And they know that the people in a democracy just might not put up with their crimes and their lies, and thus secrecy must be jealously guarded, even if that requires the murder of a truth-teller. That, ultimately is the most substantial revelation that the WikiLeaks documents have so far produced.
As Julian Assange has himself noted, "The more secretive or unjust an organisation is, the more leaks induce fear and paranoia in its leadership and planning coterie. ... Since unjust systems, by their nature induce opponents, and in many places barely have the upper hand, mass leaking leaves them exquisitely vulnerable to those who seek to replace them with more open forms of governance." Well said, brother. Well said.
Assange was asked by Time Magazine what his "moral calculus" was to justify publishing the leaks. Don't you love that? No one asked George Bush or Dick Cheney that question. No one would dare ask the Liars of the Century about their moral calculus, even today, as they run around the world hawking their books and making millions off of 'memoirs' absolutely riddled with new lies covering up the old ones. No one even asks the timid-as-a-snowflake Barack Obama where he gets off tripling the forces in Afghanistan in support of a regime that - thanks to WikiLeaks - we now know that he knows is thoroughly corrupt and utterly undemocratic. But Assange, whose great crime is exposing truth, gets the dubious morality treatment from Time, that great bastion of hard-hitting independent journalism.
So, here's his moral calculus: "We are an organization that tries to make the world more civil and act against abusive organizations that are pushing it in the opposite direction."
That's a dangerous thing. WikiLeaks is apparently about to go after Wall Street banks next, among others. That should be really amusing to watch. You start messin' with the money, the oligarchs really get mean, man.
We live in a time where only a fool would not be despondent about the state of our country. Almost everything about our condition is ugly.
There are a few reasons, however - if only just a few - to be a bit more hopeful.
One is the power of the Internet.
Another is the new generation of Dan Ellsbergs.
Put them together and you get WikiLeaks.(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
