Wikileaks_Conroversy

Greg Taylor Zetfer WRC 1013 8/13/11 Marc A. Thiessen’s Apprehensive Warning Wikileaks is a website designated to expose and distribute specifically contained documents held by our U.S. government. The website is dangerous enough to foil ties with our allies and agitate future cooperation with foreign intelligence. With over 75,000 released documents and 15,000 more in his possession, Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder, has no intent to cease his naïve attack on the American Government. Marc Thiessen, an op-ed columnist who writes a weekly report for The Washington Post, is taking a stand. He explains that the information Assange has presented the world is likely a violation of the espionage act and develops an extremely strong case against Wikileaks, adding detail on the serious problems it could stir in the near future. For example, Thiessen heavily relies on the national security of our government to back his cause for this great country, and he raises the question, why would Afghan governments, and foreign intelligence alike, want to associate or even respect a Government with an unstable sharing system that can’t even protect its own network of information' Wikileaks could be the single most destructive organization to ever blitz our government, employing velocity as well as geography to transpire the goals and anterior actions of those who govern us by blindly expelling information to whoever decides to listen. Thiessen refers to Wikileaks as a criminal enterprise, patriotically advocating his bold statement with the well being of Americans and people everywhere. This sort of illegal sharing of government property will not be tolerated. Thiessen and loyalists everywhere believe Assange should immediately be justified and shut down for the sake of the poised, but healthy, lifestyle of this country we all take for granted. Thiessen accredits him with the righteous honor of exposing more classified documents than the rest of the world combined, only at the expense of a nation and its collaborators. In an interview with the New Yorker, Assange claims to understand that innocent people may be hurt by his disclosures. Thiessen uses his proclamation to show the lack of respect Assange has for our powerful government. Using “Collateral damage” to describe his plot, Assange shows little remorse while later stating that Wikileaks may get “blood on our hands”. Thiessen has little to say about the self-explanatory, malicious prose he incorporated in his article, but in plain sight is Thiessens’ naked avidity to confine him. Assanges’ rampage doesn’t just harm our national security, Thiessen writes, it also has exposed a U.S. Intelligence operative and identified about 100 afghan informants often including the names of their villages and families. Thiessen brings this to our attention to demonstrate how powerful this information is, while concerned about his own government. If pity isn’t spared to those who don’t have luxury in a protective government, the blood will be on the hands of Assasnge, who, disgustingly, seems to be indifferent. The thought of these sensitive documents falling into the wrong hands is unfathomable and the scar left on American intelligence sharing is a wound that will not soon stop bleeding. Thiessen believes President Obama, a spectator at this point, needs to step in. He has yet to declare any action regarding the strategy to stop or even slow down Assange. Given, Assange is a non-U.S. citizen conducting outside of the United States but there are options to bring him down including bringing in military help. Thiessen has valid grounds upon how he would do it if he were in the president’s position, but the fact is he isn’t and, while his ideas are affirmative, his opinions may not be plausible. An indictment would, (provided he didn’t steal this information too) impede Assange from knowing the United States was out for his arrest, thus resulting in an attempt to capture and convict him finally resulting in his imprisonment. Thiessen obviously feels strongly about the actions that are taking place, evident by his list of observational solutions, however his suggestions may only hold ground once a solid foundation is agreed upon by those appointed. The elected government’s profession must be to protect the governed. Assange recently took part in passing a law that will make Iceland a strong proponent towards freedom of expression. In turn, it will also give Iceland an extremely strong press. He believes Belgium and Iceland, two NATO allies, are “safe havens” for criminal acts, but as Thiessen states, with appropriate diplomatic pressure, these governments may assist in bringing Assange to his knees. Thiessen is aware of the vigor America is capable of, but implies Assange is oblivious. If an agreement is not met between another government and ours, stated in a memorandum entitled "Authority of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Override International Law in Extraterritorial Law Enforcement Activities", the FBI may use its superior authority to review and incarcerate individuals for breaching U.S. law, even if the FBI's actions infringe upon customary international law. Thiessen creates a solemn mood of a story without a happy ending because even if permission is not given to apprehend Assange, governments must recognize and respect the position we are in and act accordingly. Last year, Obama created a system called USCYBERCOM, in the defense of our national security, where, with just the stroke of a pen, our president can protect our national security by any means necessary. As an advocate for such operation, Thiessen concludes that it is president Obamas’ duty to stop the tens of thousands of documents soon to be released. Thiessen realizes Assange’s actions are subject to be mimed, and further slack given to Asange may result in others following in his footsteps. The warning Thiessen provides the U.S. is gut wrenching and the conclusion he renders is really one with good intention. All Thiessen can do now, though, is sit back, wait, and see how our country handles it. Works Cited