Thread: Wikileaks: Good or bad?

You guys are missing the point here, WikiLeaks is a non-issue, the person that leaked the documents is a traitor, pure and simple, and I hope they find them, prosecute them, and execute them, as per the LAW in the US if found guilty...

But to the question posed here, no WikiLeaks is simply making money off this, and they have done nothing wrong legally that I can see.. plus the owner isn't American anyway...

Originally Posted by Bruno

Except he is not in the US. He is in a country where they still pay some attention to the constitution and due process.
Imo the terrorist lable is hugely overused these days, and put on everyone who does anything more severe than jaywalking.

Do you really think that matters?

IMHO Wikileaks is not the problem though. The leaks are the problem. The fact that these "leaks" are unidentified is a problem. The fact that they made it to a publishing source with no detection is a HUGE problem. The fact that these "leaks" will never be verified as legitimate is a bigger problem. The possible loss of life and trust as a result of these unproven statements is a tragedy. Tokyo Rose is rolling in her grave with delight!

I chalk it all up as another statement about the condition of our current affairs.

SAD!

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You guys are missing the point here, WikiLeaks is a non-issue, the person that leaked the documents is a traitor, pure and simple, and I hope they find them, prosecute them, and execute them, as per the LAW in the US if found guilty...

But to the question posed here, no WikiLeaks is simply making money off this, and they have done nothing wrong legally that I can see.. plus the owner isn't American anyway...

That is the truth!

I think that the people responsible for publishing the names of the Afghans that have helped our forces in rebuilding their country should have robust and swift action taken against them. Because their words will have condemned those Afghans and their families to death.


I all for freedom of speech but the actions of a few mindless irresponsible ignorant idiots who are only thinking about their own personal gain over the lives of innocent ordinary people it's something America should not tolerate.

As for inpolite comments about the British Royal family it's does not matter no one is going to get killed over it, Saying what sort of person the French president is nothing we don't already know, But when it come to the middle east it's made it clear who the real trouble makers are out there.

People have died for the right to have Freedom of speech but don't let people die because of it.

Let me try something here a bit more personal to most people...

I am trusted with 1000's of people most personal credit information, that is my job.

If I were to leak that info to Wikileaks, would you expect for me to go to jail????? or would you hold the website responsible????
I think most of you would want me prosecuted because of a betrayal of trust on my part, not of the website that simply passed on the info !!

Keep in mind people gave me this info by their own free will, but there was a expectation of privacy when it was given...

The US government knows where the leaks came from - they came from Pfc Bradley Manning - a US Army soldier, who was serving in Iraq. He had a Top Secret security clearance and copied all of the classified data onto USB drives and provided it to Wikileaks. Bradley Manning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think it fair to say that this guy is gonna get slammed - and should, imho. He was put in a trusted position and divulged classified data. It wasn't up to Manning to decide what was classified and what was not. While I typically don't point to wikipedia as a good source of most anything, if you're curious, do read the link above - especially this part:

"We are talking about classified cables. Classifications involve both the substance of cables and also sources and methods that can be revealed through the release, the unauthorized release of classified material. We take this seriously. Any release of classified material to those who are not entitled to have it is a serious breach of our security and can cause potential damage to our national security interests. [...]obviously of greatest concern is sources and methods which we rely on when providing insight to decision makers on what’s happening around the world"

The fact that the data is now out there, in the wild, so to speak, means that specific individuals who might be identified by the data can now be identified and killed by our enemies. Regardless of your political perspective or your feelings on the war, people that were trying to help the US will die as a result of the actions of Pfc Manning. He should be executed for treason, imho.

As for Wikileaks? What's the US to do? I have no idea whether the US will be able to successfully prosecute the Wikileaks guy (Julian Assange), yet the reality is the fact that Assange has received stolen government property and it has the potential to hurt the US and its supporters. The fact that Wikileaks is outside of the US really shouldn't have any bearing upon whether the US can/should/might/will/whatever bring charges against him. A good analogy is if your neighbor stole your tv and moved over to the next county. Would you expect the sheriff from your county to say "eh, sorry, he's gone..."?

I've not really followed this subject too closely, but apparently there is data that puts the US, the UK, Israel, China, Pakistan, and even the Russians in a bad light. The Wikileaks folks are only exposing the US/UK stuff. I wonder if that's because they believe that the US will follow the rule of law and not simply start assassinating people? Hopefully that's the case, but you can better believe the second the Wikileaks team starts showing other counties in a bad light that those countries might come after him and kill him and his entire family.

How's that for politics?

Originally Posted by Bruno

Except he is not in the US. He is in a country where they still pay some attention to the constitution and due process.
Imo the terrorist lable is hugely overused these days, and put on everyone who does anything more severe than jaywalking.

Originally Posted by life2short1971

Do you really think that matters?

Yes I would say it matters. America is not the be all and end all and what happens in America, or more precisely, what American politicians have to say, is not necessarily important to those in other countries. I understand the feelings that many would have who think this Australian (and his Website 'Wikileaks') be charged under the terrorist act. I thought the very same thing of our own PM at that time, John Howard, when, in the early stages of the war in Afghanistan, and before Australia's official announcement of sending troops in support. This clown came out and stated on live TV that we already had some of our elite troops (SAS) on the ground in the country. As far as I was concerned, he had as good as signed their death warrant and had given vital imformation to the opposing forces.
Labelling someone as a terrorist seems to be almost as popular a pastime as Baseball to America..At least it seems that way from a lot of our news articles in this country.
As far as it goes with relation to the subject of 'is having the information out there good or bad', if having it out there is bad then don't let it get out in the first place. The person that leaks vital information should be imprisoned...Maybe...But the person who is given that information should not be held responsible for the actions of others. I'm not say that judgement shouldn't be used...But what I think is for the greater good, may not be someone else's idea of for the greater good.


Mick

I've not been following this particular case, regards Wikileaks, so if some of what I've said doesn't seem relevent, it's because it's based on what I read in the thread up to the point of writing it.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I am trusted with 1000's of people most personal credit information, that is my job.

If I were to leak that info to Wikileaks, would you expect for me to go to jail????? or would you hold the website responsible????
I think most of you would want me prosecuted because of a betrayal of trust on my part, not of the website that simply passed on the info !!

(this is by no means a personal attack on Glenn)
The people behind wikileaks want to build(or rather, have built) a platform where people can whistleblow when human rights are violated or the freedom of speech is in jeopardy.

They also want to push for a more transparent government which doesn't hide from it's responsibility to it's people(here I'm referring to the leakage of the war diary, which revealed way more civilian casualties than was publicly acknowledged).

And while the government says "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear"(while they do a cavity search when you fly), why do they hide from the people who elected them?

The way the documents were obtained is of course questionable at best, I do however support the efforts of wikileaks for keeping us free from oppression from what is becoming a totalitarian government(not just the USA, also here in EU).

Originally Posted by danbrew

The US government knows where the leaks came from - they came from Pfc Bradley Manning - a US Army soldier, who was serving in Iraq. He had a Top Secret security clearance and copied all of the classified data onto USB drives and provided it to Wikileaks.

I can appreciate the fall guy but really? I know when my staff is surfing the net instead of working, and this ain't tech heaven. The U.S. Army has the best IT out there. There is no way that one guy captured that amount of sensitive information. If he did we should just quit the defense biz for good.

That is almost as good as the single bullet theory and JFK!