Wikileaks

The governments of the United States, Sweden, and Interpol have brought their collective forces to bear on a target that seems to be embarrassing them all; Julian Assange, the nomadic, chamelion-like leader of Wikileaks, which has just begun a months-long process of pulling the curtain back from years of U.S. diplomatic efforts. The U.S. government, using Sen. Joseph Lieberman as a proxy, has demanded Amazon.com cease hosting Wikileaks, which is has since done. The Swedish government has issued an arrest warrant on rape charges against Assange that are no doubt politically motivated, Interpol is currently pursuing Assange as well. Wikileaks seems to have found a new home on Swiss servers in order to continue to provide the documents it possesses for public access, and should Assange be arrested, Wikileaks has other members who will carry on with its work.

Wikileaks is performing a public service. Not only does the world have a right to know the truths of international diplomacy, the cables are a treasure trove for historians and armchair ambassadors. Governmental secrecy is desirable in some cases, but none of the cables in Wikileaks collection are labeled top secret. Indeed, most will merely embarrass world leaders, as details they believed were shared in confidence will be revealed for the world that we all live in and deserve to know about. Now presented with a peephole into world affairs, fly on the wall status, we must loudly defend Wikileaks and its rights and ability to continue. To anyone who disagrees, if the U.S. or any other government has done nothing wrong, what does it have to worry about?