Julian Assange and WikiLeaks Essay -- Politics Current Events

WikiLeaks is more than just a website. It is one of the fastest growing, nonprofit news organizations in the twenty first century. With millions of documents posted, WikiLeaks has recently released over 250,000 documents related to US Embassy message traffic; a majority of which are either Secret NOFORN (No Foreign Nationals) or Classified. The disclosure of these documents has seriously impeded diplomatic relations between various countries, with the US being the primary target. In these various â€Å"cables†, as they’re commonly referred to, the internal thoughts and opinions of several high ranking United States officials is laid bare for anyone with internet access to observe. Many would claim that this is an extreme exercise in Freedom of Speech; simply keeping open the lines of communication between our government and its people. This is a righteous faà §ade of the truth. The reality is this: WikiLeaks is damaging. It is damaging to our country’s ability to present a coherent and clear diplomatic embrace to our friends and allies alike. The people releasing the material don’t seem to share the same assertion of the consequences of their actions. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims: â€Å"Since 2006, we have been working along this philosophy that organizations which are abusive and need to be [in] the public eye. If their behavior is revealed to the public, they have one of two choices: one is to reform in such a way that they can be proud of their endeavors, and proud to display them to the public. Or the other is to lock down internally and to balkanize, and as a result, of course, cease to be as efficient as they were.† (TIME) In theory this sounds fine, but the context has to be set properly for this argument to ... ...for it. Works Cited Stengel, Richard. "Transcript: TIME Interview with WikiLeaks' Julian Assange - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews. 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. . "A Breakdown of the 251,287 Diplomatic Cables and Their Potential Fallout." Washington Post – Politics, National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines WASHINGTON POST, 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. . Condon, Stephanie. "Poll: Americans Concerned WikiLeaks Dump Will Hurt the U.S. - Political Hotsheet - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News. 03 Dec. 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2010. .