Sex Hysteria!

According to The Daily Beast, the Obama administration is actively campaigning to bring a criminal charges against Wikileaks  founder Julian Assange.  They are not only pressuring Europena countries to open criminal investigations, but officials are also contemplating criminal charges in the U.S.

Officials tell The Daily Beast that the U.S. effort reflects a growing belief that WikiLeaks and organizations like it threaten grave damage to American national security, as well as a growing suspicion in Washington that Assange has damaged his own standing with foreign governments and organizations that might otherwise be sympathetic to his anti-censorship cause.

I think what the U.S. is worried about is the embarrassment caused by the disclosure of information that contradicts official public reports.  Despite all the lofty rhetoric to the contrary, government concerns over the loss of life in any war are generally limited to how casualties might affect public support of the war.  There is no shortage of examples that illustrate the willingness of the U.S. to engage in war, so it’s more than a little disingenuous to point the finger elsewhere when it comes to endangering anyone’s life.

Democracies require an informed populace.  Wikileaks is working to that end while Western governments are becoming more secretive.  While Obama made transparency a campaign promise, it has not been forthcoming and despite all the objections voiced by Democrats in response to Patriot Act secrecy requirements, little to no action has been taken to roll back those infringements on Constitutional protections.

If anyone is risking American and Afghan lives it isn’t Julian Assange and Wikileaks hasn’t been promoting a decade long war in and occupation of that country.