It is more than interesting. I wish the patriots who talk of treason would remember the constitution is our government not the corrupt people who have managed to hijack our country. Everyone agrees corruption is a problem in politics in general, especially American politics. So even though the pill is sometimes hard to swallow like this one, do not let the taste persuade you that it is not good for us as a free nation.

I wouldn't call it treason. I just don't agree with dumping tons of info like this. Since it has been released and that can not be undone might as well use it to learn from.

Other nations know we talk about them behind there backs.

BUT to have it made public is a major issue.

We really wil be punished in someway by those nations.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO UNDETECTED FOR SO LONG?

I WONDER IF WE LEAKED SOME OF THOSE DOCUMENTS INTENTIONALLY.

This is no doubt a ruse by the Republicans to discredit the President. I suggest that Mr Wiki is a Conservative Mole given the resources and know how to filter this unflattering information.

• "Friendship is constant in all other things
  Save in the office and affairs of love:
  Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues;
  Let every eye negotiate for itself
  And trust no agent."

Karl Roves paws are all over this!

Really, none of this should come as a surprise, but it might, just might, provoke some honest self-analysis.

Both Iran and North Korea must be brought to their knees with promises of worldwide acceptance in exchange for an end to their nuclear ambitions.

Republicans and Democrats must wake up and take note that it was a Republican - Ronald Reagan - who made it clear that we must rid the world of nuclear weapons. It is a Democrat - Barack Obama - who is trying to continue Reagan's work. Worried about your children and grandchildren, are you? Really?

Tell John Kyl, the number one terrorist on the planet at the moment. What kind of an idiot is this man to suggest that we should continue to ignore this threat to mankind. There is no excuse for that kind of insane behavior. Hurry up and wait. This clown needs a smack upside his empty head. He's willing to hold the world - yes, the entire world - hostage so he can stick his tongue out at Obama and weigh in with an intellectual, "Neener, neener, neener."

How about another inward look. We were going to bring democracy to Iraq. Really? Our government is corrupt beyond words. Our Supreme Courts has handed the electoral process to the wealthy and corporate America. That's democracy? The Republicans lied about balancing the budget. The Democrats don't have the guts to make cuts. Oh yeah, can't you see the world standing in line to emulate America?

And what else did we learn? Nobody trusts anybody. Let's just keep the world on full alert, squawk about the shaky security, and do nothing about it.

Policing the world is becoming an overwhelmingly difficult ambition.....soon the house of cards will fall and chaos shalensue. It was a nobel effort to stop the spread of nuclear technology, but the cat is out of the bag, and the debt will be paid.....by humanity

I'm glad someone is exposing the criminal activities of our government. However, I'd like to see a full disclosure. It very much looks like wikileaks cherry picked the release to support the goals of Israel (which are not the same as the U.S.). I think speculation that wikileaks is a Mossad front is true.

These particular leaks in the story outline the need for other foreign countries to get their own back bones. Why do we have to do everything? They hold similar or even more extreme looks on Iran and N. Korea than we do yet they expect us to take care of it.

Why don't we support their roles? Why don't we put the pressure on them. Do we really want the role of super Nanny?

Non-the-less, with all this speculation, it comes down to two things: either the "perpetrator" of these leaks works for a foreign government, or this (these) person(s) are just greedy Yanks. Either way, this is espionage and the perp needs to be caught and prosecuted. (I doubt that Rove is behind this. Anyway, he should've been shot long ago for outing our agent!)

In the end, the unflattering statements concerning foreign diplomats is, no doubt, mirrored in every diplomatic corps in every nation. Nothing new.

I am against anything that endangers American lives,which is exactly what Julian is doing.This is not need to know information.It goes against the old adage of "never look into the kitchen of your favorite restaurant you might not eat there again".Now the world is looking in our kitchen,thanks dumb arse.

david walker - your comment...

Both Iran and North Korea must be brought to their knees with promises of worldwide acceptance in exchange for an end to their nuclear ambitions.

Really? Both russia and china, who btw have nuclear capabilities, have learned that one catches more flies with honey rather than vinegar. I don't recall either of them doing any saber rattling to get their way over the past 20 years.

Perhaps iran and N korea should take a page from their playbook as well and develop trade in goods rather than rhetoric. Since N korea and iran can spend money on nuclear technology they won't need financial aid from outside sources to develop their own trade based economy.

Regardless of your opinion of kyl the newest START treaty is between russia and the US. Iran and N korea have no part in it.

I sure would like to find a place to post that isn't full of nut jobs, or at least make the people here take some kind of IQ test before posting, then have a way to filter out the lowest IQ level one would accept reading. Somebody help, please!

JK from PA,

Carl Rove did not out Valeria Plame. She was outed when Clinton was President. Richard Armitage is the one who "outed" her, and she was already a desk jockey by then as a result of a diplomatic bag containing information about her being intercepted by Cuba. This also happened while Clinton was President.

Something is wrong here people. How can this one man keep getting all this information and considered a threat to the American people and government. Maybe it's the government framing him, because they obviously have a security breach that needs fixing if people can gain access to all this so-called important information.

Kinda like the FBI helping a 19 year old get access to fake bombs and blowing up a Christmas tree lighting event in Oregon. The FBI even said that it was a "set-up" in their own words.

So much for trusting your government and the FBI.

President Obama said, "Such disclosures put at risk our diplomats, intelligence professionals and people around the world who come to the United States for assistance in promoting democracy and open government."

So, in promoting open government, he's trying to keep what the government does a secret? Tell me again how this isn't a seriously derailed train of logic.

Sorry .... But "WHERE'S THE BEEF?"

For weeks our government has claimed like Chicken Little: "The Sky Is Falling! The Sky is falling!" posters here have disparaged Wikileaks as traitors that should be assassinated, That American troops would be endangered!

Where is the sky falling? ... Is there no guilt amongst those that have overreacted to this disclosure?

Isn't it amazing that as Americans our liberties & privacy means nothing to our government, who are willing to strip them away on a daily basis, but there peccadilloes and criminal mistakes made by government operatives deserve "National Security" status to protect them from exposures?

Isn't anyone angry at their government for so seriously misleading them about the real content in these leaks?

"WHERE IS THE BEEF?"

keoni, agreed--the extremist crank yankers ruin this place--and just about every other message board in which politics are discussed.

Big Red, you are so right. Corrupt politicians (which means all of them) are truly committing treason when they wipe their nuts with the Constitution. They should be outed; the American people need a more transparent government. I'm not sure WikiLeaks is the best answer, but right now it's the only party--read that as "political party" or however you like--that isn't lying to its followers.

Between the TSA's government bestowed power to finger everyone that passes through a US airport, the massive death rate of civilians at the hands of "friendly" forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, the world's economy left in shreds largely by the previous presidential administration, the neutered and weak state of the current administration, the military cock waving in the waters off the Korean peninsula, and, dammit, Leslie Nielsen dying, we're all screwed.

I'm not a sky-is-falling type, but lately I always find myself hugging my loved ones before they leave the house. Two suns in the sunset, and all.

Nothing that I have read from our diplomats is any worse than what is said here at the office every day. If the world leaders have a problem with our internal memos, they need to grow up and get over it.

American-2051576

You read, but you take away only what you want to take away. My post does not say in any way, shape, or form that Iran and North Korea should be brought to their knees via unilateral American action. Indeed, this is a worldwide issue, and China and what's left of the U.S.S.R., as well as the rest of the world have to participate in a nuclear disarmament initiative.

The reason I pointed to a stick and carrot approach, particularly with respect to North Korea is for the simple reason that North Korea has nothing to trade. The world is going to have to help North Korea but not without something in exchange. That would be an end to their nuclear capability.

To some extent that is also true with Iran. Their primary source of foreign exchange is oil. Iran is trying desperately to move away from its reliance on petrodollars as well as on oil for its energy needs. Unlike far too many Americans, the Iranians seem to understand petroleum is not an infinite resource.

What's your point about START being between the Soviet Union and the U.S. Did I say otherwise or are you just busy trying to keep your preconceived notions intact?

The release of hundreds of thousand classified documents have been blamed on a young PFC; our security is so good that a young PFC solider has the ability to access and forward this amount of information without being caught , that is the real revelation of how the system is broken !

I found this on the 22 year old US military guy who is accused of giving this to Wiki:

"Private First Class Bradley E. Manning arrived at Quantico Marine Base in Virginia on Thursday night, the Pentagon said, after his court martial proceedings were transferred from Camp Arifjan, Kuwait."

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_560006.html

cdahl, " they need to grow up and get over it.". Kinda what I think too. If they don't like the things we say, they don't have to take our money. The only problem with this is what's gonna happen when something other than a couple of name-calling documents get leaked? There's way too much paperwork involved with our gov't. There needs to be a midnight shredding party and everyone needs to stop filling out forms when they take a dump.

David Walker, noone else will take the initiative. China and Russia will sit back until the wacko launches something at them and then wipe them off the face of the world. They have the attitude we should have, "Don't mess with us, we won't mess with you.". NK knows we won't so they run their mouth like a bully in the school yard.

"Unflattering assessments?" Who cares? I am sure people know who and what they are and certainly that intelligent people can perceive who and what they are. Calling a spade a spade is merely reflecting the truth.

For example, the whole World knows that in Russia it is Putin which is in command and not Robin (Meddy). Everybody knows that Karzai is a drug trafficker and is extremely corrupt. Well, then again MOST politicians are corrupt. Shall I go on? Big hairy deal. I don't need leaked coms. to tell me what I see as fact.

JEREMY-664722 I totally disagree as any diplomatic department in any country MUST give impressions and views to the leadership in highly secure war zones or countries in areas of diplomacy or potential war. The only thing that is of real concern here is leaders being truthful about dangers in their area in the future if they don't trust us to secure that information. This is no minor thing. It would be reckless for any government to go public any time another diplomat tells our diplomats what their country's view is in sensitive situation. As it stands ths is not just name calling in terms of working relationships around the world. Confidence or even lives could be at risk.

Discretionary sensitivity is required and this has nothing to do with lying, liars or lies.

I find it amusing that all are condemning wiki and the PFC for this but the truth is that the system was so open that all world governments could access this stuff.

The people that screwed up are the ones that are supposed to be out secret keepers but are just a bunch of incompetent boobs

Slovenia was told to take a prisoner if it wanted to meet with President Obama, while the island nation of Kiribati was offered incentives worth millions of dollars to take in a group of detainees, cables from diplomats recounted.

I thought Obama was sending all the gitmo prisoners to Illinois and spent a fortune of taxpayer money refurbishing a prison there for them....guess his homeboys don’t want the murderous muslims in their state either...even if it is on the opposite end of the state!

I wish the patriots who talk of treason would remember the constitution is our government not the corrupt people who have managed to hijack our country. Everyone agrees corruption is a problem in politics in general, especially American politics.

coffeepartyusa.org

If you really "want our country back," take a look and sign up. We need to forcibly remove corrupt politicians and practices on all levels. They are not going to clean up their act voluntarily.

This is apparently Obamas idea of a transparent Government. It's what happens when you put a hack like Panetta in charge of the CIA and Hillarys appointed as Sec of State. Thank God homebody's in charge (sarc). I'm sure that all of our allies feel comfortable having candid discussions with this administration now. Guess this is change you can believe in.

If this had been happening under the Bush administration, the pundits from the right would be shouting treason from the highest mountain top. Since it is happening under the Democrats, they are shouting freedom of speech.

Moonbeam -

Isn't anyone angry at their government for so seriously misleading them about the real content in these leaks?

It is called deflection or distraction. They try to focus everybody's attention on another issue instead of focusing on the real problem(s).

obama issued a comment and now he has clinton making a statement. Since he has already thrown his hat in the ring why did he throw it down to clingon?

Maybe obama needs another beer summit and make this into a "teachable moment".

Embarrassing.

What a feckless country. Why would any nation trust the US to safeguard anything told them? This release will militate against world peace by generating the propensity in other countries not to trust the US and not to reveal anything to it.

America is always the one being targeted, I believe this time it is for greed and for recognition of a small time publisher who wants world fame. This is about as sleazy as it gets.

Norcal2, my post wasn't clear. I was refferring to the " unflattering assessments of world leaders". The article makes it sound like name-calling. As far as sensitive documents about "zones" and "operations", the Wiki man should be tortured until he gives up his source. Then he and the source should be hung side by side to send a message to anyone who thinks about "leaking" stuff. I wonder if anyone's file cabinet has a lock on it.? I really wonder why half of this stuff is every put on paper(or punched into a computer).

This must be propaganda, seriously!

WikiLeaks???? Seriously an entity called “wiki LEAKS”???

(Hello, my name is wiki LEAKS, I leak information.)

If an entity such as this has “top secret” documents and is boasting about it, you know darn well that other countries or intelligent agency’s have the same information. Then leave it to the media to tell the whole world about it.

This is stupid…

Jeremy, thanks for explaining that as I missed it. I think that the US military 22 year old is already being held for the release to Wiki but unfortunately it is too late. The name calling is likely the least of the problems but saying Jordon wanted Iran dealt with is a very big deal for Jordon among other points the leak details. That is an emotional and backward arena and it is imperative that any leadership in that area have views protected or they will turn against the US on a dime to keep from being killed by terrorists factions. I think this is a very big deal for us and for them. Quite dangerous in fact.

You are right that the fact that the info was even available to the kid is horrific and it does make one wonder if they do have any logical security precautions that make the information unavailable to a 22 year old guy sitting in the middle of nowhere. That is probably the biggest deal about this whole thing after the lives that may now be at stake. What secure computer protections did they have, if any. It is shocking to know a low level military guy could download and steal all this highly secure information.

Message from government to citizens: You, the public, are too stupid to understand, consider or have an opinion of any value regarding how your government is run so pay your taxes, let us spend it any way we want and shut up.

These leaks do nothing other than show you how powerless your voice is, what a humorless joke the democratic process is and how removed from the entire process citizens are. You may resume consuming goods, watching jobs go abroad and paying your taxes now.

Another component of the triad to take the US down by the left. First, the creation of the housing bubble which will result in the sharing of the wealth with the rest of the world by devaluing the US dollar. Second, the EPA regulating CO2 as a pollutant since the Cap and Trade fiasco failed to get off the ground which will destroy US competitiveness. Third, the diminishing of the US standing in the world with these leaks. The apology tour was a precursor to the leaks being made so even though the US will be hated more everybody will still like Barry. The left couldn't have asked for more if they had a Genie with 3 wishes.

1.10 - I am against anything that endangers American lives,

---------------------------------------------

Like wars in foreign lands that serve no purpose? The world has long since grown tired of this world police mentality, that includes Americans.

Slaughter this guy and anyone who worked for wikilinks. Yeah, I said it. Is it hypocritical? So what? Go cry to your mom.

Movie quote (name the movie for a bonus prize):

George W. "Do you like getting a handjob?"

"Yeah"

George W. "Do you like giving a handjob?"

"No"

George W. (paraphrased) "Well, that's your hypocrisy right there."

Assasinate them. Just to send the message. Oh yes, I do approve.

I see a lot on both sides, however, Diplomacy has been alive and well since the Roman Empire. It is the Creator of this site, wikileaks, and his minions thay have possibly destroyed uncounted years of work, and in doing so kave damaged some International relations, very, very possibly putting more American lives at risk, and NOT just in the Mid-East. This action is the result of what a good Liberal Education get's you: Complete open-ness without regard to the consequence, and I personnaly feel that the purpatrators should ALL be immediatly imprisoned w/o any chance of bail, and the American Soldier held for Treason in the face of the Enemy.

Treason? Absolutely, as defined, Treason is one that gives aid and comfort to the Enemy while at War. We are at War, like it or not, and the penalty is death. Much too light a sentence for these scum. Do you feel safer, Libs? You are the ones wanting to wear everything out in the open, and you just don't get it yet that the World's Governments MUST have some degree of Secrecy to exist.

Again, as I posted on another Blog, just living in Switzerland does not make you neutral, any more than living in America makes you American. These people ( wikileaks ) ARE the product of Liberalism at it's most transparent; Destroy all you don't personnaly believe in, then blame others for the failure of your Nation.

Hope you sleep well now, knowing you and your followers and Professors have damaged the World, perhaps beyond repair. However, I also realize your little Pea Brains can't see that, so now do you feel that ALL Diplomacy be held on the Diplomat Channel? Or, are you going to continue bashing the Right for the Failures under Kennedy, Carter, Clinton, and now Obama? Wake up, Left, your "Educators" under the Socialist NEA and sub-Teachers Unions and Liberal places such as Berkekey, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, UCLA and the entire CA University system, Harvard, Yale, and the list is endless. Yessir, ain't the Communist, Socialist, Progressive, Liberal view just wonderful now.

If one American Soldier dies from this, we will find you, but you best hope the Law find's you first.
Call me what you want to Meatheads, but call Me and Millions more AMERICAN PATRIOT'S first, we earned the rights you want destroyed.

Oh, no, Ray, do not make that mistake. A Liberal has a different set of values than a conservative, but both can be patriots.

An enemy uses the BullS**t excuse that they are pursuing those values and all they really are doing is attacking. That is what wikileaks is. Otherwise, fire it up!

This disclosure looks like a total non-issue. All of these diplomats know about each other. That is why they can make assessments. Why shouldn't the public know about key people in political and diplomatic decision-making, too.

Does anyone else see the absurdity in demanding secrecy in the name of "promoting democracy and open government"?

"Knowing about each other" and saying everything publicly isn't even close to the same thing. My mom is a lousy cook, but I'd never tell her in person. That would be MEAN. And I wouldn't be invited over for dinner as often...which, now that I think about it....

Never mind about that. You get my drift here. The release of these documents only hurts us and particularly our allies. In the end, it's going to defeat the stated purpose of WikiLeaks: openness. Now, nothing is ever again going to be discussed openly, and trust me on this, that isn't what the world needs right now.

If some wet behind the ears PFC, or some government office worker can get their hands on that much information. Just imagine what the real spys are getting. That is what we should really be worried about.

We really need to get our priorites straight.

We need to spend less time fondling the public and checking "sacks" at the airports and more time on where the real security threats apparently are and "sack" the current incompetents in charge of securing our nations secrets.

Its not about how our govt may or may not be secretive - please its govt, it has its secrets - what it is about, is that there's no respect or morality left. it's also a hatred against America. All countries have issues, but only ours is on the plate. This is not going to accomplish anything positive, but rather put many lives at stake and end many positive negotions. Both the informant and wilkileaks (Jillian) should be held accountable for their horrific actions.

Ya know, it sounds like if you don't have anything nice to say, Don't say anything. In the case of our stupid diplomats, Don't Write it down for someone to disclose it! And YES they are stupid regardless of their credentials!

I agree catherine, while I do respectfreedom of speech, what did wikileaks hope to accomplish? Because of their need to puff out their chests, wikileaks as now hurt the United States' position on the world stage. Leaders of foreign nations have been humiliated. Do you think they will ever trust the U.S. again? It will probably have consequences on our intelligence operations too.

Since Obama has been in office, this government has had nothing but problems they make and try to keep Americans from know what their real agenda is. Case closed

Lake:

"Ya know, it sounds like if you don't have anything nice to say, Don't say anything."

So if a diplomat was working with a leader that is a murderous, genocidal, power hungry maniac, he shouldn't pass that information on because it might be mean?

This is what diplomats do. They make their assessments of the situations and pass that information on to whatever body they are working for. If they see a situation where someone is officially in power, but someone else is pulling the strings, they should say something. If someone is an egomaniac, that is useful knowledge for later negotiations, and it's something that should be logged for later use.

I'm sure they wrote this stuff down not realizing it would be leaked, but I don't hold the diplomats responsible for this one.

Where can we go to read these leaks, if the rest of the world gets to read them..Id like to read them myself..I tried that WikiLeaks website..but its been shut down...?

"thought Obama was sending all the gitmo prisoners to Illinois and spent a fortune of taxpayer money refurbishing a prison there for them....guess his homeboys don’t want the murderous muslims in their state either...even if it is on the opposite end of the state"!

Guess you don't keep up with things or research much do you fed up? Did your sister's hairdressers cousins neighbor tell you that or did you just pull it out of your arse? Because clearly you have not a clue on the subject you are feebly attempting to talk about. Look it up after you wipe the egg off your face.

aardvark: Oh, right. This is all just one big Jewish conspiracy. I was waiting for that. Seig heil, aardvark! You could at least disclose your employers.

BTW, if Sarkozy is the emperor without clothes, then who is Obama? When do we get to see what they say about us? Now that would be interesting.

It is The TOP SECRET inform ation in Government that Usually Gets Us Into Trouble. The stuff that they don't want us "We The People" to know about.

This type of Transparency could End All Wars and Corruption in a Real Democracy. I Want to Know What they are saying and doing Behind Closed Doors when it comes to Our Future.

I'll say again. Kill anyone who worked for wikilinks. Every single one of them.n If the US government won't do it, I hope someone else does.

Isn't there an old saying, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime"? I get that this is a problem in some ways, but for the most part, they're calling out liars and corrupt politicians for their actions. As soon as we can get our politicians honest, we can worry about the people we cast judgment upon as being the bad guys in the first place. If you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you.

WOW!! I have never read such a pathetic collection of crap in my life! With the exception of a VERY few the people on this vine must be the stupidest people on earth!

For those of you IDIOTS who are boldly proclaiming who cares and they need to grow up... If you have EVER IN YOUR LIFE (and I know every one of you has because we ALL have) SUDDENLY STOPPED WHAT YOU WERE SAYING BECAUSE THE BOSS WALKED INTO THE ROOM AND YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT HIM/HER AND YOU WERE AFRAID WHAT YOU WERE SAYING WOULD OFFEND THEM AND YOU WOULD PAY THE PRICE. It's the same thing you MORONS.

To the fools who think our Diplomats should "say something nice", well, that would be ludicrous. So you are stupid enough to think that our (or any) government can deal with foreign powers without knowing the disposition of their leaders, well, you better check to see if your still breathing as this must use up a TON of concentration on your part.

For a quick easy understanding of diplomacy think about how you deal with others at work. If you claim you are open and honest with ALL your co-workers on ALL subjects then you are a liar. Plain and simple. Now imagine that you and all your co-workers are nations.

It's just that simple. And that complex. Deal with it. This is not about Dems and Repubs in any way. This is an issue our country and our people should be standing together on from top to bottom. Period. No matter how stupid you are.

For those of you too dense to figure it out it's called HACKING, that's how this worthless human being (who needs a .50cal round introduced to his brain) is CRIMINALY stealing these documents.

"Trust the US again"? What nation has ever been stupid enough to do that? And what foreign leader hasn't already been humiliated, usually by his/her own doing? Diplomats from all countries hardly ever agree on anything so its natural to start verbally backstabbing after the meeting breaks up. Info that's Classified, embarrassing, or irrelevant is supposed to be ultimately secured or destroyed to prevent international political disruption. In this case the damage has already been done. Hopefully all governments can learn from this fiasco.

Just general education on Wikileaks from Wikipedia (not related to Wikileaks at all):

"The site states that it was "founded by Chinese dissidents, journalists, mathematicians and start-up company technologists, from the US, Taiwan, Europe, Australia and South Africa"

"an advisory board comprising Assange, Phillip Adams, Wang Dan, C. J. Hinke, Ben Laurie, Tashi Namgyal Khamsitsang, Xiao Qiang, Chico Whitaker and Wang Youcai.

The information was hacked from servers by China.

"One of the WikiLeaks activists owned a server that was being used as a node for the Tor network. Millions of secret transmissions passed through it. The activist noticed that hackers from China were using the network to gather foreign governments’ information, and began to record this traffic. Only a small fraction has ever been posted on WikiLeaks, but the initial tranche served as the site’s foundation, and Assange was able to say, "[w]e have received over one million documents from thirteen countries."

I agree.

Steve,

It was not by hacking....This was all stolen from the government by a PFC. in the U.S. while he lip-synced to Lady-Gaga!!!? This is not hacking. Hacking would involve stealing these documents from afar by entering over a computer. Wiki-leaks recieved these documents from one of our own soldiers.

That said, as to the idiocy factor in these boards? Yep, America does have a nice mix...I really love how informed you are and how you would see murder as a solution to our government getting hosed by their own incompetence. You are not the guy who has all the answers and neither am I, the difference...I know it and can see that even after this leak is revealed, the government isn't telling us everything...If they could, they would kill...Perhaps these people have such dirt on our government that allowing them to live is the only solution.

Too much to still be told.....Oh and don't we have whistle-blower protection laws?....I guess thats only if your boss isn't the government.

Yeah well Mrs. Clinton, politicians tear at the fabric of this Nation all the time. I don't see the government doing anything about that.

My Wikileaks theory (based on what has been released, I consider it to be, "Too conveniently placed": http://mdphknmrk.newsvine.com/_news/2010/11/29/5545089-wikileaks-the-reported-stories-and-american-diplomacy

Hairfarmer - No the leak from the Pfc was not this info, pay close attention here, it was the info released months ago regarding primarily the wars in Iraq, Afganistan etc.

And murder, assination, whatever. When one man takes it upon himself to put the security of a country in jeoprody, YOU BET!!!

And display of sensetive government documents like this is not "whistle blowing". Read the law. That law covers reporting illegal and unethical practices when dealing ECONOMICLY with the government. It also only applies to American citizens. Hence the need for a bullet in his head!

Well according to Sarah Palin, if she was the President, the Leaks wouldn't have happened. Yeh, Sarah, right....like you got the power. (the more that woman talks, the more I absolutely hate her). Asage is a hacker, he's a top IT guy who knows what he's doing. We should hire him to be on OUR side.

Guya, guya, nobody is getting this... Dont you see that this Government of ours is corrupt, and they are trying to hide stuff becouse it is wrong. Everyone is blaming the guy who leaked this stuff, but nobody is looking at the Gov. You should see what other countries are reporting, some of the leaks are unbeleavable. And beleave me we are not seeing them here becouse they dont want to upset anyone. Well it is about time someone gets upset, and maybe we the people will get up from our overweight asses and save our country. They SHOULD be ashamed.... Keep the people informed, This here is the true silent dictatorship... Peace

Hillary sheds a tear! LOL! That would mean she actually was warm blooded.

The one upside I can see out of leaking all this is maybe the US won't be trusted and depended on for everything. Almost every country in the world running to us for help when they have a problem since WW2....and who has been paying for all these "actions?"

This quote in particular got me going:

Saudi King Abdullah is reported to have "frequently exhorted the U.S. to attack Iran to put an end to its nuclear weapons program."

If Saudi doesn't like it, let Saudi's attack Iran. Was he going to fund it or just rely on the taxpayers here to continue to defend his country? Why we continue to take direction and support a country that produced not only Osama Bin Laden but almost all the terrorists that attacked the US on 9/11 I have no idea.

At one time maybe the United States could afford to be the caretaker of the world, but enough is enough. Pull back, protect our borders and get the hell out of everyone else's affairs.

The German magazine also said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek claimed the Iraq war was the "biggest mistake ever committed" and advised the U.S. to "forget about democracy in Iraq." He said the best hope for a peaceful transition once American forces leave is for there to be a military coup.

Sad to say but I find this assessment to be honest and informed. We can try and set up a puppet government (anyone remember the Shah of Iran?), and eventually either there will be a military coup or the country will fall into a muslim theocracy (anyone else remember the Ayotollah Khomeni?). I do hope I'm wrong, but I can't see any kind of peaceful exit strategy in Iraq.

Okay, Steve....Lets say that I was mistaken and it is a new source? Then a bullet is the answer? What is it with America and guns? It appears that we have become adept at using force to fix all problems.

Our leaders have gotten their own actions revealed and it appears we are not the civilized nation we claim....Hell, we aren't even friends with these other countries. Friendship must be given, and gained freely...Not because we can beat it into you. If we have screwed the pooch...Then our remedy is to get rid of those that failed to protect integrity in our government secrecy. Perhaps the problem is not easily solved...I do not agree that violence is the solution and I find that calls for blood are often made emotionally...Not rationally.

Emotions got us to go to war after 911...Emotions have given us the fear that led to the patriot act....Emotions have given us the homeland security office.....Emotions have made us all suspect at the airport, even though we pay to get treated like a criminal...Guilty until proven otherwise by a machine or pat down..Emotions are not always the best answer. They are not the logical solution, or based on actual justice.

Emotions are a great thing when you are in love, they help at the football game....Leading a country to war or murder based on emotion? Count me out of that plan. I may have no solution, but I see yours as flawed.

I don't care whether any of this info is insulting or embarrasing to someone. But if any of this leaked info leads to the death of any intelligence operatives or death of any US troops or citizens, then the leakers should be prosecuted for accessory to murder.

We all know that it is Human Nature to make these kind of off hand comments when we don't think the pink elephant is in the room. All that is going to happen is that these other governments are just going to hold their hands out for more money to make them to be our pretend friends again.

This is not Top Secret Intelligence Information.. It is "Classifed" Information.

It is an embarassment to our Government and other people we deal with re: Intelligence. This information let out is reckless, and Assange should be charged with Espionage.

It will change some Leaders and citizens lives, such as informants.

It is a despicable act. Assange will surely be hunted down by someone, or our Government has to do SOMETHING.

Assange has to prove to the world he hates the US; but now good sources tell us he is becoming Paranoid about safety for his life. He is also accused by 2 women they say, raping them.

He is one sick dude. He might just mysteriously disappear, but the damage has been done.

ChevsMark, really? Then why did Scooter Libby go to jail for leaking Valerie Plame's status.? Turn off Glenn Beck and read a book.

Idiot.

I agree Joe Mota! Loss of life over sensitive "secrets" is punishable. It will be quite interesting the receptions our vacationing organizer-in-chief, other government officials get from now on.

I do find it slightly amusing the embarrassment comments regarding characterization of other "government" officials.

The failure to listen and learn parents life's lessons thus proving the axiom: if you don't want it repeated or public DON'T write it down, email, or video it.....

Julian Assange should be looking over his shoulder and testing his food If it was Russia we were talking about he would already be dead.

What’s extremely interesting is that the government comes down with a sledge hammer on that web site that was supposedly illegally distributing music and movies, yet this web site publishing stolen private government correspondence remains in operation. It seems all Obama, Hillary, etc. do is wring their hands and whine about it.

If this had occurred during an administration with some backbone, this web site would be shut down and this fellow would be either in prison or dead.

As for the one that made this material available, the best I can find out is that he’s in solitary confinement at Quantico and he will never see the sunlight again and depending on the ramifications and/or future events, may see a firing squad. I wonder if in retrospect he thinks it was worth it.

Team Hillary is circling the wagons, Bill, James Carville, John Podesta, Lani Davis, et al. She will not go down with the sinking USS ObamaAdministration. It will not be too long before she resigns. Take a good look at her face when she made that statement today. This is NOT what she signed on for...She will start working behind the scenes to make it clear to those that were disparaged by the State Department cables....that is was the Obama Administration and not her personally that is responsible for the content. Expect a Primary Challenge in 2012. ....Don't forget, during the 2008 primary, Hillary denied being a Liberal. She said she was an Early 20th. Century Progressive.

George Soros fired that shot across the bow of the WhiteHouse a few weeks ago that it was time to "look elsewhere"

Move-On.org was Hillary's brainchild to sling the mud and divert attention away from Bill during Monica Lewinski days. It is primarily funded by Soros.....start connecting the dots....WikiLeaks gets it's money from the far left....

The Administration didn't react this strongly when most of the leaked info in the past releases was primarily related to Bush.....Obama has lost the support of the radical revolutionary left....he has done too little and has not moved fast enough. WikiLeaks now has Obama in sights.

inflagranti:

Please say something Intelligent, sticking to the subject. Your comment is all gibberish.

If and when the cretins who stole the files are caught, their cell doors should be closed, but not locked; a welder would do a better job.

The interesting thing is that we all knew,or at least,thought this kind of crap went on behind the scenes,but now,your crap is showing.Kind of like a conspiracy theory that just became a prooven reality.The little weasel who leaked the military info,that could affect the safety of our troops, should be treated like a traitor would have been treated 200 years ago, and hung.This other guy,Assanghole,has enough leaders in other countries pissed at him,maybe someone else from another country will put him offline,without any action from the US.......by the way,someone needs to get another picture of this scum,..Manning,,,seeing him in an Army uniform is offensive to me,and anyone else that ever wore the uniform with pride,and loyalty...............US.Army Disabled Veteran

F**K Julian A$$hinge and F**K wikileaks. This latest leak may be the most damaging of all. I may not agree with all U.S. foreign policy (that statement stands no matter which party is in charge) but I will always support the right to protect sensitive information.

This does nothing other than to further complicate our delicate foreign relations and has made a dangerous world even more so!! I fail to see any justification for the leaks other than to weaken the U.S. Wikileaks has to be silenced within the law or not !!!

I support our nation and will not only give my life in her defense I will take lives as well and I fully support the taking of the lives of the wikileaks losers if that is the only way to get them to STFU !!!

Since HONESTY in govenment DOES NOT EXSIST, I can see why government officials are concerned! No use the American People knowing the real truth on how corrupt their government is!!

akita - how true. However it is the nature of diplomacy to not say such things (personal opinions or attacks) publicly. That is why when state departments issue statements to the press it generally addresses the countries leadership as a whole rather than by individual.

It is apparent that assange wants to view such diplomatic cables as we would look at internet blogs. We have blog moderators to keep most posts somewhat civil and generally on point. What does assange have???

This is total propaganda. This story has the real target and that's Iran Someone trying to force Iran to make a move to so the US can strike look at a map all forces against Iran are on either side, afghanastan and Iraq. The leaked information was intended to be the match in the powder keg.

This is right from the old CIA play book right from WWII with a technological twist; release mis-information to see if the enemy is listening and respond accordingly.

HELLS PARTSMAN, I suppose you missed the part of the leaks that address many places other than Iran and the Mid-East. It also is about wherever the U.S. and other Nations have Diplomats. This isn't the Conspiritous "CIA" did it before the now famous "BUSH" did it, this has been years of international work on ALL Diplomats that has damaged the World as a whole. Not the U.S., Not Britan or France or Brazil, but the work of one idiot, Assaunge, and his followers, and one American Soldier, who emarrasses ALL Veterans and current Soldiers.

The World's Governments must have many thing's Secret, as an entirely "Open" Society cannot exist, the Enemies would know the strength's and weaknesses and make it an open target for ALL enemies, just as the Left want's to make America. We, America, are strong(much weaker after Kennedy, Carter, Clinton, and Obama) but we got that way by holding back with our Defence information and Diplomatic Cables. You may not understand this, but if you read History about the ORIGINAL agenda of the League of Nations(America didnn't sign on) and the UN, you will see the weaker World leaders constantly digging for control of the strong Nations, all under the guise of "Peace".

I, for one, and those that have dealt with the Diplommatic Mission on a Personal basis, get a very nervous chill down my spine when I think of the Damage these idiots have created, all of them.

Wikileaks and it's criminal founder need to be shut down now! The public does not need to know everything that goes on in government circles!

I agree....I don't want to know what the leaders are saying and planning. Just keep me & mine safe. There's nothing new in those leaks anyway. The MSM has been reporting that stuff for a year now. We have our own leakers!

However, if the leaks expose rape and theft by leaders, then I'm all for it.

and bet you told you wife hay I dont know that woman. maybe not the postings but the people that leaked this info are traitors. I held a top secret Clearance and that's all I can say.

I'm curious---what makes all of you think that a person who fawns over you and treats you like a brother to your face, but says what a POS you are to others when you're not around, can ever be trusted?

WikiLeaks may be able to hide behind the First Amendment, but anyone who leaks classified information to it should be tried for treason and punished extremely harshly. I am normally not a big fan of the death penalty, but this behavior is inexcusable. A 22 year old PFC has no business deciding issues of national security, or who needs to know what. Plus, unlike the garden-variety criminal, the death penalty in these cases would be a deterrent.

hell I said a lot of bad stuff about my boss but no body leaked it. people say unflattering about other people all the time look at the crap they say about sister Sarah or pres Obama. the same thing goes on in all walks of life but to make a international scandal is down right wrong Kill the SOB

Michelle - I am thinking that the cables sent are "in the raw" so to speak for a reason. The individuals gathering the data are probably tasked only to provide the data not analyze it.

Think of it this way... The original gatherer puts their own "diplomatic" spin on the info and passes it on to the next. Maybe the next person doesn't like that spin and puts their own spin to it. By the time knowlegable analysts get that info what good is it?

Grandma said it best, "If you do not have anything nice to say about anyone don't say anything at all."

Name calling is not a national secret.

That was THUMPER'S MOTHER who said that, you dolt.

The absolutely serious info is deeply encripted. However, when you have fools such as the "Soldier" editing and sending to ALL, the system is flawed. How to fix it? Well, we could start by making the UNAUTHORIZED leaking of ANY Diplomatic information a minimum 100 years solitary, no congugal or other visits, and the sentance non-negotiable.

This "Soldier" was obviously in the Communication link and had the access to give away the Documents and should never breathe a free breath again. There is NO defence for what has happened, like it or not. We are at War, and this is Treason, BY LAW!!!!

Conspiracy theroists have a "new" target to add to their imaginations, but this is a real threat, and quite possibly cannot be recovered from. Happy now, Liberals? And, you have to remember, this happened on YOUR watch, under your President, and, sorry kid's, NOT Bushe's FAult. This Diplomacy has been the rule since the Romans ruled, and as it happened in 2010, YOUR President has to accept responsibility, his Intel agents have known for a long time, yet he fails to act again!!!!!

But, my momma said it also. If anyone here thinks that we should have a complete open government, it is time for you to leave. Lets tell every country, every villian, every Iraq, etc what we are doing. Julian is a pieceof trash that should be thrown out of the world.

I this were a different era he would have been gone a long time ago.

Open government, you are just sleep walking. Wake up. I imagine most of the posters are retired like me, so you have nothing much to do, like me, and this is fun. But, do you all think you can protect this country with your little guns in the bedside table, etc.

Secret secrets

are no fun

Secret secrets

hurt someone

Ray-1033782, you an enlisted military soldier? I hope so. You should be on the battlefield, not ranting on an internet public forum like an al-qaeda extremist. The world has enough of them.

"Cannot be recovered from"? We'd recovered economically from 9-11, and a lot psychologically.

Just who are you protecting out there, Ray? Dick Cheney's dirty little secrets, or the lives of American citizens?

MIKE IN PORTLAND:

Who am I protecting? Well, for starters your freedom to sit at your keyboard and make stupid, uninformed statements. The people needing the MOST protection are the Soldier in the Field. If all of a sudden your "Allies" decide you can't be trusted, you become the enemy, and if that isn't clear, you are beyond help.
NEXT:
This is way before Dick Cheney. Just in some of our Lifetimes we have dealt with OSS(Became CIA, and guess who won WWII) MI-5/6, British Counterpart, and of course the Russin KGB, hell bent on blowing up America and all in it. I am also protecting all our Allies that cooberate info to us because the trust WAS there. I don't know how much you might know about international relations or the current World situation, but before you ask the "Stupid question of the Day" you might want to talk to those that pay attention and the facts from the Past over who gets hurt with "Open Government" spilling it's guts on the World stage.

As for your ref. to Dick Cheney, that post's you as a Liberal that would like nothing mmore that for our Gov't to be overthroen and become the Socialist/Communist State you on the Left worship. If that is so, well, some of our Enemies exposed by these releases would love to have you move right in, as all Free Americans would, really Free Americans, not just you wrapping yourself in the Flag to hide your real agenda. After you go to one of your "Utopia" countries, call back and let us know how you're doing, and, no we won't let you come back.

When you lay a bed of Government you must be very careful, because, just a VERY short study will show you just how badly the Left has damaged this Nation. NAFTA, Gatt concessions, free Nukes to our Enemies, that immediatly turn on us? Yes, that's very secure, but you and the Left can't figure that out.

Who am I protecting is the American People on the World Stage, but let me ask you, Sir, just who are you wanting Destroyed with your immature Ideplogy and ignorance of our Nations security, now badly damaged by you and yours.

This is an excellent question dude...if this was 5 emails or cables...ok, someone has a grudge...but the volume of information that has been leaked leads me to one of two conclusions...1) Barry is behind this to make us look stupid, as he is well aware he will be among the unemployed in 2 years, and he hates the US anyway...or 2) This administration is even more incompetent that previously thought...

But where are the indictments...someone should fry for these leaks...this is treason.

This is an excellent question dude...if this was 5 emails or cables...ok, someone has a grudge...but the volume of information that has been leaked leads me to one of two conclusions...1) Barry is behind this to make us look stupid, as he is well aware he will be among the unemployed in 2 years, and he hates the US anyway...or 2) This administration is even more incompetent that previously thought...

Unless all of the information in these leaked documents occurred over the last 2 years - your post is silly at best - borderline retarded at worst.

This guy is pure scum. The more he leaks the more likely it is that some country will whack him...and thre sooner the better.

Did you really think that Washington had control of the entire world ? This was done by an Australian based in London, while we may have some influence, we certainly have no control. You have way overestimated the power of the US to control everyone in the entire world.

Mike 416- You should read about things before you post your nonesense. This stuff goes back way past the last 22 months ! If you don't understand things, it is OK to not post about them and advertise your ignorance to the world !

No more "silly" than inflagranti delicto or David Walker in previous comments blaming Carl Rove or the Republican party. This Assange is not an American. He is a foreign national using espionage to destroy the United States.

KOV68, your "speculation" about this administration is a joke. As for incompetence, the Republican party had cornered that label with the election of G W Bush, and their follow-up act of sucking onto Palin / Beck and the Teabaggers!

And, YES, I can see such subversion as leaking classified info as being perpetrated by members of the Uber-Rightwing just to embarrass this administration. Remember, they had outed one of our own CIA agents to do the same thing not too long ago . . .and got away with it!!!

KOV68

This is an excellent question dude...if this was 5 emails or cables...ok, someone has a grudge...but the volume of information that has been leaked leads me to one of two conclusions...1) Barry is behind this to make us look stupid, as he is well aware he will be among the unemployed in 2 years, and he hates the US anyway...or 2) This administration is even more incompetent that previously thought...

But where are the indictments...someone should fry for these leaks...this is treason.

I currently live/work overseas as I do travel a lot.. and you're the type I like telling my friends about who don't believe me when I say.. that there are US citizens like yourself who just spew so much hate for this President its not even surprising anymore to Me.. bu to them it is lol! People around the World look at the Republicans and the Teabaggers.. and they are just repulsed by all that hate and fear mongering. The odd thing about all this 'wikileaks'... is that although it concerns World Leaders and what U.S Diplomats have said about them.. President Obama still remains to be 'favorable' by many people overseas lol.. If you mention Bush in some countries.. they get PISSEDDDDDDD and dont want to hear about him.. NOTHING! ZILCH! People overseas believe Obama is trying to Unite with Countries and not Divide like Bush has done.

pfc badley manning leaked all these classified documents...thats all wikileaks has is what he gave them. without pfc manning wikileaks would be nothing.

Chris Procter

I have not decided where I stand on the leaks issue yet, but I must ask the question why did a pfc (e-3) in the U.S. Army have access to 250,000 internal State Department memos.

who knows...im willing to bet that he ruined it for alot of young bright minded pfc's that would love to do intel work now.

"WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claimed the administration was trying to cover up alleged evidence of serious "human rights abuse and other criminal behavior" by the U.S. government."

Where in all this release of information is there any evidence of "human rights abuse and other criminal behavior by the U.S. government"? From what I have read, I have not seen it. If this was Mr. Assange's reason for releasing this information, as he himself claims it was, then it seems he has failed. Or is he lying about his real motive?

I was a 21-year old with some unusual training who had an NSA "Special Intelligence" clearance (higher than top secret) during the Viet Nam War. You don't have to have high rank to have a high clearance. What is more rare but not unprecedented is that he also had a "need to know" that gave him broad access to "stuff". Our nation is served VERY WELL by some young patriots, almost ALL of whom have kept our nation's secrets as needed...and believe me there is no merit in "outing" everybody's secrets.

There is such a thing as freedom of speech, but that freedom is (and MUST be) curtailed to protect other freedoms...even the freedoms of people in other countries. Bradley Manning is a very very small-in-inner-stature man who traded his country's safety and that of many innocent people named in these documents for 15 minutes of fame. Al Qaeda has already assembled their team which will hunt down people who are named who are within their reach because of these documents. When Mannings's first documents were released, Mr. Julian CLAIMED that names had been removed. Read the news from that time: they weren't all removed.

The result of all this is that people will be hesitant to talk with each other freely about important things. And people and nations will be driven apart. It smacks of anarchy, and is certainly espionage targeting the U.S. I would approve of anything the harmed parties want to do to cause this kind of dangerous action to stop. And that WILL happen.

We must be thankful for the countless thousands of young adults (and older ones too) who choose NOT to do as this traitor did, and who serve faithfully behind the scenes in quietly dramatic ways that will never be publicly known. To those who are even now scanning through these comments on behalf of your country....THANK YOU.

I'm all for transparency in government, but leaking documents that could compromise U.S. security or strategic advantage is potentially self-destructive.

The only time I would support leaking information would be to expose government abuse toward its citizens or military, or to expose treasonous conspiracies by the government against our constitution or our people, such as the elitist push for surrendering U.S. sovereignty and merging us into a global government "New World Order".

The funny thing about this so-called New World Order conspiracy is that it's being "hidden in plain view". All the facts are there for people to see, but most people still don't have a clue. What's worse is that even when told of this diabolical plan by world elites, people tend to dismiss it even as it unfolds in front of them.

THINK ABOUT THIS:

My college-age daughter once told me she thought the heads of Iran/Iraq/Afghan et al should be allowed to have nuclear bombs since the U.S. and many others have it. She was adament about that, saying "It's not fair." I tried to explain that I agreed it wasn't fair, but it wasn't possible that there would be a better world if there were MORE nuclear powers rather than less. She was arguing from what OUGHTA be, not from the real world.

Many people on this comment site just KNOW that opening up all secret communications between governments is only FAIR...it's how it OUGHTA be...and they simply do not KNOW. There are naive arguments about what OUGHTA be fair in a better world...and then there's the real world.

No, more countries having the nuke would not be a good thing.

And no, publishing the communications between the US and embassies and allies is not a good thing.

In a better world, that would make sense. We could all, like voyeurs, peek in at some things that "they" have kept hidden from "us."

But this is not a better world.

This is the world we have.

And Wikileaks has just smeared it with their flavor of ideological defecation while hiding behind the guise of doing a noble thing. They are doing this for headlines, for notariety, in the cause of anarchy....but not because it is a good thing. This is very very bad, and I support anything the harmed parties care to do to cause wikileaks to stop. Their freedoms stop at the point where they deliberately and frivolously hurt others.

THE DUDE, Post #4:

Its your Liberal incompetent friends that gave the Farm away here, so go ask ANY good Liberal higher "Education" Leftist instructor in our Schools and Universities how it happened. They have been fighting for and Preaching the fall of America since the 1960's and it looks like their "Dream" has come true.

Any National, State, or Local Teachers Union backs this type "Education" and forces our kids from Pre-K to PhD to learn the Philosiphy of the failure they teach under the Liberal/Communist/Progressive/Socialist Doctrine born in Berkeley, CA, at THAT great hallowed center of the American Communist Party.

Pfc. Bradley Manning has already spent 6 months in jail for releasing to WikiLeaks these internal government communications.

Pfc. Bradley Manning is being charged with crimes that could keep him in jail for up to 52 years.

Once it becomes clear what kind of price Pfc. Bradley Manning has paid, it will be hard for WikiLeaks to find another US government employee who would be willing to commit treason on this scale.

Washington has been out of control for 234 years. Kings and Queens and Presidents and Prime Ministers have been calling each other boneheads for 5000 years. Now our politicians have been caught doing it. In my opinion we should care less about some of this content and worry more about how these meatheads got their hands on this information. Looks like PFC Manning got into some of this stuff but how? What other information is lying on somebody's desk for some one else to steal and to leak out to the world. Information that could really do some damage.

As far as fear mongering and Republicans and Democrats and Liberals and Conservatives .... That's all crap. This is a bunch of @!$%#s who got some information and now will try to make a few bucks. Remember, in today's world of business and politics .... it's always the money.

I'm a Republican and have almost always voted Republican but these boneheads who go elected this month better remember a couple of things. We didn't necessarily vote for you. We voted against the other guys. I for one expect to see some work done. No more one dude trying to pressure the other dudes into screwing the American people. It's time for a few politicians to understand that we don't care who the hell you are. We want action. We want America to be America. We don't want out country given away to other people. who haven't paid for it and worked for it and fought for it. It's time for the politicians to get off their collective dead assess and work together. Stop being boneheads and get together and work out our problems. Stop throwing our money at problems instead of fixing things.

Remember .... in two years you too could be unemployed.

Not even Iran's Ahmadinejad cares what they say about him, so let's move on.

Dude there are some many cooks in that kitchen they are pulling numbers to see who is going to hold the spoon. Where have you been living under a rock. Half the stuff you are able to know isn't true and the stuff you are not allowed to know is.

Washington has been out of control for a hundred years now. Ever since the Federal Reserve and Bar Association was established.

Julian Assange is the UNAmerican who is leading this travesty and should be tried AND convicted of Treason against the United States Of America!! Others have been tried for Treason and punished for MUCH less!! This is VERY serious!

YES!!

Chris and Past or Present

My question about access was more to the compartmentalization of information than clearance level. Why would a PFC in the US Army, in the Mideast have acess to 250,000 internal State Deparment memos spaning every part of the world.

The Dude, your question:
I must be missing something. Who is leaking this info?

...Your "wonderful" government.

Why can't they stop them from leaking?

...It's your wonderful Obama administration government.

Is Washington totally out of control?

...YES!

I didn't vote for him, did you?

Steve Thompson,

Your mother was a wise lady, but she was no diplomat!

This is a very calculated move I'm willing to bet half of the informants in this are lower level terrorists, this would cause descention in the ranks. Saying kerzai is a push over and weak would make the higher level al-quiada want to come to the negotaiting table (story about that last month).

No, Wikileaks is definity a mis-information tactic; why else hasn't the information officer been charge with treason. Only the guy who created wikileaks has been named as he's not a citizen and thus cannot be charged.

Comspiracy, Conspiracy, Conspiracy!!!! Nope, it WAS an American Soldier that supplied the links and info, and if you read the WHOLE story, from different "news" agencies, it becomes very plain very soon that this was the action of having the information you need to stop a Terrorist, but still have to beg the UN before you can act outside your borders.

Another Obama failure, and yes, he can be blamed for this, just as he and the Left blame Bush for every thing from the Extinction of the Dinosaurs to Bellybutton lint. This is a FAILURE of Obama's Intel agencies, he's the "Man" in charge now, so it follows it is his fault.

Ya know, it sounds like if you don't have anything nice to say, Don't say anything. In the case of our stupid diplomats, Don't Write it down for someone to disclose it! And YES they are stupid regardless of their credentials!

Ray-1033782 so, an American commits treason by delivering those documents to a foreigner that then publishes them and this is Obama's fault; you know they are called traitors because they betray the trust.

Yes, romilio, they BETRAYED the trust, and Obama has been doing that since Jan 20, 2009. He has only been surpassed by Clinton for damaging America and giving it away as fast as possible, He is the man keeping the Border OPEN for all comers, not just Mexicans. He is the Guy that had Hillary give out another Nuke Facility, State of the Art, to India in March 2010, with NO RIGHT to inspection, he is the guy that showered over $875 BILLION in stimulus on FOREIGN Banks and Auto companies, he is the one that has NEVER had a Domestic policy that was miutely successful. Yes, I do blame Obama, he is the President, He is the CEO of America, happy now Libs?

STEVE your mama is fat & ugly there I said it to your face:

Ray that's just down right idiotic!! lets blame Obama for everything Probably to blame for the Civil War? Oil spill Katrina all that crap get real:

IMO the only one this really reflects badly on is the POTUS who promised transparency but was unable to deliver but I guess he has in a way. good to see someone agrees.

I notice we get what we want in information. We know who our politicians are screwing, and why. But not their motivation when representing our country. The problem with democracy is we get what we want, not what we need. Want proof that most folks don't know what they want over need. Look at almost every lottery winner. They are broke.

customer1 - sorry, but wikileaks released the data intact. the NYT edited the names out.

Names have been protected where necessary and prudent so I see nothing except the reality of international diplomacy

State department data needs to stay 'raw' until the state department has been able to confirm the data, analyze its impact on the US and then release a statement that won't (hopefully) make the target of that statement appear to be a fool.

Haven't you ever done the game of "pass it along" in elementary school? By the time it makes it to the end of the chain the message is rarely the same as at the start.

customer - I couldn't agree more. We have a right to know how we are being represented around the world. Every word spoken should be spoken with the full knowledge that others might hear and weigh our words. Look at what happened with Nixon and the White House tapes over the Watergate scandal. The things he was recorded saying certainly made him appear less than Presidential and clearly out of line with the will of the people.

Are you completely retarded or something? They have Middle East leaders on record saying that Iran should be attacked. Hillary bad mouthing all the known European leadership and worse. The Obama administration is totally irresponsible and the whole cabinet needs to be impeached..

So you think transparency is a big deal yet you post on here as Customer 1? That speaks volumes. Wiki is endangering lives here and creating distrust amongst allies...

No its not you @!$%#ing tool.

You are basically saying this.

"If you don't do anything wrong, what do you have to hide?"

When the government says this so that it can spy on you and monitor your internet and tap your phone lines and do TSA searches(even though this is necessary and people need to quit bitching), people like YOU BITCH that the government is invading your privacy and blah blah blah

So do you really think that YOU have the right to force this on the government? To see what they do? They are American's too, they have the right to privacy too.

And to those thinking this is Obama's fault: spoilers, it isn't.

Assange has been doing this for years, much longer than Obama has been in office. The reason the Government or any government hasn't killed him yet is because this is stuff they already know.

Thats right, the Gov't isn't worried that this information is out so that some foreign Gov't sees it, they are worried that their PEOPLE will see it.

I couldn't agree more. We have a right to know how we are being represented around the world. Every word spoken should be spoken with the full knowledge that others might hear and weigh our words.

If you truly think this, then the Gov't has every right to spy on you and know everything you do. Checks and balances

I do NOT think the government "has the right to spy on you and know everything you do." However, our government has already assumed that power. (By the way, that power was used wisely in the Portland, OR non-bombing.)

As you say, government officials around the world already know this stuff. Now we can, too. Wiki-Leaks is our check and balance.

CUSTOMER1:

Explain how the World will be better, when this Jerk has destroyed many, many, years of Diplomatic Relations Worldwide, not just here in Amerika as the Libs want.

You are foolish. I wish there was a better, more polite way to put it, but there simply isn't.

Now, diplomats around the world are going to keep everything to themselves. Gee that will work out GREAT! Have a problem communicating? Then shut up completely! Perfect solution to ALL the world's problems! Be careful with every word you say, and make sure nothing ever gets written down. We should implement the exact same strategy on all email and Facebook accounts RIGHT AWAY! Everything gets released to the public; nothing you've ever written about anybody is sacred. It's the exact same thing, and won't effect national security, only personal privacy, so why not? Hey it's no big deal. Right?

I disagree. A certain amount of secrecy is required to run a government and especially with foreign relations. This is true in business as well. I can see leaking information about illegal activities or something like that. But to leak information for the sake of leaking it is irresponsible. He has taken a noble idea and totally lost site of what is really important. Now he is just a self-important person that endangers lives for his own gain.

If one takes time just to read aa few lines, Saudi Arabia wants the USA to nuke Iran and also Saudi Arabia wants China to nuke the USA. Isn't Saudi Arabia supposed to be our ally? Remember during "Desert Storm" when we invaded Iraq, the people of Saudi Arabia were shown dancing at night cluns in England. There is something wrong with this scenario. Our soldiers are dying and their people are out partying. And now, I read, Saudi Arabia wants the United States nuked.

The person involved in leaking these documents is Australian. Read the story.

too bad they can not release the other stuff that has been stored forever...this is just the tip of a very huge iceberg , that needs to be blown right out the water. Needs to be made so that ANYONE can read and see how our government is screwing us left and right, while we sit in our warm little houses (without jobs)and think they are protecting us, when in fact they do not give one care about any of us. And the other "countries" that we are suppose to be helping and protecting is only using us for their own gain, and all the money they can get out of us. And then laughing at us....when we fail, and we will fail cause that would not work into their plans

Blanda---its not like everyone didn't know Hillary had disdain for them anyways.

Aquatone, Ray---if everyone has been lying anyways[and they have], how could telling the truth be worse?

Hal---if the Kennedy assasination report had been issued when it came out, instead of maybe in 2031, the Republican party wouldn't exist, and they couldn't have that, could they?

Again, MIKE IN PORTLAND

Because, Moron, if you let all your stuff out there for all to see, you HAVE NO DEFENCE!!!!!! Do you understand now? NO DEFENCE =NO FREEDOM= NO AMERICA or ALLY's to assist in keeping the Rouge and plain bad Nations in check.

DO YOU GET IT NOW, IDIOT???????

As I placed in another post, if you truly believe NO damage has been done, Mr. Mike, place all your personal info here, Full name, SSN, Address, credit card #s, family names and addresses, criminal History, children and ages, where they go to school, how much you earn, Bank account #'s...and you might just get the Idea. OH, and DON'T forget to post EVERYTHING about EVERYONE you ever knew that you stated when they were NOT present, but found out from your "Friend".

OK, Brainiac, waiting for your "No Secrets" Posting. Same exact thing!!!!!!!!!

"Intelligence" in this State Department?

An obvious oxymoron.

Reckon Obama paid this guy to leak this info so he could continue to destroy the US?

JOHN: #7

The US developed the system, along with it's Allies. HOWEVER, the Internet was created and Developed in Switzerland( Not by Al Gore, as he claims), and it was designed so that the World could communicate much faster. BUT, as in any WAR, you have traitors, NOT HERO'S, giving away the encrypted links for a few pieces of "silver".

Also, EVERY Computer that can go online has a NIC, or Network Interface Card, and that is where your IP Address comes from. It does not matter if you have a 500 or 5 GIG Modem, because the NIC controlls your speed. It was the Network Admin, the person in charge of the net, where this American Jerk was feeding info to his Wiki partner, and that is the point where the failure was. The Soldier is absolutely at fault, but so was Admin monitoring of traffic on that Particular network link. Does that excuse anyone? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! BUT, it sure makes the Liberals, such as Clinton/Gore, OBAMA/CLINTON/BIDEN that would destroy this Nation want to dance in the streets, because these "international" failures take the focus OFF their uncoutable Domestic Failures during their Administrations.

Any way you slice it, this happened on OBAMA's watch, not Bush, Not Bush Sr., not Reagan, but as the resultant inaction and "Openness" policies of the Clinton and OBAMA Agenda
to Destroy America at every turn.

Traffic-fanatic: you can alway move to Iran or North Korea!!! They would love to have you move there because of the disdain you have for the US.

Bernie,

Having distrust of our government could not be more patriotic. Disliking the elected officials and their polices is a far cry from not loving America. Truly you can not see the forest for the trees.

BigRed23

Having distrust of our government could not be more patriotic. Disliking the elected officials and their polices is a far cry from not loving America.

Just so I have this straight - you have disdain for people YOU put in office. Got it.

To nobigdeal: Have you traveled by air recently? If you dare to compare airport security before 2009 to what is happening now you will find that the TSA methods have become much more invasive.

The Bush administration may have set up TSA but the methods used today are endorsed by the Obama administration. This isn't Obama bashing, just the simple truth. And, like you, a truth Assange isn't interested in either.

You started it.

The media may report the hatred for the U.S., but get out there accross the borders, travel the world some and actually talk to foreigners, most have no hatred for the U.S., for every one that does theres probably 100 that don't. I've met hundreds and most feel I am very fortunate to hail from the U.S. World hatred for the U.S. campaigns are usually fired up and brought to light by some liberal trying to get a gullable mans support. The poor have no means to travel so therefore never know the truth.

nobig deal - puhleeze... your posts, your comments...

it was not him that changed the security mode to patdowns, it was the tsa administration officials appointed by bush that did.

traffic fanatic brought up the tsa and i said this has nothing to do with it. you then responded to me not me to you continuing with the tsa thing.

you're a perfect example of what i mean when i say spinning

this has nothing to do with the tsa airport security...which in case you didn't know was set up by the bush administration not obama.

You have just shown us all on how to ignore points brought up by others and spin the points thru a step by step ommision of them to arrive at...

so take your pathetic ignorant obama bashing spew somewhere else

wow! i hope you have small feet or a good dentist because taking that foot out of your mouth may caus some damage

BTW, who does the head of the TSA report to? Bush or obama??

keoni-1581939

The media may report the hatred for the U.S., but get out there accross the borders, travel the world some and actually talk to foreigners, most have no hatred for the U.S., for every one that does theres probably 100 that don't. I've met hundreds and most feel I am very fortunate to hail from the U.S. World hatred for the U.S. campaigns are usually fired up and brought to light by some liberal trying to get a gullable mans support. The poor have no means to travel so therefore never know the truth.

What you say is not actually always the case.. I live overseas and I have lived in quite a few different countries also.. when Bush became President for another term.. people outside of the U.S were wondering if everyone was smoking crack!! We look from the OUTSIDE-IN and saw the damage this man was causing the entire WORLD! The recession he caused in the U.S.. not only affected the U.S but also Countries that had Exports/Imports deals with Companies there that had liquidated or just couldnt continue with their contracts no more.. which put Companies overseas into recessions of their own. What used to be regarded as the 'Power Country of the World'.. became Public Enemy #1. People really hated americans that I came across.. it wasnt until the 2008 campaign elections.. did the World start to warm up to America again.. as evident with Obama visiting countries doing speeches overseas and pulling in crowds in the Hundreds of Thousands.. or the time he was elected President and people ALL over the world watched in hopes that he would become President.

During the 08 campaign and the first 12 months of Obama's presidency.. the World was really cheering on America to work with this President (blue state, red state, repubs or dems/libs) so that the Country could heal from the devastation of jobs lost, economy almost plummeting to being a 'great depression' etc.. and rise up once again. But the World sees how he was only in office for a year and he was expected to have everything on a silver platter served up ready to go.. the expectations of this man.. was very frustrating to watch! sometimes people would say.. 'wow, look at how those americans treat their president, calling him a nazi, saying hes not US born citizen, saying hes not doing enough, moving fast enough with fixing things, claiming that hes Muslim when he went to christian church all his adult/married life; and even if he was Muslim, was that a bad thing to americans?'...... they started to say things like.. they hoped America as a Country would Fail and that President Obama should be a 1 term president so that you can go through another 8 years and many more years of self destruction to teach them a lesson! It hurt and made me so angry to hear those things being said.. and how much they were losing faith in the American people. The term 'illegal aliens' they find offensive in countries outside of the U.S.. they say the way Americans use that term on human beings is disgusting, like theyre of a different species to us, when theyre not.

Anyway.. alot of people i know from living/working overseas.. have alot of faith in this President and see the Good in what he is trying to do to move America forward. Their attitude towards American people is somewhat getting better.. and these countries used to look TO America for Education and Work etc.. Now theyre running away with top education and the best ranked graduating colleges in the world, best in maths and science students in the world etc while America is now trying to catch up!

This is not the first time something like this has happened. Through out the history of our country it does happen. The reaction from the government is always the same, release of these documents will cause deaths and distruction of our country. It was the same old thing when the "pentagon papers" were leaked. Our country survived then and it will survive now.

As some on said "the greatest disinfectant is sunshine." These were not "top secret documents", these were classified documents. It appears that only one who didn't know what non-sense was going one were the taxpaying American public.

You are an idiot.

Youstfu love your Obama love story, I've visited several foreign countries during Bushes presidency and not once during conversations did our Govt. policies even come up. In case you've missed it , there has been no support for Obama's economic plans from foreign Govt. no support for increasing military role's in Afghan.,no support for taking Gitmo prisoners, look at the number of votes that go against us in the UN, Iran continues to thumb it's nose at us , North Korea attacks the South so where exactly is the love?

traffic fanatic -- that's rich! obama and pelosi is the problem right? you really need to start watching other channels than just faux news

CAN'T YOU READ, NITWITS!!!

1st of all - I included politicians as the root of this world wide hate of America. Not just democrats - Not just republicans.... Political leaders - whom I didn't vote for as they are NOT deserving of my vote. I voted for OBAMA and I truly apologize for that. I was fooled like so many others.

I also said that the American people are NOT hated but our government is. Why? Because of the same issues Wikipedia is now bringing to light. The US government cannot be trusted by anyone, not even within itself.

For those imbeciles who want to question my patriotism .. I'll align my military record with anyones. I weep for what this country has become and for the US citizens who are so blind.

As far as moving to Korea - as much as I disagree with and dislike their leader - there is an honest protrayal of him and his policies. Can you say the same for the US government?

People need to wake up and see where these politicians are leading us. People in other countries do see and don't like it.

I have been all over the Globe during the Vietnam era as a service man I dident see a lot of hatred over there, Alas I did in Oakland Calif My family was Housed in Berkley I did not dare to wear my Uniform downtown.

Todd-320745 hay Todd I got banned for a month for calling people Names LOL

Bernie,

Naw, we'll just stay here in the USA and when we get rid of bozObama everything will be okay again.

If a computer is on the internet, it is compromised, simple as that. Should computers containing classified documents be kept off the internet? Absolutely. Are they? Not at all.

Many were not classified, others were not given a high enough security classification, none were encrypted. The use of these channels of unsecure communication by diplomats is insane !

As another poster said, once something goes on the internet, it is available for everyone to see if they know where to search, and stays out there forever. People should remember that, every email and tweet goes through thousands of servers and can never be erased or taken back. If you don't want the world to know about something, do not put it online in any way shape or form. There are lots of people who wish they could stop photos, blogs, tweets or emails from continuing to circulate on the worldwide net, but once it is on there it is on there someplace on some server, forever. Think about that before you post the next photo or story on Facebook or anywhere else. Would you be happy if your future potential employeer, future spouse, future partner, children or grandchildren saw what you are posting ? Whatever goes onto the internet will become attached to you and your name forever, and will continue to pop up the rest of your life.

How did they get access? Someone posted them there. Perhaps you're unfamiliar with how the Wiki system works...

It was a PFC in intelligence. He copied @!$%#-loads of documents that he leaked and he is under arrest. The question I have is, How did a PFC get to that kind of information to begin with?

To be a little more specific - the Spec 4 has/had a Security Clearance. He was on an internal network commonly referred to as "SIPRNET". SIPRNET can hold documents classified as high as SECRET. The Spec 4 used a USB Drive (8GB? 16GB? 32GB? bigger?) to take/smuggle/steal copies of the documents out of the secure facility.

To be clear, when the US Government grants a US Citizen a Security Clearance the individual signs documents that state very clearly that they AGREE TO protect the information and NOT disseminate without going through proper legal channels. Needless to say, it also says that anyone who does not adhere to those agreements can and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The kid is living with that part of the agreement now.

What this kid has done will cause irreparable damage to the United States of America because foreign diplomats will NO LONGER trust us to have have honest and frank conversations about other countries, their leaders, and their intentions/desires. Exposing this information, these high level diplomatic discussions - that leaders of other countries trusted *us* to protect, could very well lead WARS - that would cause untolds THOUSANDS to die in.

For WHAT?

For this leach of a person, Julian Assange, to make some money and "bask in the glory of 'standing up against' the United States of American." His actions could lead to the destablization of the Middle East, and therefore to war with a now NUCLEAR CAPABLE IRAN. A country that is just itching to drop a nuke on Israel ... what do you think will happen then?

How does that all that sound to you??? Does that sound like a "good thing" to you?

Julian Assange is threat to very existence of this planet - and he needs to be dealt with as such.

PFC Bradley manning leaking out these documentsm just wikipedia search him and youll get the whole scoop.

Noone trusts our "diplomats" anyway. Every diplomat ever to hold the title is a used car salesman with better clothes. The same is extended to every country on earth!

ehf svas

"Assange is a threat to the very existence of this planet".

No he's not. He does seem a threat to your sanity, though.

mike in portland - you and I would appear to agree to disagree.

You claim that that I have lost my sanity

I say that you look at this world we live in with Rose-Colored-Glasses and dont care to deal with the dark realities of what it takes to keep the people in our country safe. When a person like him takes information like this and publishes it for the world to see, exposing behind the scene negotiations, where world leaders are trying to find ways to deal with real EVIL, very dangerous threats to everyone - like Iran and North Korea - yeah, I see things a whole lot differently than you do.

And yes, when he exposes requests like the King of Saudi Arabia asking the US to take out Iran - a Muslim country asking the US to take out another Muslim country - that is a VERY dangerous thing to do. We have no NEED TO KNOW those kinds of things ... because of the very dangerous aspects of those types of requests.

That information could lead to assasination attempts on the King of Saudi Arabia by Muslim extremists in Saudi Arabia. What good does that do for the United States of America?? ABSOLUTELY NONE ... ZERO.Does America need that happening and having Muslim extremists take over power in Saudi Arabia too. What good did it do for YOU to know that piece of information. NONE WHAT SO EVER!

You and me, everyone else on this planet, learning that piece of information has ONLY put peoples lives at risk - when all they were trying to do was figure out a way to handle a MANIAC DICTATOR in IRAN, and trying to keep him from getting his hands on a NUCLEAR WEAPON.

Now - that MANIAC DICTATOR in IRAN knows that the leaders in other Muslim nations have designs on taking him out. How did that help ANY OF US??

Is that a good thing ... or is that a bad thing.

In my book, Julian Assange is just as much a terrorist as Osama BinLaden.

someone with a top Secret Clearance stole them: now they need to find him or her and shoot them.

Folks, you must realize, once again, that our "wonderful" government is run by a bunch of narcisistic politicians that hire other narcisistic high-level, high-paid potentates to run things. ALL of these people are only concerned with their own fortunes and circumstances. Any relationship to what they do and their supposed patriotism to their country is purely coincidental.

Were you one of those that got caught fraudulently cheating on taxes, etc.?

Except that this wasn't done for the dollar, this was done because a man who likes to do other men is unhappy with the military's policy regarding DADT. He was upset with this policy and decided to sell out his country.

There's truth in both claims. Though I queston "loyal" as well as "upset". He did this because he could and because he's petty.

I don't think this man is an American citizen and that's the reason why the U.S.A. can't do much to stop him. I would guess that if her were a citizen, he could be tried for treason. Or at least SHOULD be..

He's not .

Where on earth did you get the DADT idea from?

This type of behavior is putting our American soldiers in harm's way even more so than ever before. I cannot believe that an individual would be that selfish as to expose our young people who are defending America against terrorism. This I say to you, God do not like the ugly. Im not your judge, however I can not stop the judgment of the intelligent master of creator of all there is from touching you, and touching yours, as you have touched ours that are constantly trying to secure the United States of America. Your selfishness will be your destruction. Remember the story of Moses and the Israelites. When he came down to the last plagues of 10, Moses told the powe was that be that the plague would indeed come forth from thy own mouth.

Whoever is leaking top secret documents of the United States of America who is indivisible and for justice and liberty for all, watch yourselves!!!!!!!!!! We the people will seek you out and stop from the destruction you are trying to put upon this country.

Bernie

Its not like Dick Cheney hasn't done the very same thing---sell us ALL out for the almighty dollar.

Good night, America, and good luck.

So Chai? Your government hasn't done something similar, or worse?

The Swiss like to hide behind secrecy laws to make money by collaborating with Nazis and helping people evade taxes. Screw them.

Rich

Now THAT I agree with.

Truth hurts, doesn't it?

Do you actually believe you are being fondled by other hard working Americans just trying to earn a paycheck? Do you think they enjoy patting down passengers anymore than you like being pat down?

If you dont like it - dont fly.

I was against WikiLeaks, but it exposes the lies being told by Governments that have caused more damage and killed thousands. The Government is the enemy and the only solution is Sunshine.

As for submitting to the will of the Government and allowing your rights to be violated in the name of security, that's a path for sheep.

***Fst Ede***

Welcome to the world of the internet~ Let the info. flow!!!

Man, you ARE an idiot! Let's put this down on a scale that your brain can process: You, all your PRIVATE stuff.. like...let's see... bank account info, financial info, health treatment records, MASS PRODUCED, and given to your worst neighbors, least liked co-workers, least liked relatives and in-laws. Just because SOMEONE can do it without any care about you OR your reputation.

NOW DO YOU GET IT?

As is typical, Mike, you missed the point.

Yeah, you're right...I DON'T have to fly if I don't want to. But why should my choices only be: 1) Fly, but subject myself to gestapo-like procedures, or, 2) Choose not to fly because of these draconian policies, and thus willfully deny myself the mode of travel that has become contemporary?

Hell, why should we, as Americans, choose to let our government promote fear? I do not fear terrorism, mainly because an isolated attack (9/11) does not indicate a wide-spread problem...it indicates a criminal act.

Indy - something to consider, is a serial rapist or killer not to be feared or guarded against? How about the bully, burgler or vandal?

911 an isolated attack??

We don't let the government promote fear, rather we want the government to institute policies that will protect the US citizens.

I fly also and other than the size of the planes being more compact than when i first started using aircraft for transport I will take the 10 minute loss of individual dignity to arrive at my destination.

itolduso - What government lies are you referring to?

Sunshine??? Seems more like wikileaks is promoting cloudy and stormy skys

do you have the ability to collaborate the statements made in the cables to be authentic... without another governments feeding disinformation and by calling it truth?

I don't need to spend my time on data and analysis I can't verify, I have to have some element of trust in the state department analysts to come to the right conclusion.

American-2051576, if you want to live in mortal fear about everything, that's your prerogative.

But next, instead of just refuring everything I say, why don't you post a rational argument in opposition? Your post didn't actually make a point. Would you like to go for Round 2?

Furthermore, if you're so afraid of rapists, killers, bullies, burglars, and vandals, how do you suggest we prevent these crimes from happening?? How much of your civil liberties are you willing to voluntarily give up to feel "safer"? You may feel free to give up some "individual dignity", but many Americans would disagree with you.

Hey Indy have you ever been pulled over and searched by the cops, whats the difference , you guys whine if they do and whine if they don't

No, they will just find other ways to skirt the truth. Face it! You no more want to hear the truth from a politician than I or any other person out there do. We all want to hear what we want to hear. Even the false promises.

Conrad- I call it "incrementalism". Nearly everything that is done by our government in the name of "security" is performed at a snail's pace, so as to make change very slowly so it will not upset the general population.

Just think of what the public outcry would be towards the Patriot Act and FISA if they were created pre-9/11 and without "cause".

But our government will continue to shove new policies down our throats until there is enough backlash to make it politically dangerous to continue. My only concern is that, at that time, we may not have enough civil liberties left by which the People have power to redress the government without fear of prosecution, or government impunity.

I think you mean Sweden, but he might, he looks like he would enjoy a stint in prison.

thanks for the correction..

I just wonder about Assange's status in Australia, his home country.

Apparently the Australians are investigating him to see if they can find something to charge him with. Good. The US wasn't the only one embarrassed by this so I doubt they are the only ones lookingto stop him. The thing is even if not treason (b/c apparently that requires that the defendant be an American citizen), I find it hard to believe there isn't some crime under US law that covers receiving of stolen secret material even if the individual receiving the stuff isn't a citizen or agent of a foreign power. If there isn't one, there should be since someone could just as easily sell it to a foreign power as put it on the Internet.

Couldn't agree more

Agree 100%.

Allow me to play the Devil's Advocate here, Susie.

Our country has the largest military in the world. We spend more than twice on defense than the rest of the world, combined.

We have continuously reigned death and destruction around the world, at whim and with complete impunity, for the sake of "spreading freedom", "security", or resource allocation.

Just because we CAN invade other sovereign nations doesn't warrant the rationale to do so.

What Julian Assange is doing is simply holding our government accountable for its actions.

I fear a government more that has immense power and control, yet operates in in secret without transparency, over any short-term embarrassment that may result by these "leaks". I seriously doubt that these leaked files will contain enough sensitive data to compromise any tactical operations on the ground. Instead, I feel the backlash may be more political in nature. And although that may affect our government's reputation abroad, I hardly think it can do anymore damage than has already been created by the two recent wars of aggression.

SO, I do not believe these leaks will result in any significant death or damage. Instead, the policy-changes that may result could possibly save more American lives than the opposite.

Besides, if these documents were classified, where did Assange get them from? The scapegoat of the year, Pfc. Manning, has been removed from any access. So he couldn't have gotten them for Wikileaks. Hmm, who else is behind all of this, I wonder.

Well, let me answer the best I can, Indy.. First, no where do I say that the release of these documents will cause death and destruction.. You need to READ what I wrote.. There was absolutely NO reason to release this crap to the world media, period! It was done with viciousness and maliciousness, no other reason..

If you really believe that anyone, anywhere needed to know this junk then you are as much a fool and twat as Assange, Manning and the rest of the worthless idiots that released these documents in the first place! They are doing it strictly for the publicity, nothing more.. It hurts us as a country and they deserve to be punished for it, severely.. I'm not sure what you mean by 'IF these documents where classified', unless you know something the rest of us don't, then I don't follow your thinking on this..

As for who else is behind the theft of these memos and docs I have no idea.. It's not my job to ascertain that, it's the FBI's and the NSA's.. Everyone involved in this should be put on trial as enemies of America and acting in the capacity of terrorists to undermine our government and it's people.. Anyone thinking these thieves (and that is basically what they are) had the 'right' to do this is as sick and deluded as the entire group!

I'm all for 'freedom of information' but stealing private and restricted documents from the United States Government is way out of line and, while it may not cause anyone physical harm, it sure as hell can cause the country a lot of political harm by hurting our standing in the global community!

Oh, don't worry, this is the least of things that has hurt our standing in the global community. We manage to do plenty of that without WikiLeaks' help.

wow i feel so safe with these losers in the white house what a joke we are becomeing. say what you mean and mean what you say............. if you dont want it read dont put it where it can be posted..DUH

So, you've so far alluded that I'm a "fool, a twat, and an idiot" for simply disagreeing with you. And you expect me to continue to afford you the same respect I generally expect from other posters here?

You have chided me for stating that I believe the US has fomented death and destruction around the world, which it has with impunity, but no where did I attribute this comment to your post. In fact, my statement was my own, with no reference to you, actually.

Though, you did say, to paraphrase, "...and no one.....has the right to compromise America's security and standing in the global community..." So, I took that to assume that you were alluding to the notion that these leaks will cause hardship for America, which one could safely infer that you mean "death and destruction".

My statement concerning the classification was not to imply that the documents might have been UNclassified, it was to preclude the suggestion that Assange may have worked in concert with another person or entity, beyond what we already know. So, Susie, some more careful reading of MY post may be of help. Besides, don't scour my post looking for small, insignificant phrases to discredit me by; that is unprofessional and unproductive. You would fare better to read others' posts for context and meaning.

The point of my post was to suggest that these leaks are no worse than the corrupted policies made by our government on a regular basis. If I were a soldier serving currently, I would far more concerned about my government placing me in harm's way, rather than any blowback consequences made by Assange.

And furthermore, I'm not sure Assange's purpose for releasing these documents had so much to do with damaging the US, as much as it may be to disclose the malevolence and corruption that persist at the top levels of our government. If exposing the corruption directly places us in a situation that causes harm, then I would argue his motives. But I do not believe transparency is such a bad thing.

Just remember, Susie, we live in America; the place that is supposed to represent the "shining city upon a hill". This is not Soviet Russia, or fascist Germany, or junta Burma. This is America, where integrity once stood for something.

Indypatroit so where exactly did we go reigning death and destruction around the world on a whim and what business is it for a foreign national to expose any of our short comings maybe he should concentrate on his own country . I think you might have forgotten all the good the US has done all over the world, no you just want to focus on the negative, If you were a soldier don't make me laugh sitting on your butt on the sidelines seems more likely

Indy, there has always been corruption in every government, probably since the first one was put in place, simply because there have always been, and probably always will be, corrupt and greedy people involved in it..

Your thinking that it's perfectly fine for anyone, even someone from a foreign country, such as Assange to induce, through whatever means, American citizens to betray their country by giving out classified information (and it doesn't matter a bit what it is) is beyond my understanding..

However, I'm really not interested in arguing with you anymore.. You assume what these people did was perfectly fine which, in my book anyway, makes you no better then they are.. You are definitely entitled to your opinion, no matter how twisted it is... Go join the staff of WikiLeak, I'm sure they can use you..

One word describes the situation..........Foreigner!!!!

I would think it would be the opposite, whereas our government should be tried for treason. We should fire, or better yet hang all of Congress as an example of what treason, theft, and lies have done to our Constitution. Same for the Supreme Corrupt, or Court. Amazing how politics are now institutionalized there, as well. No citizen should ever think they are "above the law."

I would personally like to think Wikileaks and it's founder for showing the American people what our country is all about. It's like "Survivor" on steroids.

How about all your e-mails, phone conversations and thoughts on those be posted online for everyone to read? You'd like that too I bet.

These leaks are not "truth" they are OPINION. The OPINION of the person typing the cable. You people talk about truth and lies in such absolutes. Perhaps if your "truth and lies" were made public, you'd be singing crap about PRIVACY instead...

And if people are killed in the process, well, that's the price for "truth"? You need to think about what you regurgitate.

The problem here is that this in no way lead to more honesty and openness. At all. It will simply lead to more secrecy and if diplomats are unable to be candid about their opinions, they will simply start being more secretive. Maybe just word of mouth. Which ALWAYS works well. Right? Ever heard of the telephone game? A diplomat has the RIGHT to discuss candidly - and in private, what his opinion is, otherwise, what is the point? You get to know everything now. Woot! Now these diplomats may face possibly dangerous situations and the inability to go in and put on the face (even false, if needed) to keep war from breaking out in some areas of the world - it's a dangerous balance in some areas.

Another thing: This jerk did not have to release EVERYTHING. About Afghanistan: Well, we all knew a lot of that anyway. About other countries views on Iran? It could be disastrous. Let the blood be on his head if anything happens because of this. Lakerman is right. What is the price for truth? Do the means justify the ends in this situation?

This man should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And again: He has a lot of blood on his head if any of these leaks tips a delicate balance in a dangerous direction that a diplomat was trying to keep in place. Some of these dictators are CRAZY!!!!! Mentally unstable if you ask me. They don't care who they kill. Keeping them in line is HARD.

I am a raging liberal - in some cases I believe the revealing of the truth is necessary. In this case? Absolutely not. Shame on him and shame on those who think this will just blow over and nothing will come of it. "His jest shall savor but a shallow wit, when many more weep than did laugh at it." William Shakespeare

Momus - It really has nothing to do with these organizations going "paperless". Let me remind you, this individual did not "hack" a government system, he was given access to it by the government itself. This was a soldier just like all the others that we herald as a "hero" fighting for "freedom", "liberty", and "justice". All words that have been strategically marketed by our government much like, "new", "improved", "reformulated", etc. that you find in the grocery store.

Access to these types of documents is not restricted to a handful of individuals. As a public contractor I interviewed for a position where I would be granted access to virtually the ENTIRE database of Veterans Affairs records. Sure I would have to go through a security check, which isn't really difficult if you are a normal person that keeps their nose clean. My point is, this type of information isn't locked up in super secret vaults like you see in Hollywood, thousands of people everyday look at this information. I'm surprised it has taken this long for that info to get out.

Finally, let's not be upset about this. We do the same thing to our celebrities on a daily basis. Look at our tabloids, TMZ, and of recent Tiger Woods. I remember those that longed for the most information justifying it by saying he "deserved" it for what he had done. Regardless of political affiliation, both sides of the aisle have done wrong. If North Korea launching artillery to a populated island killing people didn't start all out war, I seriously doubt leaking a few documents of what people said will cause a global nuclear meltdown. Follow me?

At the same time let's not minimize the precident; Arrange thinks he is bullet proof and invisible. He needs to be taught a lesson for others to learn. That should be a # one priority. I prefer dead martyrs to live villains!

You call people 'twit's' and talk of 'immaturity and name calling'. Shows exactly what kind of person you really are!

I think you meant "refrain".