The war on Wikileaks

In our first world democracies, the general population nestles under the comfort of apathy, trusting that what our government does, is in our best interest -- in the best interest of our nation, our democracy and the world. Wish that was true. As with most power, the benefits pour to the self-interested -- and caters to the few close our elected officials -- including those elected to serve us. At the end of the day, we're sheep, making the rich, richer -- and the powerful, more powerful, and above the laws that govern the rest of us.

That is why, entities such as Wikileaks, exist. In fact, it is one of the few, where the powerful can be challenged and brought to their knees. And you know the powerful self-interest are afraid, when they've declared an open war on Wikileaks. The US government, along with the governments of China, North Korea and Iran -- as well as others, such as Australia and Britain -- are seeking to bring Wikileaks to its knees. Not only have their been court challenges -- but now, the American spy masters are out to take down Wikileaks. When you get come under the scope of the CIA -- can the end be too far off? Yes, the Pentagon has added Wikileaks to the list of enemies threatening the security of the US. Yes, an enemy of the US is now a website!

For those in blissful ignorance, Glenn Greenwald provides an excellent synopsis of the situation and the importance of Wikileaks. Governments shouldn't need to keep secrets from its people, unless it's up to no-good. Wikileaks has been a platform for whistleblowers around the world, to shine a light on plans, policies and actions of governments and businesses. They've revealed CIA plots to manipulate public opinion in foreign countries in order to win broad support for the war in Afghanistan. They've detailed the torture practices employed by the US in Guantanamo Bay. They've revealed the US violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention in Iraq and Afghanistan. At a time when public institutions in our democracies should be acting to protect the public interest, but don't, Wikileaks fills a much needed void.

in reference to:

"As The New York Times put it last week: "To the list of the enemies threatening the security of the United States, the Pentagon has added WikiLeaks.org, a tiny online source of information and documents that governments and corporations around the world would prefer to keep secret.""
- The war on WikiLeaks and why it matters - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com (view on Google Sidewiki)