mike.rogan's blog

Wikileaks – questions – beefs – opinions – beliefs

In that you have researched Wikileaks through the 5W and Debatable Issues assignment and taken our survey we feel it is important that you now are able to express yourself (electronically).

Rasmussenreports.com states that most voters believe public release of U.S. secret and confidential documents hurts national security, and they consider the leaking of such information to be an act of treason (51%). A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 72% of Likely Voters say that when media outlets release secret government documents, they are hurting national security rather than providing a public service. Only 14% believe the opposite is true and that the media is serving the public. Just as many (14%) are not sure (12.2.2010)

In looking at our data from the survey you can see we are a microcosm of society – whether we mirrored the nation remains to be seen. Today’s blog will be an outlet for you to (1) Voice your opinion (2) Comment and question others opinions . Please do so in an appropriate manner (spelling, comment first with expert backup, choose your words wisely, etc).

CSB, Current Events | mike.rogan | December 3, 2010 11:51 am

139 Comments

By Neil Seibert, December 3, 2010 @ 12:02 pm

first post

Charlie Durand Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Congrats, your a freshman.

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Congrats, your mom. *win*

Samuel Schimke Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
You’re*

Samuel Schimke Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Thats at Charlie btw.
By Samuel Schimke, December 3, 2010 @ 12:02 pm

first

Samuel Schimke Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Shelby Leffler Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:05 pm
fail

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm
^ yay!

Brandon Ellis Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
fallar

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:20 pm
*failure

Brandon Ellis Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:21 pm
fallar = fail in spanish neil

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:24 pm
No me gusta espanol!

Charlie Durand Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
I’m am First.*

You sir, have been pwned.

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:13 pm
The goal of being first is purely to be the first post… Not grammatically correct. Unpwnd sir.

James Sanders Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Playing by the rules of the Interwebs, you did lose, Charlie

Samuel Schimke Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Also, if that were to be grammatically correct, “first” would not be capitalized. I am non referring to myself as first as in my name is First, but as in I am the first one to post.

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:15 pm
*not

Samuel Schimke Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Was a typo.

Jacob Badura Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:20 pm
I’m am?
By Neil Seibert, December 3, 2010 @ 12:02 pm

^lol fail

James Sanders Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
+ like
By Daniel Scotton, December 3, 2010 @ 12:03 pm

The just of the story so far, involves a man by the name of Bradley Manning abused his low level government position, by smuggle several hundred thousand files out of a secure server building. He then published those documents onto the website “WikiLeaks”. A vast majority of the files that appear on “WikiLeaks” are minor field reports, from soldiers stationed outside the US. Less than two percent of the documents contained information that could be considered “Classified” but even that information wasn’t the highest of the high. At the end of the day, this will not cause the sky to fall, or empires to crumble; the only difference is the U.S. population is a little better informed.

Jacob Broderick Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Even if you don’t pay attention to Bradley Manning’s part of it, all the other files that have been posted they really don’t do any harm to virtually anything except the people that are involved.

Christopher Dyer Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 pm
and the guy who hired the guy who leaked the info
By Sarah Cartwright, December 3, 2010 @ 12:05 pm

I havent read up on most of what was put out in wikileaks and i think im little young to know what woudl hurt America. Although i am on the fence on whether it’s good or bad. I feel like our previous war was more secretive than any other. I only remember seeing it on common news chanels years ago. I would like to have known more though. I do think what they did was illeagal and also had some of their rights as an american.

James Sanders Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
haven’t*
“I’m a to young”*
Would*
“Good or bad, I feel”*

James Sanders Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Too* my bad

James Sanders Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Illegal*
By Neil Seibert, December 3, 2010 @ 12:06 pm

Well seeing as wikileaks is based on countries other than the USA, we legally don’t have power over them. Minus agencies like Interpol and such. If we didn’t want visitors to the site we should follow other countries and ban it. Oh wait, that probably violates some rights.

Shelby Leffler Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:08 pm
agreed, though the violation of rights still stays in place

Kenneth Swenson Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Well, they’re already banning websites, sort of, they’re actually just taking the sites down. such as torrent-finder.com, which was seized by Homeland Security. And the site actually hosts no copyright infringing items. Ever heard of the great firewall of china? Welcome to the U.S.’s version.

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
I wonder when they will shut down Piratebay…

James Sanders Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Never!

Jonathan Wagenet Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:26 pm
I am surprised that a lesser infamous site would get dinged before the bay, but I believe that it still infringes rights to free speech. If the companies don’t want the content posted, they need to settle with the websites themselves, without government lock-down.
By Nathan Garnett, December 3, 2010 @ 12:07 pm

I agree that it could be hurting national security, because some could be offensive to other world powersm, such as the diplomats talking trash about world leaders. If they were released to the United States only, it would serve the purpose to inform the public and not anger other nations.

Piers Rasmussen Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:08 pm
And how do you propose to only release it to the U.S.

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Via Megaman.

Gibson Smiley Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Leaders of the world need to be smart enough to realize in that things people say are their personal opinions and not the policy of the country as a whole. If someone is offended enough by one person’s comment to attack or do some other drastic retaliation then maybe they don’t deserve their position. And it can even support the comment.

Christopher Dyer Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:13 pm
everybody who is a diplomat probably already knows who hates them so what new info are they geting?
By Gabriella Desimone, December 3, 2010 @ 12:08 pm

I think that it was beneficial because we (as U.S. Citizens) want to know what REALLY is going on over in Afghanistan. With these raw documents we do get a better picture. Nothing was edited by the Army or the press. It got us “in the know,” and that is why I think it was beneficial.

Clarece Sander Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:10 pm
I agree

Gregory Lowder Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
agreed, we just need to pull troops out of the mittle East and bring em all home, it causes so many problems
By Gregory Lowder, December 3, 2010 @ 12:08 pm

I think that people make this a bigger deal than it actualy is. It reminds me of a gigantic cell phone bill for all of the world leaders talking bad about things and other people and what they have done.

they need Jesus

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:09 pm
*Satan

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Christianity has killed more people than any other worldly event. *Achem* Dark ages any one?

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:10 pm
^Minus malaria…

Charlie Durand Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Dude, not funny, and certainly not valid.

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Prove me wrong good sir.

Charlie Durand Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Dude, you’ve proven yourself wrong.

Isaac Hernandez Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Actually christianity does nothing but save people from sin. People that agree with satanic ways kill christians, not christians themselves. So get you’re facts straight.

Christopher Dyer Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:26 pm
the dark ages was a halt in educational advancment. the church only forbid people from learning. yes, those who tried were persicuted, but far more didn’t. you’re probably thinking of the plague, which was spread through shipping ports. the church was actually the leading cause of its ending.

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Christians in the Darkages viewed science as a sin. Bubonic Plague killed millions and could’ve been prevented without the views of “The Church”. If people would’ve embraced sin, millions would have lived.

Samuel Schimke Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Persecuted*

Isaac Hernandez Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Lived and gone where? To hell? Or to heaven? If you get you’re facts straight, actually the church was actually the cure. It promoted cleansing. Let’s pretend like you’re right for a minute. Science was not nearly advanced enough to even come up with a cure. I strongly suggest you get your facts straight before you go on attacking religions.

Charlie Durand Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Furthermore, the morality defined by Christianity has been key in our survival as a race.

James Sanders Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Issac, how about you start giving facts instead of telling others to.

Christopher Dyer Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:35 pm
millions…hardly. and sam persecuted means a program or campaign to exterminate, drive away, or subjugate a people because of their religion, race, or beliefs: the persecutions of Christians by the Romans.

thank you dictionary.com

Christopher Dyer Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
or high school

Gregory Lowder Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 pm
or high school????

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Who says I’m kidding.

Charlie Durand Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:21 pm
You’re either kidding, or just stupid enough to think that a few ancient (and undoubtedly exaggerated) wars could be even on a top 10 list of causes of death.

Gregory Lowder Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Revelations 20:10

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Either way, I have successfully started a never ending debate!
By Justin Mccormick, December 3, 2010 @ 12:08 pm

The just of the story so far, involves a man by the name of Bradley Manning abused his low level government position, by smuggle several hundred thousand files out of a secure server building. He then published those documents onto the website “WikiLeaks”. A vast majority of the files that appear on “WikiLeaks” are minor field reports, from soldiers stationed outside the US. Less than two percent of the documents contained information that could be considered “Classified” but even that information wasn’t the highest of the high. At the end of the day, this will not cause the sky to fall, or empires to crumble; the only difference is the U.S. population is a little better informed.

Gibson Smiley Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
jist*

Justin Mccormick Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Personally, I do not think this is hurting national security. If the information was available to a standard member of the armed forces then it was not massively secret data. Sure, some of it may hurt some people and open the eyes of the public to the secret work of the U.S. government, but this is not something that our government has to be too worried about as they probably already have other stuff covering it.
By Jordan Pappe, December 3, 2010 @ 12:08 pm

I believe that the public should be allowed to access important government issues like the development of the Iran nuclear program because it is a topic that can dramatically effect the United States.

Jordan Pappe Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
But i don’t think it should be used to denounce other countries political leaders, because that could cause unnecessary conflicts.
By Meghan Quimby, December 3, 2010 @ 12:08 pm

I feel as if, it probably doesnt hurt the people, but it is showing us exactly how foolish the government is and also it makes me think what else are they hiding? I think the government should figure out a better way to hide there documents, and be better at what they do. Wikileaks was a freedom of speach yes, but what should we people really know? is it important for us to that? im not sure but its good we know now, and agian the government need to do some work.

Meghan Quimby Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:10 pm
but it probably is very benificial to us that we know whats really going on in the wars and what not.
By Hunter Burfield, December 3, 2010 @ 12:09 pm

I think by releasing the information our country is in a bit of shock, immediately jumping into defense mode without deeply thinking of the benefits of the information. I think that the public deserves to know the business of their country. The media delutes and edits the information to make news sway people to feel the same as they do. By the release of the records, people are able to see the truth, without being pursuated a certain way; they can make their stance upon purely their own opinion. I feel that personal observations of foreign leaders should not be released. That is inappropriate. If personal reports are released, the president might as well let the country read his diary as well. Indeed WikiLeaks was not given permission to leak the files, therefore it technically is treason. However, this has opened the eyes of many Americans that the U.S. government is not being as informative in their operations as they should be. I dont think that the leaks have threatened National Security, but it may threaten the faith people have in our government.
By Kenneth Swenson, December 3, 2010 @ 12:09 pm

It’s hard to believe that more than half the people on the survey believe that It’s harmful to national security, I could understand if they were, say battle plans, or tactics sheets, but these are just the reports of pretty much everyday happenings in the military, and stuff that has already happened. All this does is let the people know what is really going on over in the middle east. The people mostly get information from the media. And the media gets it’s information from the military, and that’s only what the military wants the media to know, nothing more. Therefore it’s good that the people know what their own military is doing.

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
*Like

James Sanders Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 pm
*Like

Jacob Badura Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Me gusta
By Brighton Barber, December 3, 2010 @ 12:09 pm

I think that if the government doesn’t want it’s political insults posted on the internet, they should protect their files better.
Wikileaks has been jacking thier stuff for around a year and it happening again is proof that they’re being lax on their security.

If you’re going to run a intelligence hoarding government system, at least be good at it…
By Mackenzie Hanson, December 3, 2010 @ 12:09 pm

I personally feel that releasing the information hurt the public interest. Yes, they were better informed, but how does that help them? I feel like reading the reports could scare them. I also believe that although the United States public will be informed, other countries will be too. It had statements towards the ambassadors that were not too friendly, which could cause bitterness. I do think its good for the public to be informed but it equally hurt us just as bad.
By Katelynn Peabody, December 3, 2010 @ 12:09 pm

I dont know all of what has been leaked. I am not sure if im against or with it yet. But i do think that they should have the right to do that. That i can not decide on such things yet because i dont know a lot about everything. I think they should have put it more into detail and not so blan. That we have a right to know whats going on, it should not be kept as a secret from us.
By Christopher Dyer, December 3, 2010 @ 12:10 pm

is really that big of a deal that the public found out about what was in the documents that were released? some of them date back 50+ years and talk about gossip in the U.N. yes some of it is classified for a reason, but none of it really jepridizes our national security.
By Benjamin Kosmatka, December 3, 2010 @ 12:11 pm

I agree with the 51% of persons who thought the release of confidential documents is an act of treason. To unveil the wall of secrecy surrounding our national security is a major threat to our nation allowing others to access confidential articles that could lead to a potential conflict.

Benjamin Kosmatka Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:40 pm
I think the leaking of information pertaining to our government within itself such as congress, the executive branch, along with the judicial branch should be held transparent. If the government wont be transparent then a site such as wikileaks should become a peoples watch on the government.
By James Sanders, December 3, 2010 @ 12:11 pm

Personally, I think that this issue has winning arguments from both sides. On the Pros, you have they fact that it allowed the public a glimpse (if however brief)into what is actually happening in Iraq, as well as other Military issues. But for the Cons, it has the potential to severely damage relations with our allies. And that alone could leave us, worse-case scenario, helpless and out maned if enough of them decided not to help us when the time came, all because of these leaks.
By Charlie Durand, December 3, 2010 @ 12:12 pm

If you cannot justify your actions to the people then your actions are not just! Would an uncorrupted government go to such length to hide it’s actions?

Aaron Cray Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Would a football coach willingly hand over his play book to the other team?

Charlie Durand Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:29 pm
This isn’t out play book. It’s documents and videos proving that the US army is willing to murder citizens they know are innocent.

Aaron Cray Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:33 pm
our*

Benjamin Kosmatka Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Should the deed of one affect us all?
By Lauren Hornbeck, December 3, 2010 @ 12:12 pm

So I’m not too aware about what’s going on, but from what I was reading yesterday, it seems that a positive in this is that the truth is exposed. But then again, if information wasn’t meant to be publically viewed, there’s probably a reason for it and Wikileaks shouldn’t defy that…

Shelby Higinbotham Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:17 pm
I agree
By Derek Tokar, December 3, 2010 @ 12:12 pm

I think that the posts on Wiki Leaks does not cause any major harm to the public or any other countries. As well as not causing any major harm on the public. I think all this has done is informed the public a little more.
By Jenny O'Conner, December 3, 2010 @ 12:13 pm

From what I’ve heard the leaked documents were just day to day reports. While I don’t think that day to day reports will hurt our national security, they may damage diplomatic and military relationships.

Shelby Higinbotham Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:17 pm
That to I have to agree on also
By Cassandra Copado, December 3, 2010 @ 12:13 pm

I do not think this is going to hurt Americans. Some of they stuff they leaked out was very funny. I personally don’t care what information the government holds or releases.

Cassandra Copado Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:20 pm
I do think that some of the information will hurt the government of the US and other countries because some of the stuff said shouldn’t have been released.
By Marissa Dalton, December 3, 2010 @ 12:13 pm

I can see how people would argue we have the right of knowing what is going down in Afghanistan, but I think the consequence of having terrorists receiving that information, and other world leaders know our feelings of them is not to our benefit which then ways out the fact of knowing. I don’t think it totally matters how much detail we know about the war. We know the basics, if you want in-depth information, join the service, and then keep that knowledge within the service. GO USA!

Jordan Smith Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Agreed!
By Piers Rasmussen, December 3, 2010 @ 12:13 pm

I don’t believe that this will have much of an effect on the world other than everybody will be better informed on the day to day actions of our military and diplomats. If some foreign diplomat takes offense because people notice his “nurse” or is called slightly derogatory terms it may change how they deal with us, but how likely is it that it will become a major problem?
By Samuel Schimke, December 3, 2010 @ 12:13 pm

The government should be embarrassed that they managed to let this happen. I personally am leaning more towards pro wikileaks. Though I havn’t researched very much about what has been leaked, I did watch the airstrike video on youtube, that shows America firing on a group of people, two of whom are camera men carrying cameras. The strike was initiated due to the pilots believing that those cameras were weapons. I think it is probably a good thing that the public is seeing this.
By Shelby Higinbotham, December 3, 2010 @ 12:14 pm

Well to tell the truth I was gone yesterday but, I think that leaking information about our governments secrets is a little bit scary. I mean what if it gets into the wrong hands. But I’m a little to young to know all the scary things. But I do have to admit that I would like to no more about what is going on about the war. I remember it being on the news a couple of years ago, but now its hardly on. So with this wikileaks in a wierd way it is serving the public needs on information that the public would like to know.
By Courtney Villagrana, December 3, 2010 @ 12:14 pm

I think that if I knew more about the documents that were released I could form a better opinion because I am stuck in the middle.

Information that could potentially harm national security should not be released so freely, I think it would be nice to know what our government is doing and planning to do but at the same time I don’t think every other country should know everything.

Since I do not know the exact documents that were released I still do not have an opinion about WikiLeaks; I don’t think they are criminals because their intent was not to harm. On the other side, I still don’t think that they have the right to show it on the internet because that information is now accessible by anyone.

Piers Rasmussen Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:19 pm
You could read them. I tried but the most interesting part was that the dinner was rubbery.

Mackenzie Hanson Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Agreed.
By Thomas Rezendes, December 3, 2010 @ 12:14 pm

I don’t really know what to think. I don’t really care about what happened. The information that was leaked must not have been that important if it was leaked onto he internet. If it was then they need to come up with a better government security system.
By Aaron Cray, December 3, 2010 @ 12:15 pm

Honestly I don’t get the whole big deal that everybody is making. Everyone has secrets, and usually there is a reason for it, and just because some stupid bloke decides that its a good thing to spread everyones secrets around it doesn’t have be a giant debate. If you think about it its just like elementary school, theres always the kid that will eves drop on others conversations and then tell everyone in the school, and what ends up happening is the kid that spread it is hated, and the one with the secret is embarrassed, but what does it accomplish? I think he should get punished for treason for telling Government secrets, and then lets just get on with our lives.

Mackenzie Hanson Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Props on using the word bloke.

Aaron Cray Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Thats what happens when you watch British comedy.
By Jordan Smith, December 3, 2010 @ 12:15 pm

When Jullian started Wikileaks he was only thinking of all the people that want a better description of our countries war issues. I do know that the government is now concerned. But I personally think that making the shock of Wikileaks being shut down is more public than the actually Wikileaks was itself.
By Alexander Schroeder, December 3, 2010 @ 12:15 pm

Bradley was in the wrong when he took confidential military documents and posted them on the world wide web. This may have been neat to some citizens to see what is going on in the military but that information is not necessary to know and could possible not only cause a lot of conflict but hurt our national security. I agree that it is an act of treason.
By Caitlin Ralls, December 3, 2010 @ 12:16 pm

I think that with the release of the WikiLeaks, it is a wake up call to the Diplomats AND America. The Diplomats are in a power of ultimate position, and they are supposed to be leaders. Even though what they said was supposed to be private, it is still something that was said about other Nations Leaders and that makes America look bad. I dont think the other Nations really will have a lot of respect now for our Diplomats and therefore they will be looking at America from what they heard our leaders say. It is not good for potential relationships. I dont think it was neccesarily right to release the tapes, but since it happened there is really nothing we can do about it. There are certain things that us as Americans deserve to know, and if it falls under the Freedom of Speech, then Americans WILL want to know. As for the Military part of these Leaks, it isnt very vital information, but it still is messed up. The military is very confidental in things they say and do to protect OUR nation. I dont think that part of releasing those were right.
By Clarece Sander, December 3, 2010 @ 12:17 pm

I think that the leak is a good thing and a bad thing. I feel that it is good because Americans do need to know what their tax money is spent on and what is going on in the war. It is also a bad thing because some things said in the cables could be offensive to other countries and people and that could cause problems with our allies.
By Kamela Heyward, December 3, 2010 @ 12:17 pm

I don’t really see how releasing the ~super secret documents~ really harms anyone. As one website put, the documents could make “future diplomatic dinners a bit awkward,” but not much more than that. Everyone claiming that it could hurt us hasn’t really explained /how/.

…Why did they need to keep insults on other leaders on file anyway? :/

Lauren Hornbeck Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
I read that article too and thought similarly!
By Lindsey Judd, December 3, 2010 @ 12:17 pm

I think that wikileaks is good in the aspect of informing US Citizens on what is really happening but the fact that other countries can access the same information is a big downfall.
By Jonathan Wagenet, December 3, 2010 @ 12:17 pm

I think that the leak is more of a jab at the US Government trying keep a secretive and diplomatic mask for the public’s eyes than the act of showing the information itself. In a country with free speech, speech should be free, not restricted.
By Jordan Pappe, December 3, 2010 @ 12:17 pm

I believe that wikileaks can help give future voters an inside look on future presidential/congregational candidates. Instead of just reading a brochure about what the candidate wants to change, you can actually be able to do some back ground research and see if they will be able to follow through with their promises
By Cecilia De La Cruz, December 3, 2010 @ 12:18 pm

As for what I have read it seems that only a small portion of the documents released are truly “private”. I believe the release of these documents allows Americans to know and see the “actual” information not information that has been altered to benefit.
By Brycen Hassell, December 3, 2010 @ 12:18 pm

I feel this was an act of freedom. Exposing information about a country’s own government would not cause any harm at first. However, releasing classified files is a violation of national security and can harm the country economically and politically, therefore, this can be an act of treason. classified documents are hidden from the general public for a reason, if released, they would either cause harm or nothing.

Lauren Hornbeck Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:21 pm
I couldn’t agree more! Very well stated
By Jacob Badura, December 3, 2010 @ 12:18 pm

Before we even get into the issue of rights, consider this. The server for WikiLeaks is based in Sweden. The man who created the site is in Australia. And to top it off, it is on the internet. We can’t have the site destroyed, we can block it in the US, but the rest of the world will still be able to see it.

I’ve looked through the documents and I’ve been listening to reports on this issue. There is very little that we should even care about. If this was actually important information it wouldn’t of slipped in the first place.

Gibson Smiley Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:24 pm
And to block websites in the US would be against the first amendment of free speech and very hypocritical of our government who is urging others countries, like China to un-block sites.
By Hayley Morrow, December 3, 2010 @ 12:19 pm

The government should be more careful with their files if they don’t want people like us to find out what it consists of. I think the leaking of all these files is very beneficial to us, the media switches up the stories to make it sound better and it isn’t always truthful or valid. They try to persuade us to think one thing, and they get our mind off of other important topics. Having these files tells us what is really going on, and it isn’t sugar coated.

Gibson Smiley Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Yeah!

Kamela Heyward Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:24 pm
“try to persuade us to think one thing”

lol Fox News.

Benjamin Kosmatka Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Hahaha CNN.
By Rebecca Bender, December 3, 2010 @ 12:20 pm

The Wikileaks problem is not a huge deal. There have been plenty of other instances where classified information has leaked out into the public and no harm was done. Personally, I believe that the leak of information was beneficial to the US: Haven’t Americans been begging to know what is going on in Afghanistan anyways?
By Gibson Smiley, December 3, 2010 @ 12:20 pm

We live in a democracy where the voice of the people is what runs the country. If the people are left out of the loop then how can we successfully run the country? Or rather, how can we thoughtfully and intellectually elect officials the run the country on our behalf. As I had mentioned in a comment above, I think taking many of these cables, most of which are personal comments by officials, seriously is foolish. These are personal opinions and if other countries or foreign officials were to take these comments seriously then they too are being foolish. I also feel as if the government needs to be reminded that they work for us, the people, it’s not the other way around.

Brighton Barber Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Power to the People!
By Cory Rehder, December 3, 2010 @ 12:20 pm

I dont think any of it is that big of a deal, the goverment has hundreds of secrets some are bound to be leaked to the people, it just happens.
By Darcy Tokar, December 3, 2010 @ 12:21 pm

The leaked documents showed us the stuff that the government would rather hide from us. It doesn’t seem that bad but it’s nice to know what is really going on instead of just listening to the stuff the news and what not tells us. This could also be a bad thing. It could potentially ruin relations with our allies. Other than that I don’t see how it is anything major besides the news talking about it too much.
By Brandon Ellis, December 3, 2010 @ 12:21 pm

I think that it does hurt national security and in hindsight WikiLeaks should have censored the information to make sure that it wouldn’t ruin U.S. relations with other countries, especially when we are about to begin negotiations with them.

Neil Seibert Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Or perhaps we should send them gift baskets
By Matthew Preston, December 3, 2010 @ 12:22 pm

I think that the public has wanted to know whats been going on over seas for quite awhile. It’s about time to hear, from these documents, the real story of the war in Afghanistan. Amazon dropping all of the WikiLeaks information from their site was, in my opinion, doesn’t abide by our First Amendment rights. The public has a right to know, and the release of this was very beneficial.
By Aaron Isaacs, December 3, 2010 @ 12:30 pm

I think that wikileaks has the option to release the data with no legal recorce. In a case where Gizmodo (a tec. news site) bought a stolen iphone 4 before it was released. They returned it after a court order to, but they still put up news stories on the iphone 4.
By Gibson Smiley, December 3, 2010 @ 12:31 pm

Quote posted on Congressmen Ron Paul’s Twitter:
“Re: Wikileaks- In a free society, we are supposed to know the truth. In a society where truth becomes treason, we are in big trouble.”
By Brighton Barber, December 3, 2010 @ 12:32 pm

We live in a time where people post an annoying amount of random junk about themselves and other people…
We could just think of Wikileaks as the U.S. govt’s twitter page…
By Carissa Sweet, December 3, 2010 @ 12:33 pm

I think that the information released can cause potential risk for the U.S., there is a reason it was secret and not released to the public in the first place. The public does not mean only the citizens of the U.S. but the whole world. Sure the public has a right to know what is going on overseas, but this information could harm the relationships we have with our allies. There are some benefits to the public because they now know what is going on, but not everyone wants what’s best for our country. The risks outweigh the benefits.
By Lucas Boskovich, December 3, 2010 @ 12:37 pm

I believe that the government needs to secure their private documents better. I also believe that this whole incident is nobody’s fault but the governments. Now that this has happened, the government will improve the security of their private documents.
By Christopher Dyer, December 3, 2010 @ 6:45 pm

that was an entertaining argument