The government is guilty of over classifying. They mark their lunch lists as top secret. There has been an attempt to hide the actions of the government from the people . They work for us . I do not respect the classifications.
The government objects because the info shows they are acting badly. It shows they are doing things in the name of the people, that would offend us.
It shows our tax money is going for payoffs and supporting despots. It is information we need to be able to properly judge the government and the military.
Well, there is this quote:
“If they are US spies, then we know how to punish them.”
by Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman. From here.
To make things even more fun, Assange then tries to lay the blame on the Pentagon and Amnesty International. Linky.
When the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, the International Crisis Group and Amnesty International asked Assange to redact the info, Assange not only put the onus of redacting the info onto those groups, he threatened Amnesty International if AI wouldn’t provide staff to do the redactions. Link.
Here is a tweet from Assange.
“Pentagon wants to bankrupt us by refusing to assist review. Media won’t take responsibility. Amnesty won’t. What to do?” Link.
It seems to me that the onus is on Wiki and Assange. Leaking info then going back to redact it is a little ass backwards. (Ok, a lot ass backwards).
It is pretty clear that Assange did not give a fuck about anyone mentioned in the leaked files. It was only after he was called on it that he tried to do anything about it.
On preview, Ravenman said it much better than I have.
Slee
This is something that has actually rubbed me the wrong way about the whole operation. How is it that Wikilieaks is not simply trafficking in stolen documents?
Trying to make sure that classified information that is considered sensitive or higher doesn’t leak out to the general public and the world at large?? Imagine that! The fiends! 
Well, it’s considered a crime to release classified information to outsides sources. I’m not sure if it’s considered to be treason, so that might just be hyperbole on their parts. They are probably not talking about Assange, though, but instead they are referring to the people who released the information.
As for your freedom of speech bit, that’s ridiculous. If Fox news printed classified information detailing top secret plans for US weapons or detailed plans and intelligence for US operations in Libya, would that be ‘freedom of speech’?? Do you think that all secrets that the government has should be open to the general public and the world at large? I.E. that the US shouldn’t have any secrets?
If China and Iran both ban Wikileaks it’s probably in a preemptive strike in case some embarrassing shit comes to light on their own activities and Wikileaks publishes it. It doesn’t make Foxnews like China or Iran.
I don’t read or watch Foxnews, so I don’t know what their specific issue is or has been. My guess though is that you don’t grasp why people other than Fox have a problem with what Wikileaks has done, or why it’s an issue. You seem to think that it’s perfectly acceptable for classified government documents to be released willy-nilly to the general public and made available to anyone in the world who wants to read them. This goes for more than classified documents that are from the US. Releasing sensitive inter-government discussions and comments about other countries can have real and serious impacts on diplomacy…or can stifle discussion if there is a fear that anything you write might be released by some idiot who feels the public just HAS to know all about it.
-XT
It can also reveal that our government is acting differently behind our backs than they claim in public. How do we properly judge our leadership if everything they do is classified?
I am a believer in fresh air and sunlight. I do not trust our government to do the right thing. We need to know what they are doing. They lie to us all the time.
Oh give me a break. Sharing tens of thousands of classified State Department documents is not something to be taken lightly. To say so does not make me an Iranian apologist.
I wonder if the people likening the American government to the Iranian and Chinese ones also think of Jonathan Pollard as a hero? My guess is not.
Oh please. Not all actions by the government are classified. It it hard enough to be progressive with our current system - hey, can you write a research paper with 300 other congressman and agree on the facts? Of course not. You really want to open up foreign policy and national security for three hundred million people to debate before anything happens?
mutters to herself
Way too much is classified. It has been an ongoing joke for the last couple decades as more and more gets classified.
I would rather open it up than let people like Cheney decide our energy policy behind closed doors with only energy companies having input.
We helped overthrow a democratic government in Iran. We did the same in Chile. We are capable of doing great harm. Sunlight makes it more difficult.
More Dubious Secrets: Systematic Overclassification of Defense Information Poses Challenge for President Obama’s Secrecy Review We are silly with classification.
It doesn’t mean that WikiLeaks isn’t a real threat.
I see it as a positive. So much evil has been done and the people should know about it.
Quoth xtisme:
Yes, of course. Presumably, they got the information from someone who knew it by virtue of having a security clearance, and that person committed a crime. But the network does not have a security clearance, and didn’t commit any crime. One might, of course, consider their actions reprehensible, but it’s not illegal.
Quoth sleestak:
What does this have to do with anything? Every government knows how to deal with spies, and it’s pretty much the same way for all of them.
So…your real problem is with a representative form of government then? Right?
-XT
True enough…afaik there is nothing except common sense that stops news agencies from printing classified or secret data. Good point.
-XT
Wikileaks is a step up from Valerie Plume, and I wonder at what point could the Justice Dept actually prosecute a journalist. Did those journalists only point fingers to one guy?
The scenario given is much worse than what happened, but if Jonathan Pollard can be prosecuted for sharing secrets with the Israeli government, can’t a newspaper be prosecuted for sharing secrets – big ones – with the world?
Seems like freedom of speech will hit a wall eventually.
No, because the newspaper isn’t responsible for keeping those things secret, Jonathan Pollard was. In many ways, it’s the newspaper’s duty to publish news items that are brought to its attention.
Assange has little regard for anyone but himself.
Exactly what benefit is gained from detailing locations of government or military facilities previously not disclosed for a reason, or the names of people who are informants for the US in hostile environments.
Search Google for his views on afghan informants who aided the US.
What makes you say that? Assange is revealing the back door crap our country does. That is a good thing. he is providing a service for us to better judge ourselves.
There is very little that should be classified. The government is doing it to cover up their transgressions.
The banks did horrible things to the economy and bilked its customers. We have to know to properly judge them. Wikileaks said it will release a lot of bank emails. Wouldn’t you like to know how badly they took advantage of us?
Assange is being threatened with jail .That is thinking of himself?
About a month ago, Dr, Sanjay Gupta had a half hour program of the connection between cell phones and brain cancer. His claim was after time there has been enough evidence accumulated and it indicates a connection. That was before the HMO report.
I am not prepared to state it is a fact, but I would be wary of spending too much time on the phone.
But we haven’t had a case where a newspaper printed, oh, I don’t know, nuke secrets. I think the government should be allowed to prosecute for serious national security threats, don’t you?
As far as I know, it hasn’t gotten that serious. But it could.
Someone alert the government to not trust him with any secrets.
There are newspapers and journalists that the US simply cannot prosecute, though, by virtue of their location in other countries. ETA: To be more accurate, they cannot meaningfully prosecute unless they convince the other country to extradite someone whose crime was committed out of the jurisdiction of the United States, and which, if the crime is something like espionage, carries a maximum penalty of death. Good luck.