Wikileaks and the El-Masri case: Innocent CIA torture victim more than just a leaked cable

[TheTrueCentrist]

boingboing.net/2010/12/01/wikileaks-and-the-el.html

"When Wikileaks released thousands of classified US diplomatic cables this week, a familiar criticism was repeated by the project’s foes: these leaks could harm innocent people. There’s no evidence of that yet, but within the documents there is evidence the American government has harmed innocent people. "

 

[Michael_C]

boingboing.net/2010/12/01/wikileaks-and-the-el.html

"When Wikileaks released thousands of classified US diplomatic cables this week, a familiar criticism was repeated by the project’s foes: these leaks could harm innocent people. There’s no evidence of that yet, but within the documents there is evidence the American government has harmed innocent people. "

Unfortunately Christian America doesn’t want to hear it.

 

[bbarrick8383]

Unfortunately Christian America doesn’t want to hear it.

I’m just not sure how far I want to trust a link to boingboing.net.

One of the comments underneath mentioned this guy has some sort of fruitcake history as it is.

Full story with a reputable news link and it might get a little more discussion.

 

[gnjsdad]

boingboing.net/2010/12/01/wikileaks-and-the-el.html

"When Wikileaks released thousands of classified US diplomatic cables this week, a familiar criticism was repeated by the project’s foes: these leaks could harm innocent people. There’s no evidence of that yet, but within the documents there is evidence the American government has harmed innocent people. "

To say the least…

The best commentary by far that I have seen on Wikileaks can be found here…

WikiLeaks reveals more than just government secrets
by Glenn Greenwald

 

[He_Man]

I can only imagine the furor from people who support full transparency (a ridiculous, implausible notion when it comes to state secrets, classified military documents, emergency communication frequencies for aircraft, etc…) if these standards were applied to wasteful departments like the Dept of Energy, Education, or NEA.

I imagine if the Dept of Ed had to account for all its failures by laying off a sizeabe chunk of its teachers, this wouldn’t be as popular.

Either way, the notion that the government owes you every detail is silly, and untenable.

Hey, let’s post the radar specifications and limits on the F-35 radar system! Who cares if that information to our enemies who probably want to stay a few miles outside it…

 

[gnjsdad]

Either way, the notion that the government owes you every detail is silly, and untenable.

OTOH, the notion that the gov’t is entitled to keep every secret, and not only that, to baldfacedly lie about what it’s doing overseas, is not only not silly…it’s a pretty accurate description of public sentiment in this country (to judge by the reactions to Julian Assange and Wikileaks).

 

[oldcelt]

OTOH, the notion that the gov’t is entitled to keep every secret, and not only that, to baldfacedly lie about what it’s doing overseas, is not only not silly…it’s a pretty accurate description of public sentiment in this country (to judge by the reactions to Julian Assange and Wikileaks).

Amen,

John

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are lots of Al Masris in the Middle East. Some, like a short-lived leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, are involved in terrorism. Some are anything but. “Al Masri” simply means “of Egypt”, even though most of them don’t live in Egypt, and haven’t as far back as memory runs. Most of them are recognized members of a very large sub-tribe that’s largely in Palestine, but can be found in every Middle Eastern country as well as in other countries.

In the world of counter-terrorism there are all sorts of twists and turns. Possibly a mistake was made in this guy’s case. Possibly not. I don’t think this source knows. If his detention yielded valuable information, I don’t think we’re likely to learn about it, and certainly not from a leftist source.

 

[He_Man]

OTOH, the notion that the gov’t is entitled to keep every secret, and not only that, to baldfacedly lie about what it’s doing overseas, is not only not silly…it’s a pretty accurate description of public sentiment in this country (to judge by the reactions to Julian Assange and Wikileaks).

I don’t disagree, but do you agree there has to be a balance? And where is the line drawn? It is the crowd that is clamoring for full disclosure that is being ridiculous, and looks very naive (not lumping you in here.)

Again, the notion that we shouldn’t have any secrets is silly, unreasonable, and will NEVER happen. Wikileaks can post whatever they want; we’ll keep whatever secrets we want.

So in your opinion, what secrets are fair game, and which aren’t?

Also, anyone hailing Wikileaks as some sort of God-send needs to realize that they aren’t doing this out of any sort of good will or desire for openess. Their goal is to embarrass the United States. You may be glad we have the info, but most people really Assange isn’t some sort of hero. He’s an anti-American dissident.

 

[Seamus_L]

If Assange is prejudiced against Americans in general, that would be most regrettable, but if he’s Anti-American government, well then I’ll be cheering him on. I’m not about to suddenly get patriotic over the globalist Obama administration. Whatever dirt he has on public officials should be broadcast to the world.

 

[He_Man]

If Assange is prejudiced against Americans in general, that would be most regrettable, but if he’s Anti-American government, well then I’ll be cheering him on. I’m not about to suddenly get patriotic over the globalist Obama administration.

So where do you draw the line on what is revealable? Be specific.

Whatever dirt he has on public officials should be broadcast to the world

You sound like you advocate a TMZ-culture where if you don’t like someone, you have a right to see them destroyed.

I think Obama is the worst President of the 20th centruy, but that doesn’t mena I think revealing state secrets and classified information is good for the country.

I am amazed at how some people’s bitterness is completely erasing their common sense. Not to mention, wanting to destroy someone’s reputation because you dislike them doesn’t fly with Catholic teaching.

Again, I think he’s a scumbag. Can we just beat the living hell out of Obama too then?

 

[new_User1357246]

So where do you draw the line on what is revealable? Be specific.

I’m not who you were posing the question to, but if something is kept a secret partly because the gov. is afraid that the American people wouldn’t support it then that is something that should be revealed. If the enemy is the fear, or if it is something that can’t be “supported”–such as a weapon schematic–it can remain secret.

 

[He_Man]

I’m not who you were posing the question to, but if something is kept a secret partly because the gov. is afraid that the American people wouldn’t support it then that is something that should be revealed. If the enemy is the fear, or if it is something that can’t be “supported”–such as a weapon schematic–it can remain secret.

That’s your opinion, and you are welcome to it. But is there a legal or constitutional basis for it? Because it seems you arbitrarily made up what you deem okay. There are some who under the guise of wanting to disarm the military, would go much further - no classified documentation at all.

Because otherwise, the President can just say “I have a different opinion” and there wouldn’t be anything wrong with it.

 

[TheTrueCentrist]

Banksy on wikileaks:

i.imgur.com/jacZd.jpg

 

[He_Man]

That’s your opinion, and you are welcome to it. But is there a legal or constitutional basis for it? Because it seems you arbitrarily made up what you deem okay. There are some who under the guise of wanting to disarm the military, would go much further - no classified documentation at all.

Because otherwise, the President can just say “I have a different opinion” and there wouldn’t be anything wrong with it.

As I suspected, arbitrary and made up standards.