During the Vietnam War Daniel Ellsberg took it upon himself to release to the Washington Post and then the New York Times a Defense Department Analysis of American Policy in SE Asia. These Documents became known as the Pentagon Papers and seriously undermined American policy in that part of the world.
The Whitehouse's efforts in containing the damage also was a significant element in Nixon's downfall.
Daniel Ellsberg is a hero in some circles but he was really a traitor and his actions cost many many lives mostly SE Asians in SE Asia.
And today we have another significant leak of classified documents pertaining to a war as that war continues. The usual suspects are in throws of orgasmic ecstasy and charges of war crimes are already flying around.
War is terrible my friends and innocent people who have the misfortune to get caught up in one, get hurt and killed. The best thing is to avoid war altogether but if you can't you fight to win.
Now Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks is basking in his moment of glory, feted by the media and casting himself as a truth teller.
But he is a traitor, whose actions will undermine the war in Afghanistan and reveal to our enemies our strategies for defeating them.
Hands up anyone thinks the world will be a better place if Afghanistan is lost?
Now if Mr Assange had revealed to the world the Taliban's strategies and cruelties or Iranian ones that would be something.
Mind you anyone who did that would be gutted (literally not metaphorically) and you can be sure Mr Assange a product of a free and open society has not only the lack of ability to get such documents but the lack of the cojones to boot.
He's no hero.
The Whitehouse's efforts in containing the damage also was a significant element in Nixon's downfall.
Daniel Ellsberg is a hero in some circles but he was really a traitor and his actions cost many many lives mostly SE Asians in SE Asia.
And today we have another significant leak of classified documents pertaining to a war as that war continues. The usual suspects are in throws of orgasmic ecstasy and charges of war crimes are already flying around.
War is terrible my friends and innocent people who have the misfortune to get caught up in one, get hurt and killed. The best thing is to avoid war altogether but if you can't you fight to win.
Now Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks is basking in his moment of glory, feted by the media and casting himself as a truth teller.
But he is a traitor, whose actions will undermine the war in Afghanistan and reveal to our enemies our strategies for defeating them.
Hands up anyone thinks the world will be a better place if Afghanistan is lost?
Now if Mr Assange had revealed to the world the Taliban's strategies and cruelties or Iranian ones that would be something.
Mind you anyone who did that would be gutted (literally not metaphorically) and you can be sure Mr Assange a product of a free and open society has not only the lack of ability to get such documents but the lack of the cojones to boot.
He's no hero.
Can't help but think you're right.
ReplyDeleteCertainly with the last release (the video) the crime they claimed was actually a very specific part of the video, and not the section where the group were first attacked.
So why did they release that part? I can only conclude that they wanted to show it to try and tag it as murder (it wasn't - they were clearly terrorists) in the eye of the public.
End result: more pressure to get the US out of Iraq before the country is ready. That's something that (along with *not* shooting those men) has strong potential to cost the lives of civilians.
The other factor is that these documents are apparently from low-level intelligence people. They haven't been processed, checked or anything. So a report that 10 civilians were killed might be completely incorrect, a report of Pakistani collusion might be a guess, the problems just go on and on. Are those reading the reports going to know that? Of course not.