Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Defends His Decision
Today, Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblowing website Wikileaks, defended his decision to publish thousands of "secret" US military documents about the war in Afghanistan. After he did so, the White House criticized his decision and claimed he put American troops in danger. Apparently, the files showed that thousands of war crimes were committed in Afghanistan, including unreported episodes of civilian murders.
Julian Assange defended his postings by saying, "We don't see any difference in the White House's response to this case to the other groups that we have exposed. We have tried hard to make sure that this material does not put innocents at harm. All the material is over seven months old so is of no current operational consequence, even though it may be of very significant investigative consequence."
Many officials are questioning how the documents were obtained in the first place, some suspecting foul play, like hackers into the system.
Chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee and former Democrat presidential candidate, John Kerry, responded to the leak with a challenge to the U.S. government. "However illegally these documents came to light, they raise serious questions about the reality of America's policy toward Pakistan and Afghanistan," he said.
This situation is quite a catch 22 - while Americans should know what their government is up to, how much information should be exposed before national security becomes a factor?
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