Conflicted

[MahindraPlanet]

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As a blogger, I find myself following the WikiLeaks fallout with quite a bit of interest beyond that of probably the average person. I’m an American with a father who served in Central Asia some 40 years ago and a brother who is an active Marine, but cannot return to combat because he managed to get serious concussions from IED explosions on three separate occasions during the heyday of intense combat in Falluja. On one side I find it pretty interesting to hear the Saudi’s compare Ahmadinejad to Hitler and US officials describe what a dork Kim Jong-Il is. On the other side I certainly don’t want to see Americans put in harms way. I personally think Julian Assange is a very sad and bitter little man (I think he’s legitimately crazy too). But he’s a polarizing guy. Even crazier people who believe in his “cause” are going to continue work like his whether or not he goes to jail for being a sexual deviant with the Swedish bikini team. Can the government of a prominent country shut down a guy for publishing their dirty laundry? Should a powerful government shut the guy down, or should they just be a hell of a lot more careful about who has access to all the secrets? I’m curious about what you guys think.

[ckbarcus]

Sorry, but I think this is the wrong web-site for this kind of stuff

[Forest]

What else is there to talk about?

[howam00]

well nothing was really "secret" just confidential and amounts to nothing more than "drity laundry" All other countries spy on each other and keep notes about leaders and prominent people. It all got aired and that is embarassing but not really harmful. I think a handful of other countries said they keep similar files and that they weren't really that offended. There may be some pomp and circumstance publically but I doubt Sarkozy cares if someone in the US embassy thinks he is whiney and weak. Carla Bruni probably says that to him daily.

[Bugman]

It's more than dirty laundry, he has released names of people in the field and technical info that could easily be used by terrorist. The gov. recently shut down a bunch of web sites selling fake name brand purses ect. before they shut him down. This guy is a left wingers dream com true.

[gnorthern]

Originally Posted by Bugman

This guy is a left wingers dream come true.

As what most of you call a "left winger" I have to say that is not true. Bradley Manning is the real traitor here, and he deserves severe punishment. Not only did he break the law, he also put specific Americans at risk not only by naming names but also leaking military tactics. And as already noted, we do need to change procedures to prevent this.

The upsides: I take comfort in finding out that the corporate media fairly accurately portrays what is going on in the world. I also take comfort in confirming we are still highly influential in the world.

Other comments: If similar information was leaked from China, I would hope that somebody would post it. Since Julian Assange is not an American, I see no reason to be that upset with him.

[Duluth Diesel]

Originally Posted by ckbarcus

Sorry, but I think this is the wrong web-site for this kind of stuff

This is the Off Topic Discussion forum, so anything is pretty much fair game man.

[Adolph]

"Since Julian Assange is not an American, I see no reason to be that upset with him."

Some people like to call it, 'espionage'.

Of course, I'm certain I'm just being picky.
What amuses me most from this mess is that nobody really seemed to care when it was battlefield info and troops lives at danger.
Now that the politicians names have been drug through the mud, the Obama administration is up in arms.

Go figure...

[Bugman]

Originally Posted by Adolph

"Since Julian Assange is not an American, I see no reason to be that upset with him."

Some people like to call it, 'espionage'.

Of course, I'm certain I'm just being picky.
What amuses me most from this mess is that nobody really seemed to care when it was battlefield info and troops lives at danger.
Now that the politicians names have been drug through the mud, the Obama administration is up in arms.

Go figure...

We really need a Like Button on here so I can click it for this one. What about the American who gave him the info, let's hang him....

[gnorthern]

Originally Posted by Adolph

[B][ISome people like to call it, 'espionage'.

Of course it is espionage. And he should be treated the same as if he was a Chinese spy. Spies are just doing their job. With traitors like Bradley Manning, it is personal.

My question is, if somebody obtained information about China like that, would you want them to publish it or give it back to China?