Recently, the powerful online website WikiLeaks successfully released thousands of diplomatic messages that were sent by the United States State Department about U.S. missions around the world.
Many people have begun to scrutinize the website’s founder, Julian Assange, for his actions and the website itself.
Personally, I feel as though the website’s actions were out of line and have caused certain damages in the political world.
While I will admit that the consequences of this recent leak of State Department documents has not been as deadly as many thought it would be, it has still damaged the United States’ reputation in the world community.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio da Silva did not hesitate to take this U.S. embarrassment as an opportunity to make a statement. In a recent radio interview, da Silva said, “It was thought that Americans were better than others, and in the end they commit the same stupidities as everyone else.”
Other leaders made their feelings on the subject clear as well.
Perhaps the most upsetting came from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Chavez praised the website for its courage and said that the U.S. “is a failed state that throws overboard all ethical principles and respect for even its own allies.”
Chavez is a fierce critic of the U.S. and his country’s military doctrine has the U. S. listed as a potential enemy.
The entire WikiLeaks “document dump” has only given him more ammunition in his crusade against the U.S. and he will continue his attacks.
This is why I feel that there needs to be serious consequences for the administrators of WikiLeaks and the website’s future should be in jeopardy. By releasing thousands of confidential documents, the integrity of the U.S. has been damaged.
High-level State Department officials have acknowledged the damages as well.
A spokesperson for the State Department recently said that these documents have had an effect and that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been spending much of her time phoning nations around the world to apologize.
This leak of documents should be viewed as a major step back for America in terms of diplomacy. While the State Department should be focusing its brainpower and resources to addressing issues like nuclear Iran, they are instead busy calling world leaders to apologize.
The WikiLeaks organization is not damging only to the U.S. either.
In the heat of a major war against the drug cartels, the Mexican government has an uphill battle. One of the documents released on WikiLeaks said the Mexican authorities had great unease about their battle against the cartels and that the government was losing ground.
Not only does this weaken the credibility of the Mexican government, it emboldens the murderous drug cartels. It empowers them even more by reaffirming the fact that they are winning and their strategies of undermining the government are working.
Not only does this damage the integrity of our country and other countries; it is downright embarrassing.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is part of a pro/con series on WikiLeaks. Click here to read the other article, called Assange uncovers hypocrisy, failures.