# Is Wikileaks a threat to United States national security. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 30, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526 "2011-01-30T18:02:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/121 "2011-02-03T06:46:24Z")
> **[Bradley Manning Is Being Tortured](https://www.newser.com/story/107624/bradley-manning-is-being-tortured.html)** > > Glenn Greenwald takes a long look at 'inhumane' detention Here is a Glenn Greenwald article claiming he is being tortured and is a whistleblower in the purest sense of the term. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/122 "2011-02-03T07:03:20Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Being is solitary for 6 months is torture. You can understand that, can’t you? He is in solitary. He is not being tortured. Being in solitary sucks, I’m sure, but it ain’t “torture”. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/123 "2011-02-03T07:05:21Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > [Bradley Manning Is Being Tortured](http://www.newser.com/story/107624/bradley-manning-is-being-tortured.html) > Here is a Glenn Greenwald article claiming he is being tortured and is a whistleblower in the purest sense of the term. Are you friggin kidding me? Your proof that he is being tortured is some journalist making the same mistake you do in equating solitary confinement and torture?:rolleyes: Unbelievable. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/124 "2011-02-03T13:01:04Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Are you friggin kidding me? Your proof that he is being tortured is some journalist making the same mistake you do in equating solitary confinement and torture?:rolleyes: > > Unbelievable. Didn’t you read the cite? He doesn’t have a pillow! I’m sure there’s something in the UN charter about that kind of inhumanity. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/125 "2011-02-04T01:51:09Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Wow what a scaredy cat. Terrorists always make huge claims in the hope they can scare little people into giving up their freedoms. > Some half assed band of terrorists got extremely lucky in 911. The fact is they have been chopped to pieces and have little power. But they can make absurd claims about the damage they can do . Some people will believe them. > Will they get lucky again? I don’t know but even that will not make me want to give up my freedoms. Did you notice my main point was on Iran and North Korea-conventional powers-not terrorist organizations? > [@](#): > > ``` > Bank of America and the other banks have gotten bigger and bigger while we proclaimed" too big to fail[ was an evil. There is nothing they did that shouldn't be public. They were crooks and deserve no [protection. If we prosecuted them , there is a chance to clean them up. Skipping any action because they are too important is against everything we theoretically stand for. Justice and paying for your crimes are important cornerstones of our republic. > > ``` > > Theses arrogant jerks gave themselves huge bonuses when they crashed the system through total mismanagement and fraud. They argued that they had to retain their super high class staff by loading them up with tax payer money. They had nowhere to go. All the banks were crashing. Yet some people are dumb enough to buy that argument. > What keeps them from doing the same thing now? They got away with it and made a fortune. Let them face the law like any other criminal. Then the new management might do the right thing. So would you be willing to risk a double-dip recession in order to do this? ---
**Author:** ![Nadir](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nadir/32/7302_2.png) [@Nadir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadir)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/126 "2011-02-04T03:00:29Z")
The only reason the moron is in solitary is because he had a clearance with access to tons of classified material and has proven himself untrustworthy to the nth degree. Try to read all the nonsense into it you want, but that is really all there is to it. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/127 "2011-02-04T03:11:59Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Didn’t you read the cite? He doesn’t have a pillow! > > I’m sure there’s something in the UN charter about that kind of inhumanity. > > Regards, > Shodan All hail the return of the brave keyboard warriors who sneeringly compared waterboarding to fraternity hijinks! A few days in near-complete isolation and you’d be soiling your drawers and crying for Mommy. ---
**Author:** ![Nadir](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nadir/32/7302_2.png) [@Nadir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadir)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/128 "2011-02-04T03:21:29Z")
From a DoD news Briefing, 29 January: “He’s not being held in solitary confinement. That’s a misnomer, among many in the reporting of this case. What I – let me describe how Private First Class Manning is being held. He is not in solitary confinement. He is not in isolation. He is in max – he is a maximum-custody detainee in a prevention-of-injury status. He is not on suicide watch. He is being held in the same quarter section with other pretrial detainees. He’s allowed to watch television. He’s allowed to read newspapers He’s allowed one hour per day of exercise.” They are just making sure he doesn’t get beat within an inch of his life. Read more: [http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/303067#ixzz1CxNHzyPd](http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/303067#ixzz1CxNHzyPd) ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/129 "2011-02-04T03:25:46Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Did you notice my main point was on Iran and North Korea-conventional powers-not terrorist organizations? > So would you be willing to risk a double-dip recession in order to do this? Actually doing nothing risks a double dip. Note the fine bankers are at the same damn things again. They are just lying away and giving themselves huge salaries and bonuses. The system needs to be fixed to prevent another banking failure. The bankers are fighting hard to keep from installing regulation of any kind . They are buying politicians and sending in the lobbyists with the message that all is well, trust us. The system was distorted and set up for their benefit. It has to be fixed . ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/130 "2011-02-04T04:14:46Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Actually doing nothing risks a double dip. Note the fine bankers are at the same damn things again. They are just lying away and giving themselves huge salaries and bonuses. > The system needs to be fixed to prevent another banking failure. The bankers are fighting hard to keep from installing regulation of any kind . They are buying politicians and sending in the lobbyists with the message that all is well, trust us. > The system was distorted and set up for their benefit. It has to be fixed . Some regulation was already passed last summer. But I don’t suppose you’ll be satisfied until we get European-style regulation? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/131 "2011-02-04T16:27:24Z")
I won’t be satisfied until the bankers and ratings agencies are punished for wrong doing. There has been a push lately by the justice department. The ratings agencies were captured by the bankers. They admitted in front of congress that they were AAA rating crap. But their companies are paid by the banks. If they rated them accurately, they would have been frozen out. The ratings agencies also have a regulators role. They were bought. The Repubs fought hard to get the financial sector unregulated. They succeeded with the Dems they bought off. The regulation we passed was watered down by the Repubs. They fought hard for their benefactors. They were a huge disservice for the American people. The bankers have been wallowing in tax payer money. They are rewarding themselves with gobs of it. They are fighting even agencies like Warren’s, that is just designed to inform people of what the loans and credit cards actually mean. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/132 "2011-02-04T16:32:55Z")
> **[Bernie Madoff's Relationship With JPMorgan Should Shock No One](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/madoff-jpmorgan-chase_n_818591)** > > Bernie Madoff's Relationship With JPMorgan Should Shock No One Only a small example. JP Morgan knew that Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme. Emails show they were joking about it as they funneled customer money to him. They were making millions without doing any work. What responsibility do they have? Can they be trusted? ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/133 "2011-02-04T16:49:31Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > So would you be willing to risk a double-dip recession in order to do this? Maybe you’d explain to us how holding the people and organisations who caused a worldwide recession and trying to prevent them from doing it all over again will do this? Is it one of those ‘back off or the economy gets it’ hostage situations? The whole lot of them should have been put before an international financial crimes against humanity tribunal modelled on Nuremberg and shot. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/134 "2011-02-04T17:24:21Z")
What is a threat to America is unregulated bankers and unregulated financial industry A poorly regulated industry will also do the trick… Another is an unbridled defense department . They are both in bed with politicians . They gobble up the wealth of America while putting the country in ongoing peril. ---
**Author:** ![Nadir](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nadir/32/7302_2.png) [@Nadir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadir)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/135 "2011-02-04T18:57:01Z")
[tongue-in-cheek]So yeah then, wikileaks is no threat. On the contrary, they may be the saviors of the republic if they can manage to uncover enough damning evidence against the banks and Dod to reign them in.[/tongue-in-cheek] ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/136 "2011-02-04T19:37:06Z")
No tongue in cheek at all. That is exactly what they claim they can do to Bank of America. Who is the threat, the bank that lied and covered up illegal and unethical behavior that resulting in crippling the world economy or the people who let the info out? For me it is easy. Whistleblowers are a huge benefit to society. Thieves like to do their work in the dark. ---
**Author:** ![Nadir](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nadir/32/7302_2.png) [@Nadir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadir)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/137 "2011-02-04T19:57:15Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Thieves like to do their work in the dark. So do spies. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526/138 "2011-02-04T20:22:31Z")
> [@Nadir](#): > > So do spies. SO. Assange has shown his face in public.The bankers are hiding behind layers of management and laws they had crafted to protect them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-wikileaks-a-threat-to-united-states-national-security/569526.md?page=6)