't tell anyone. And then ask some senior diplomats too engage in information gathering?

I'm shocked and speechless.

 

[samclem]

Seems like a noble goal, but is it worth the costs?

Noble? Sorry, but it just seems naive and stupid to this reader. I think it's time we give Mr Assange a full taste of the complete transparency he says he wants. For the rest of his natural life.

 

[Westernskies]

I think it's time we give Mr Assange a full taste of the complete transparency he says he wants. For the rest of his natural life.

Or his 15 minutes of fame, whichever comes first...

 

[donheff]

As I understand it, the intellligence services of many countries record and archive nearly everyone's secure communication. Once you have clear text copies of documents that were previously encoded then you have what you need to break the code.

The coding algorithms used to encode and decode documents are not some simple cipher that allows you to "break the code" be accessing a clear text copy alongside an encrypted copy.

 

[Rustic23]

Agreed, not a simple cipher, but having tens of thousands clear text documents to compare with encoded text and some real powerful computers, has to make it easier, to determine the complex formulas and computer code used to encode the documents.

I'm not a cryptologist but I watched one on TV.

 

[LOL!]

I saw the word noble used. I would imagine that this guy might be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

As for disdain of foreign leaders, I'm sure their cables are full of good stuff on our leaders and one in particular.

So far, with the head start by those major newspapers who presumably tried to find the most damning or juiciest quotes and report them soonest, I haven't seen anything that causes me to think, "Wow, that should not have been published."