We live in a world that runs on secrets. Every government of note has them, embarrassing officials, shameful incidents and criminal policies which they work hard to hide. And for good reason too. After all, there's no quicker way to humiliate a government, to lower its standing with other governments in the world, than to air its dirty laundry, to force it to answer inconvenient questions about its friends and its practices. On November 28th, 2010, this humiliation was elevated to a new, 21st century level when major newspapers in the U.S., England, France, Germany and Spain published a tiny fraction of a colossal U.S. State Department data dump which revealed, in intimate and unfiltered detail, truths about the world that, without Wikileaks, would have never seen the light of day.
Wikileaks is the account, from the perspective of the Guardian's lead journalists on the Wikileaks case, of how it came to pass that some of the United States' most closely held, diplomatic secrets were splashed across the world's news outlets. Predictably, its primary focus is their major contact, Julian Assange, the charismatic and eccentric point man at Wikileaks, the whistleblowing website that released the government cables to the five newspapers. But while Assange, the Australian-born anarcho-activist, plays a substantial role in the unfolding drama, this piece makes clear that he was little more than a conduit for information. The true source of the State Department cables was Bradley Manning, a disaffected Private in the U.S. Army who, after realizing his government was covering up the truth about an incident in which his own military killed two journalists working in Iraq, decided to make a copy of all the State Department files he could find and, in an effort to expose American duplicity, begin to leak this treasure trove to Wikileaks. This complicated chain of events eventually culminated in the mass publication, at Wikileaks and in the media, of most of these cables, an expose offering the world a look inside international diplomacy unrivaled in human history.
The admirably clear chronicle of events, from Manning's disaffection through to the Swedish rape charges which still currently dog Mr. Assange, paints a vivid picture of one of the most remarkable media spectaculars in recent memory. However, for all the powerful characters and government interests represented here, it's Manning who steals the show. It's understandable that journalists would focus on their negotiations with Mr. Assange to release the cables to the newspapers -- this is, after all, their job and their role in the play --, but that one, 22-year-old, depressed soldier could blow the whistle on the monolithic, U.S. State Department is both astonishing and frightening. As a result of this brave act of conscience, Mr. Manning is currently in solitary confinement and stands to lose his freedom for the rest of his natural life. Manning, Assange, Wikileaks, secret cables... They all combine to give gripping detail to a spellbinding moment in our world's history.
Many have claimed that Manning and Wikileaks have endangered our world as a result of their recklessness. They argue that embarrassing monarchies and governments, as these cables do, will only make such authorities all the more wary and secretive. They argue, in effect, that we live in a world that needs secrets to function. This is self-justifying crap. The only way that we can make the world better and safer, for everyone, is to marry honest words with just actions. How can the West convince the developing world to act honorably if it cant' even get out of its own driveway without abetting some dictator, or looking the other way while failing, Asian states cavort with terrorists? Governments who are allowed to operate in secret succeed in ensuring one thing, that they will act dishonestly because it's easier to get things done that way, to hide corruption. But that's not good enough. If we're to make the world a better place, we must lead by example. And the best example we can set is by being honest with the world.
Utterly compelling work. (4/5 Stars)
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