Saturday 4 December 2010

WikiLeaks: A Thought or Two …

Hmmm …

You know, I can’t help but admit, I’ve been following the WikiLeaks story — on and off — for some time, now.

And I’m having a few mixed feelings about it.

On the one hand … ?

Yes, I’ll quite happily admit that I — and probably a few other people — are worried how this affects our troops on the ground out in somewhere like Afghanistan.

Whether I think their being there is the right thing to do is another matter: I don’t.

Nonetheless, they’re there, with a job to do, that puts their lives at risk.

On the hand … ?

They’ve been ordered there by politicians.

For the most part … ?

When it comes to ordering troops to a front line, especially one I’ve felt has iffier motivations than the politicians would have us believe, I think WikiLeaks is possibly doing a good job.

Now, I know journalists are capable of making a hash of things.

While I think FIFA’s selection of Russia as the venue for the next football World Cup had a lot more going on than we think, I also think that the various Sunday Times and Panorama exposés of corrupt practises didn’t help.

Just as an example.

But WikiLeaks releasing the various US government cable messages is another matter, I think.

I think I’d like to know more about my government’s relationship with that of the US: seeing the ambassadorial cables can only help that.

Oh, and embarrass a politician or two, which can’t be bad.

Which is part of the problem, I think.

Embarrassed politicians means …

Well …

I think it means that somebody’s putting the squeeze on WikiLeaks: especially when you know its founder, Julian Assange, has an arrest warrant aimed at him.

And that PayPal’s cutting its links.

Make your own mind up, there … … …




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