Where's the accountability

The WikiLeak mess continues.  When Obama talked about Transparency, I don't think Julian Assange and WikiLeaks was what he had in mind.

Before we go any farther, I'm pissed  very angry at what's happened..  Not because of what I've seen of the releases,. Most of them are more of an embarrassment than a threat.. Yes diplomats spy on each other.. not much of a surprise there, they've doing it for centuries.  Yes, American is covertly helping other countries protect themselves from people we consider mutual enemies.  American diplomats are encouraging the purchase of American made military equipment to other governments, I hope so.   Is anyone surprised diplomats gossip about each other?  Spies have been collecting information about peoples sex lives for thousands of years.

I haven't seen it, and I haven't looked for it..  I understand one document released yesterday may have contained a world wide list of locations, which if damaged could potentially do serious damage to the United States

Specific content will be damaging in certain cases.. You can be sure intelligence people from all over the world are piecing bits and pieces together to get a better idea of our capabilities, long term interests and what wine to serve at a diplomatic dinner.  Our prestige has taken a blow... and it will be very clear to the rest of the world, the United States can't be trusted to keep a secret. Anything someone says to an American official will go into a diplomatic dispatch.. which will be left laying around, open reading for anyone who's curious.


That's what pisses me off, makes me very angry is, when did we start getting so stupid and careless about how we protect our nations secrets and the secrets of those who trust us?  The current spin is it was done to offset the lack of communication between agencies that might have warned us about 911.  That's fine, I can understand an overreaction.  that was nine years ago..  Has no one has examined the system since?  A system so clearly flawed that Private E3 with a blank CD can walk out of a secure complex with hundreds of thousand of " Secure Documents"

American politicians and other loudmouths are all screaming for WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange's head..  It doesn't matter if it's still connected to his neck, in fact many would be happier if it wasn't.  It's too late now, but a few months go that would have been the simplest way to deal with him. 

Several people have accused Assange of Treason,   Among others, Eric Holder and Dianne Feinstein are saying he violated the Espionage Act of 1917   That's all fine, they can say it all they want, Assange is not an American Citizen, he's not on American Soil. he is not subject to American Law.  As far as I know,there is no evidence the enticed PFC Bradley Manning, (who actually stole the material)  into stealing the information or paid him for it once he did.

There is a clause in the law that says if you find yourself in possession of US Government Property you are required to return it to the United States Government, that's true, if you're an American.  Besides, if you charge him with that... and it sticks, what do you do about the NY Times, The Guardian UK and Der Spiegel and several other long established publications.?  Would they not be guilty of the same crime?

Don't misunderstand. I've got no use for what Assange did,just like individuals and families, a government has secrets, those secrets need to be protected.  But once an individual or a family member allows those secretes to become public...they are public.  It was the failure of the United States to take reasonable precautions that allowed this stuff to be made public.

Obama has been President for almost two now.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been trusted with State Secrets and protecting them officially and unofficially for almost twenty years..  Defence Secretary Robert Gates has been running the Pentagon for four years.  It is the failure of their organizations to adequately protect this information that allowed the thief to happen. They need to be held accountable.

If this had occurred under the Bush Administration the media would have been howling for his impeachment.  A Junior Senator from Illinois would have been leading the charge.  To this day, Obama would still be talking about how Bush left left the engine running with the three year old in the the car..and how the kid drove the car off a cliff.

Assange is a Son of a Batch, who took advantage of a ridiculously flawed situation for personal gain.  Bradley Manning is worthless _____________ fill in the blank ( my choice is not PC.) with certain adjustment problems. However the entire situation could not have occurred if not for the incompetence at the Pentagon and State Department.