Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State, announced on 1st December (2010) that Wikileaks recent documents published online were "an attack on the international community, the alliances and partnerships, the conventions and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity".
I believe that though the public of a country requires knowing certain aspects of their government’s projects and planning, they also have the right to keep confidential investigations, communications and strategies private and quite. The issue of Wikileaks in recent news has compelled countries to justify for the unknown truth, which can create conflict if the subject is not defended in white light.
The issue is becoming more and more risky for government officials, security institutions and most importantly the ordinary civilians as the information is piped through the highly accessible Internet worldwide. This puts Secret Intelligence and the military abroad at immense danger as their planning and strategies can be intersected at a very early age in time.
As the purpose of Wikileaks progresses, ordinary civilians who played little to the world politics would begin doubting their own government, institutions and people creating an opportunity for non-violent cival war within the country. It will take great effort for the government to keep the trust of their people as Wikileaks puts all countries on their toes for their private communications.
I though, still believe that the war on Iraq and Afghanistan need to be acknowledged for every individual, as it has created turmoil as tangents around the globe. I therefore write with an opinion that Wikileaks initial publishes were a great record put in public however the recent claims create doubts which can hurt the international community slowly.
I agree that publishing unsavoury private communications of our leaders can cause protest, but I don't believe this is a bad thing. Government should work to keep the respect and trust of the people. Societies have revolted before, either violently or peacefully, because of dissatisfaction towards the government and they will continue to do so. While revolutions are sometimes unjustified and are fuelled by self-interest, some are reasonable and necessary. It is the fair revolutions that will diminish if government works to keep people ignorant. Government should be held accountable for their actions for the simple belief that the people deserve it. If the government doesn't share this view, change will come. The change that has allowed democracy to flourish and make corrupt democracies honest. Honest revolution.
ReplyDeleteMomin and Charles,
ReplyDeleteI think that you both raise strong arguments. I believe that the government needs to keep civilians involved to an extenet. This is sort of what Charles is defending, this importance of accountability, although I believe it can be achieved without a revolution. I agree with Momi's point to saw that with the release of private communications, it can put in huge danger military forces and lives. It is hard to say what should be released to the public and what shouldn't- it can create quite a slippery slope. I also agree that we have yet to see the true impact wikileaks has had on our global 'community'.