Latest Wikileaks
This blog has been relaxed about Wikileaks thus far. Mostly they have been about who thinks what of whom in diplomatic cables mixed with analysis of foreign governments, which does not accord with official statements. This is not unhelpful in modern democracy, in which there are too many hidden secrets which are not secrets at all, or if they are, too often classified to protect political positions rather than true national security. Voters have a right to know what is really being done by the people they vote for.
Today’s batch of revelations is rather different. This includes a list of various installations around the world that the U.S. regards as central to its national security. There are two implications. Although none of the locations is a secret establishment according to initial reports, providing a handy list may very well help some terrorist organization, many of which are relatively unsophisticated and under resourced, as well as under pressure both from security agencies and their own followers.
Another reason is that many of these locations are in countries with a lower, or much lower, rating as a potential terrorist target than the United States itself. It would be wrong for them to be moved closer to the firing line because they have a facility which produces something the U.S. needs, or thinks it needs. For example the strategic importance of Australian anti-snake venom is unclear.
It is now important for Wikileaks and the newspapers involved in the publication of highlighted documents, to consider very carefully whether what they do really is good for democracy and freedom or whether it is bad for both those things but good for selling newspapers. There is a Rubicon here and it must not be crossed.