Guest Author - Stephanie Romero
If you aren’t already familiar with WikiLeaks you probably will be as an investigation continues into some leaked documents from the Afghan war.
WikiLeaks is touted as being a source of information on leaked documents that allege government and corporate misconduct. While this may appear to be a good thing, there are some dangers to it.
Take this recent example of the “U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan” report. It does show some enlightening things, such as Pakistan’s interference in the Afghan situation and their support of the Taliban. I’m not entirely sure this is really news since I think most of us have always believed the Pakistans are not exactly our friends.
However, the report also reveals a large gap between the portrayal of the Afghan war and international media. I guess I’m not entirely surprised by that, either.
The Afghan government isn’t upset about the leakage because they believe it will raise awareness for their country. However the White House is strongly against the leakage and I must agree with them.
Let’s consider the implications that this could have on our military. By releasing to the public, the world at large, anything related to military actions there is no question a threat to our forces.
This website has published over 90,000 military and diplomatic reports about Afghanistan. This is a lot of information that goes out to our enemies. Yes, our country does have enemies in case there are still any questions about that.
Apparently these documents will demonstrate that we have no justifiable reasons for being in Afghanistan and that it can be compared to the Vietnam War. Ask any soldier who fought in that war if they felt it was justifiable.
I remember a time when being a soldier and fighting for your country, fighting to protect the rights of others was a valiant thing. The military has become a target and not of our enemies but of the very ones who should be honoring them.
I really don’t understand how leaking these types of documents are going to help anyone. Leaking classified information presents a threat to this country, our soldiers, our allies and the very core of our nation’s security.
By the way, when you visit WikiLeaks website Time Magazine has this quote: “could become as important a journalistic tool as the Freedom of Information Act.” A journalistic tool? I have to raise my eyebrows at that one. I’m not so sure that it’s more a case of backstabbing than journalism.
