Asshat Rep. King wants WikiLeaks to be declared a foreign terrorist organization

[zulchzulu]

I'm sure Rep. King (NY) remembers the Pentagon report last October that said that the WikiLeaks from the summer didn't do any damage, but I digress...

No U.S. intelligence sources or practices were compromised by the posting of secret Afghan war logs by the WikiLeaks website, the Pentagon has concluded, but the military thinks the leaks could still cause significant damage to U.S. security interests.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1015/Wikileaks-US-says-limited-damage-from-leak-of-Afghan-war-logs

However, the same guy who was one of the spear chuckers who protested the Muslim Mosque a couple blocks from 911's Ground Zero now wants to essentially hide what many think should be truth released.

On Morning Joe (and I'm sure wherever a studio TV light is on), King went into Hyper-Fear Mode regarding the impending leaks from WikiLeaks.

[SpiralHawk]

1. Human Beings want Republicons declared Domestic & International Terraists

...for the ongoing Republicon Assault on truth, honor, integrity, and decency, not to mention War Crimes.

[rfranklin]

2. The truth is always damaging...especially to the liars

Most of all, however, King gets to screech on the TV and that is most fulfilling.

[karynnj]

6. This is NOT truth

Go read any of the cables that have been put out. They are reports written by diplomats that document conversations by diplomats and leaders. What is true is that you can say that this Amir said .... to ...., about country X. That does not make it true. What it is is raw material that combined with other information and the understanding of the diplomats involved can provide the president with a better view of what is happening in complex many country problems.

I have read a few and they actually contain no surprises. They are not far from things I have heard watching the SFRC hearings available on their site. The difference is that sometimes, diplomats in the hearing would say "Arab leaders say" where this pin points exactly which leader said exactly what. There is a huge distinction.

[rfranklin]

7. My comments were in reference to the Bush junta and..

their inexorable march to war. Much of it, as you say, is reportage.

[karynnj]

8. That makes sense - but most of what I have seen is post attacking Iraq

or far earlier than GWB.

I would say that if this were like the Downing street memos, American version, it would be comparable to the Pentagon papers. However, it seems more a mish mash of documents that were not carefully selected to get to a hidden truth.

[dipsydoodle]

3. There's a long queue for that

and the dumwad is conveniently ignoring the fact that the CIA are at front of that queue.

[Vinca]

4. The Bush administration should have been declared a terrorist organization.

[karynnj]

5. This is very different than the Pentagon Papers

This leak appears to be many state department cables that describe what diplomats are being told by different leaders and their opponents. It is not showing a pattern of deception - but it is making public conversations that were private. It likely could make it less likely that leaders will be open with American diplomats.

Here is John Kerry's view:

"The release of classified information under these circumstances is a reckless action which jeopardises lives by exposing raw, contemporaneous intelligence," said Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"This is not an academic exercise about freedom of information and it is not akin to the release of the Pentagon Papers, which involved an analysis aimed at saving American lives and exposing government deception," he said.

Instead, these sensitive cables contain candid assessments and analysis of ongoing matters and they should remain confidential to protect the ability of the government to conduct lawful business with the private candor that's vital to effective diplomacy, he said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/outraged-us-lawmakers-demand-wikileaks-be-shutdown/717630/

This also will likely be used by Republicans to criticize the Obama State Department. I really don't get how a low ranked soldier could download cables - from all over and from past decades to the present. There really is a security problem here.