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Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness
thats a very idealistic view.
unfortunately, the world doesn't run on idealism.
Assange and his website may technically be legal, but lts not fool ourselves that this is done in service of "free speech" or the stupid idea that "people have a right to know".
he's doing it do cause as much damage as possible to the US.
if the documents had exposed any real WRONGDOING on the part of the US government, we might have a point to discuss the value of the leak.
in practice, all it does is embarrass the US and strain international relations, by making it harder for potential allies to speak their mind openly when dealing with the US about sensitive matters.
for example, if in the past, arab leaders were able to say in private what they can't say in public, then now they will think 10 times before saying anything even in private.
you don't tell your secrets to someone if you believe that there is a good chance that those secrets would be made public knowledge a year from now.
this leak is meant to damage US relations with anyone they have to HAVE a relationship with.
thats it.
it serves no other purpose, and was done for no other purpose.
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That's what it might look like to a US citizen who lives in the US. Revealing the documents, which are of confidential nature, will damage international relations. It's a given that if someone reveals to someone else that you've been talking sh** behind their back, you'll be quite enraged and believe they did it to hurt you.
Thing is, there's no real telling what his motivations are* and it's pointless to speculate that because the fact is, he's revealing the documents. To the eyes of a third party, it might look differently and seem as if that person isn't doing it to spite you, but because he wants the truth to be out. Just because the idealistic pov I'm presenting is rare doesn't mean it's not there at all. Just because the world doesn't run on ideals doesn't mean people who are motivated by them don't exist. Of course, you could be right and he really is doing it to hurt the US, but as you said yourself, people will need to think more carefully about which secrets the let people in on and which ones they don't. The US had it coming when those comments on other countries were put down on paper.
* As far as I know, he's in it more because he wants to reveal just how little information the media is in fact presenting, and he doesn't even hold himself accountable for the leaks and he doesn't measure his success based on how much confidential information he's found. To me, that says he's not in it to hurt anyone, but just to show the people how much private media companies don't disclose.