The first and primary duty of the nation state is to ensure and protect the security of its people. One of the ways this is best achieved is by keeping secrets “secret.”
Imagine what would have happened during World War II if WikiLeaks had revealed that Alan Turing and his colleagues at Bletchley Park in England had broken the German ciphers. It could well have been goodbye England and hello to Adolf.
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, hails from Australia, a member of the British Commonwealth. He should be particularly sensitive to the considerations of national security without which he would probably be singing his national anthem in German. Since information was passed to him by a misguided American serviceman, who has been charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and is awaiting hearing, Mr. Assange has been waging cyber warfare against the United States and should be treated as someone engaged in espionage against America.
Certainly several of the cables released can be characterized as fluff, amusing even, but most of them contain more important details than the peccadilloes and prurient interests of Muammar Gaddafi.
Although not surprising, a significant Cablegate revelation shows the entire Middle East, despite virulent hatred for the Israelis, maintains a well-grounded fear of the Iranian mullahcracy attaining nuclear weapons. Indeed Saudi Arabia’s leader likened Iran to a snake and implored the United States to attack the regime. This is not surprising considering the utter hatred Sunnis and Shi’ites harbor for one another, but also demonstrates the Saudi instinct for self-preservation.
Many fascinating details have emerged from the leaks, with a bulk of the documents having the opposite effect or showing details in a far different light from what supporters of Julian Assange had hoped.
For instance, Israel’s detractors are deafeningly silent following one leak that showed Israel’s leaders wanted Egypt or the Palestinian Authority, backed by the United States, to take over the Gaza Strip following Operation Cast Lead. Neither Egypt nor the Palestinian Authority wished to be accountable for the area even with Israel’s promise to rid Gaza of Hamas.
In essence, several of the cables are a confirmation of what many suspected but were unable to confirm until now.
Nevertheless, there are some matters about which those who may wish us harm should remain ignorant. Thus we maintain a certain freedom of action. Otherwise, we provide potential enemies with a road map to circumvent our strategies. This should be obvious even to the slowest of minds.
WikiLeaks and Julian Assange are not merely on a quest for transparency. Even if they were they should not be allowed to derange America's national security and imperil those involved in protecting it.
Whatever Mr. Assange's motives may be he has stepped far beyond the bounds of investigative journalism and into the arena where his callous and deliberate disregard for the safety of a fellow democracy has turned him into a grievous security risk worthy of the most serious charges and prosecution.
WikiLeaks, furthermore, undermines the security of Western nations by unveiling crucial war documents. We forget that the point of war is not to ensure the prospects of our enemies but to win victory for ourselves and preserve our civilization. Unfortunately, victory and self-interest are often considered to be unworthy notions by those who blame the West for the world's troubles....
