Governments all over the planet have been embarrassed by revelations from the diplomatic bag of US foreign policy. The egg is not just on Uncle Sam’s face - far from it. Toadying Brit politicians, whimpering like naughty puppies left out in the cold. Scheming Gulf tyrants recommending the devastation of Iran, Putin described as a Mafia Godfather. The dirt spread far and wide. But there was more. The hidden toll of Iraqi families slaughtered by accident, dismissed in bare faced lies by a military pretending only the bad guys bought it. The revelation that drone strikes kill the innocent at a ratio of 100:1. Who really suffers by these revelations? Only those who would rather the people didn’t know the truth.
It is comforting to believe that power is in the hands of just and honest men; that political systems, wisely designed with laudable ideals protect us from villains and tyrants, but revelations down the years from Watergate Tapes, the Pentagon Papers to Wikileaks have shown us they do not.
We need to know this. We need to hold politicians and military leaders to account for what they do, and above all, they need to know they can not lie to us. Assange, Ellsberg, Woodward and Bernstein lift the lid, exposing what government would prefer keep hidden.
Were their revelations treason? I doubt it. If government isn’t straight with the people, where do we stand. Probably with the people of Russia, China, Burma and North Korea.
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