Wikileaks? I think its better that the American people know more rather than less about what ...

[NNN0LHI]

... our government is doing.

Our government would prefer to keep us like mushrooms, in the dark and covered in shit, if they could. They like it that way. They don't want well educated and informed people voting. We all know that.

When the people find out whats really going on it ruins everything for them. This has nothing to do with keeping Americans safe. It has everything with keeping Americans stupid and controllable.

Don

[LostInAnomie]

1. You're right. The Manhattan Project should have been common knowledge.

As should all the names and location of our agents around the world.

Knowledge is power!!!

[Pholus]

3. Yeah, and the Tuskegee Syphilis Project and Agent Orange and nuclear bomb testing of troops and

on and on and on.

But I suppose you think that those were all okay?

Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

[LostInAnomie]

11. No, you are completely correct. Every bit of knowledge and intelligence our government has...

... should be public. I mean, these people work for me. We all should have access to our nuclear codes. We all should have access to all the contingency plans our military has in case we are attacked by another country. We should know exactly the type of cyber protection our military computers have. Why shouldn't everyone be privy to the exact locations and movements of our troops in Afghanistan? Shouldn't we know the names of everyone is informing our country from inside Al Qaeda?

Sunlight is the best disinfectant! If I don't have access to all that they have to be hiding something!!!

[MNBrewer]

13. You're making an argument against the "leaks" with information that wasn't included in the "leaks"

[Pholus]

15. You're kind of hyperventilating. See there are differences between tactical and policy secrets.

I know you're trying to build a straw man that your opponents are some kind of wild eyed extremists but really you're being silly.

Is it okay that we quietly deal with an oppressive regime we publicly denounce for the benefit of some of our businesses?

See, it's only a secret because of the embarrassment disclosure brings because it's, well to not put to fine a point on it, immoral.

Being the U.S.A. means we have a set of values. If we're going to ditch them in the name of expedience, that should be a PUBLIC decision.

There is a difference between secrets kept for the survival of our NATION and secrets kept for the survival of some of our POLITICIANS.

Thank you for playing though. It was kinda cute.

[LostInAnomie]

16. And how is the survival of our nation helped when our diplomats are undercut?

Remember back in the day when DU was sooooo pissed at Bush's knee jerk use of the military to solve our problems? We lamented how if only he would have attempted diplomacy war could have been averted. Well, guess what. Assange and wikileaks just fucked US diplomacy.

Diplomacy requires a certain level of confidentiality. The people you are talking to have to know that if they are going to give you sensitive information or are going to speak openly with you that you can keep it on a need to know basis. They aren't going to work with you if they think that whatever they tell you is going to be all over the internet in exact quotes.

These leaked communications aren't going to shine light on a damn thing. They are going to only increase government secrecy, make diplomats more tight lipped about what is being discussed, and make our intelligence weaker because our sources will be afraid to be completely open.

Thank God we mangaged to find out about Gaddafi's big boobed nurse, Putin's bro-mance with Berlusconi, and Prince Andrew being an asshole though. That all makes up for setting our diplomacy back years.

[Pholus]

17. A *far* better argument than your original one.

And I am sympathetic that the people hurt worst were the diplomats because they do some fantastic work. I pretty much agree with you here.

But it happened. All we can hope is that some of the less honest brokers might worry about their legacies since slapping "secret" labels on everything won't be a guarantee that it won't see the light of day.

Probably not though. Unfortunately, we're long past a time when accountability can be expected.

[MNBrewer]

12. Sorry, thanks for playing

None of this is "Manhattan Project" level material. PLUS, they redacted (with the help of the State Department) any documents that would endanger people's lives.

[stray cat]

2. Should your employer have open access to your correspondence and speech?

There should be no right for privacy for employees

[Pholus]

4. As I pay them, the U.S. government IS my employee.

[Canuckistanian]

10. The wrongful dismissal suit would be a bitch

:D

[Pholus]

14. :) Well they haven't given me notice yet at least....

[MNBrewer]

5. They already do, while you're at work.

[pacalo]

6. It is we who put these people in office -- at least that's supposed to be the concept.

What they do is in our name, supposedly for our welfare, & funded by the taxes we are required to pay.

[treestar]

7. Overly black and white thinking here. We will never "no" everything

There are many enormous government agencies all doing all sorts of things.

Diplomacy is one area where we would hamstring our public servants if they had to reveal everything.

Do you know what the IRS is doing? every little bit? Why aren't you as interested?

This stuff is classified for a reason, not to prevent us from "noing" some sneaky thing they are doing.

[NNN0LHI]

8. Thanks, I fixed that

[Pholus]

9. Some things need to be held close, but we seem to be making a LOT of secrets these days...

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/