WikiLeaks has done an immeasurable public service....

[mike_c]

Like Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, WikiLeaks has not only thrown open the door to shine sunlight under the rocks of American military and foreign policy, more importantly, it has kept the records that document history from being given the same treatment the CIA gave its interrogation videos. Historians will ALWAYS have that information now. It cannot be hidden away so that history can be rewritten, either deliberately or through inability to find true, contemporary sources. WikiLeaks is making certain that WE can learn the truth about our government's feckless wars, but it's also making sure that future analysts have all the raw data they need to evaluate events honestly.

Thank you, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks! :yourock:

[goforit]

1. I must agree!!! Nothing is more uplifting than the truth...good or bad.

[onethatcares]

2. I second that emotion.

whoever it was, we need the truth about war not the goody goody feeling that we do no wrong and people love being blown to bits by our technology.

All I am saying, IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE.:hi:

[stray cat]

3. Seriously - what did you learn that you didn't already know?

[mike_c]

5. a lot, actually...

...and I've only scanned the published high points yet.

I see your point-- many of us on the left already knew the U.S. conduct of the war was immoral and reprehensible. That certainly didn't change. But there were in fact MANY specific pieces of information that none of us knew before they were posted in the daylight. I think it will take some weeks or months of analysis to reveal them all.

But beyond that, what I "knew" was at least partly a reflection of my cynicism about the war and U.S. foreign policy. We both know that. Neither you nor I actually had any access to many of the records that confirm that understanding. Now we do.

More to the point, future historians will have it. It won't be shredded, deleted, or burned. It won't be hidden. It won't be speculation. That's the real value of the Pentagon Papers, and it's the real, lasting value of what WikiLeaks has been doing since its inception.

[Individualist]

4. Well said! K&R

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Yes, they're very pragmatic

edit to add: K&R

[defendandprotect]

7. I agree -- and we need more Whistleblowing -- and less MIC -- !!

[mzmolly]

8. Too bad we didn't see such a "leak" under the pResident who started

the wars. And just in time for the election? Wow, what timing!

[amborin]

9. K&R

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Wikileaks has provided a springboard to end this lost war. K&R

[flyarm]

11. Could not agree more..and it is why we have people swarming here trying to discredit these reports

and assault truth!

We can all see if ..if we look honestly!

[pberq]

12. Yes, finally some of this has come to light - nt

[BrklynLiberal]

13. K&R Nothing like a little sunlight to disinfect....

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. I don't see how.

They were saying the same kind of thing after the release of that helicopter footage from Iraq.

Shit didn't amount to anything.

[jberryhill]

15. "Thank you, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks!"

It is masterful how Manning has been reduced to a bit player.