I have read the Wikileaks home page as well as their explanation of their goals and purposes, and why they think what they are doing is a necessary thing to make the world a better place - but I don't see it in their actions. Frankly, I believe that secrets have a place, and while some of them are kept to protect the guilty and should be revealed, that others protect the innocent and should not. In spite of all their claims of redacting and editing out names of people who they believe may be harmed by the release of information, I don't honestly believe that Wikileaks has a rational grip on that idea.
First, the Wikileaks information releases focus primarily on Western nations. Every nation in the world has state secrets, and I find it hard to believe that NO asian nation has anyone willing to reveal the various travesties of justice that may have happened on their home soil. It's almost like South America and Asia don't exist as far as Wikileaks is concerned. Or have their realized -to a man it seems - that people like Assange are the greater threat? That the destabilization of international relations which seems to be the goal of Wikileaks makes this world a MORE dangerous place, not a safer one?
Second, Assange's data releases are timed almost exactly like a kidnapper would carry out threats to harm their victim - the only difference is the apparent lack of demand for a ransom.
The most recent response to the pressure he is under appears to be the release of a list of assets around the world which would harm the interests of the Unites States if they were attacked by terrorists. There is absolutely NO benefit to be found in releasing such information; all he can accomplish by this is let terrorists know where they should strike to do the US the most harm. Wikileaks says this release was to invalidate claims that diplomatic personnel don't spy out strategic information, and defends this release by claiming they haven't revealed what security measures are in place, or where the most vulnerable locations of each asset are, but this is a stupid defense. NO fortress is impregnable, and the BEST protection against terrorists is keeping them from finding out what the best targets are. Remember, these are people who think a good form of attack is to walk into a crowded marketplace full of innocents with a bomb strapped to your chest, and then blow yourself up. OF COURSE what information diplomatic people run across is gathered and evaluated. Every country does that, and it would be incredibly foolish if they didn't. Who doesn't make a point of remembering things they learn about other people and places in case that information is useful in the future?
Assange's history shows a deeply held resentment of governments and authorities of all kinds. From his early hacking days in his home nation of Australia to his current role as the founder of Wikileaks, his internet goals have always been the embarrassment of various entities who had kept secrets for any reason he didn't like. Now that he is reportedly seeking asylum in Switzerland, I'd be surprised if there were any leaks about that country. I'd be willing to bet that his purported goal of "providing a universal way for the revealing of suppressed and censored injustices" doesn't extend to a country he hopes will protect him from the anger of the others, and from the justice he faces for his own sexual misadventures.
The real problem is that things like a diplomat's opinion of the leaders of the country he is serving in don't constitute a "censored injustice" in any way, shape or form. That Saudi Arabia doesn't want to publicly reveal their true feelings about Iran's president isn't an injustice. That a Chinese official doesn't want his personal opinion of North Korea's Kim Jong Il, as expressed in a private conversation with a US diplomat (who he HAD to know would pass it along to his superiors), revealed to the world isn't injustice. It's sensible caution. Wikileaks is led by and composed of immature people who don't get that.
Which is why I believe that Julian Assange and Wikileaks are a greater threat to peace and stability on this planet than even any valid injustice they might happen to reveal, and as such they need to be stopped. For the good of us all.
I will NEVER in ANY WAY support or help Wikileaks. I will not contribute to them, I will not "like" them on Facebook, I will not support anyone who advertises with them (there are no advertisers on wikileaks that I could find, BTW), and I will not host any information for them.
I WILL support severe penalties for anyone who betrays his oaths and his country by contributing to wikileaks, and I WILL rejoice at Assange's eventual downfall. This man is a bigger threat to the planet right now than Osama bin Laden.
