[Requiem]

Dear god, don't you people talk about anything anymore!?

What are your thoughts on the recent documents (or "cables") released by Wikileaks? It appears to be causing quite a political upset in some respects but in others, nothing revealed comes across as particularly damaging to me. Should we be defending the right for this information to be leaked, or should the founder be prosecuted? Is this really going to cost lives? Is it damaging to the USA's foreign policy? There's so many questions to be asked!

Discuss.

[KennEH!]

I heard there were security leaks, are not those important to keep from public eye?

[Requiem]

... but it's more significant than that. It introduces a lot of awkward questions no-one really wants to address, and a great deal of the blame is being shifted around to avoid what I consider the more important issues. Let's take security within our government and its services:

How is it that the computer systems were so insecure that someone was able to download this many documents undetected? Of course, these systems should be based on "trust" to an extent but this should tell you that anyone actively working against the US could well have been doing the same at regular intervals. It's not impossible that this information has been leaked to other governments in the past, without anyone's knowledge. Then there's freedom of speech:

I would draw some parallels to the Matrix which has never been more relevant as a metaphor for our lives than right now. We all live in a system of control and it grants enough "freedom" to give a feeling of empowerment; a sense we are able to make our own decisions. But the moment a decision damages government in any way, those rights slowly disappear. Some would argue that the cables are damaging national security, international relations, an attack on democracy itself, but most of the information revealed was assumed already.

And for the right to privacy which diplomats claim is essential? Governments are allowed to tap into anything you do, gain record of every location you've been (from your phone, and it does happen), add GPS trackers to your car without your knowledge, and much beyond. Citizens don't seem to have a right to privacy, so for diplomats to turn around and state that they should have it is utterly hypocritical. Of course I'm not so naive that I fail to understand why it may make their job easier - similarly true for our security services. But I'm not going to take the "right to privacy" argument seriously without some more convincing wording.

Perhaps these leaks will change how governments act - but it's doubtful. It makes me ask why "diplomats" are not a lot more straight forward and upfront in what they're doing, though. It seems a bit like kids in a playground getting caught out talking about one another behind each other's backs. We're getting democracy and diplomacy laid bare, here, and I think it's fascinating to read.