WikiLeaks
The debate about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange — devil or disciple of the new age of unfiltered information — won’t end any time soon. And the possibility of future government resolve — and spending — to keep information from the public also seems infinite.
If I have learned anything from reading about the WikiLeaks saga, it’s that much of the $10 billion a year government spends on classifying “stuff” is wasted on sequestering “stuff” no one cares about or already knows.
More than 250-thousand diplomatic cables and classified documents have been released by WikiLeaks, an organization which says it publishes “original source material alongside our news stories so readers and historians alike can see evidence of the truth.” U.S. officials say the latest release of classified communications between the U.S. State Department and diplomatic sources could strain international affairs.
The release of thousands of classified documents on WikiLeaks about the nine-year U.S. war in Afghanistan represents the contemporary equivalent of the Pentagon Papers in many ways.
- The documents have embarrassed both governments.
- An insider “whistleblower” put the documents in the website’s hands.
- The material contains a mix of information already made public and some that those who classify documents hoped would remain classified, such as covert operations aimed at high-ranking Taliban leaders and the number of civilian deaths.
