[Yollopoliuhqui]

>I don’t think they are going to go down easily as this article suggests. Seems more like wishful thinking or disinformation campaign to me.

Nail, hammer, head. This Wikileaks thing is basically about the inherently democratizing effect of technology and the withering away of top-down hierarchical data distribution and filtering. It’s a modern world, boys and girls, and independent sources of data axiomatically means independently operating humans, something tyrants and their bootlicks and lackeys are having less success at stomping out. The only danger Assange & Co. are causing to US foreign policy is embarrassment, and, last I heard, the causing of embarrassment is not a crime in democratic nations.

[Renderofveils]

The only danger Assange & Co. are causing to US foreign policy is embarrassment, and, last I heard, the causing of embarrassment is not a crime in democratic nations.

How about the information that was released about President Seleh's (of Yemen) under-the-table deal of allowing the US to perform missile strikes on AQ targets in Yemen while still allowing his people to think that he hadn't taken sides in this matter? You think that's not going to damage US policy with Yemen when (not if) he gets his neck cinched? You think Middle Eastern countries that we're trying to establish stronger relationships with see this as merely a small incident of negligence? There is a great deal of danger about this whole affair to both US foreign policy and other nations' leaders.

[BuckeyeTexan]

I agree with your thoughts up to the point about the only damage being embarrassment. We don’t yet know the unforeseen and/or long-term consequences of WikiLeaks’ actions in publishing this data. IMHO, the damage is yet to be determined.

[longjack]

the withering away of top-down hierarchical data distribution and filtering.

'top-down hierarchical data distribution and filtering' sounds to me like the model wikileaks itself uses.

Withering for thee but not for me?

[wasp69]

The only danger Assange & Co. are causing to US foreign policy is embarrassment, and, last I heard, the causing of embarrassment is not a crime in democratic nations.

Really? So you think that the purposeful undermining of our alliances is no big deal? Having any leverage the US might obtain against an enemy to bring about a non-shooting end to a crisis taken away is not a problem?

Interesting....

[Chunga]

The only danger Assange & Co. are causing to US foreign policy is embarrassment, and, last I heard, the causing of embarrassment is not a crime in democratic nations.

Wikileaks has identified at least 100 operatives working against the Taliban in Afghanistan who at this point all have bullseyes on their backs.

Don your conical hat and go sit in the corner.

[hinckley buzzard]

Confidentiality of diplomacy has been a standard understood by every American president since, and including, George Washington. Only the mentally grandiose and unstable Woodrow Wilson had the hubris to suggest "open covenants, openly arrived at." We all know how that idealistic tactic worked out.

I understand that you are historically illiterate, but take this as your first lesson in the real world: No serious person has ever agreed with your idiotic perspective.

Cheers.

[Christian Engineer Mass]

“Wikileaks thing is basically about the inherently democratizing effect of technology”

It’s a fundametally biased issue. It’s only American important secrets that are leaked, because only America has a society that allows people who hate the country to be inspired by mass media and sneak into positions of responsibility.

If it were equal - ie. Russian/Chinese important secrets were also released, then it would be democratizing. Otherwise it’s just another burden on the only genuinely free country on the planet.