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I'm all for the protection of sources and methods. If you're collecting sensitive intelligence, whether by technical means or from human sources, you most certainly want to protect your sources and the means of collecting that intelligence. On the human side, lives depend on it - those providing as well as those collecting. It's a risky proposition, and security is critical. That's on the sources side of things. As for methods, I would have to suggest that there is little that will be revealed that is already not assumed by the opposition as a result of either paranoia or having been exposed to both American military actions, e.g., drones, as well as American movies, e.g, Syriana. (I know that simplifies things, but you get the idea.)
However. . . you do have to wonder. The radical right is up in arms with the Wikileaks exposure because of the risk to those sources, who are almost exclusively Muslim. As we all know, the radical right not only fears Muslims but despises them and would wish them out of existence if they had the means (and now, thanks to Juan Williams, we can probably conclude that there are some liberals out there who feel the same). One wonders how their heads do not explode, dealing with this internal conflict every day. As for the threat to American troops, give me a break. There is almost certainly nothing in these leaks that exposes the enemy to what they have not already assumed. Do you think they are going to be really, really pissed, instead of being really pissed, to learn that prisoner abuse took place well after the release of the abu Graib photos? Websites around the world have projected civilian casualties since the start of these conflicts. Is it going to change things now to learn that the US military kept its own count, even if it said otherwise and did not release this information? Is the enemy going to be shocked to learn that the US military did not investigate reports of prisoner abuse or possible war crimes? I think it's fair to say that that is kind of a working assumption by the opposition. Again, you get the idea.
There have been a number of posts recently suggesting a bumper sticker along the lines of "Eight years of Bush, and <b>now</b> you're upset?" Same applies here. You're upset that these leaks reveal a military out of control, that a few hundred (questionable) sources might be affected by these leaks, but it doesn't bother you in the least that we went to war on a lie, that we destroyed our economy on the whim of the neocons, that thousands upon thousands of American troops are dead because of war mongers who themselves avoided military service at all costs? These people are upset with the release of information documenting a tremendous range of misfeasance, malfeasance, corruption, deceit, etc., but the $2 trillion spent is simply a footnote? You people make me sick.
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