mikehudack:

rafer:

mikehudack:

bah-humbug:

mikehudack:

Damning evidence that Wikileaks really can damage American and international security in a meaningful way. For those of you who consider Wikileaks an unambiguous force for good, consider this. It could have led to bin Laden getting away again.

This document could not have provided any actionable information about Bin Laden’s whereabouts.  Let’s not go overboard because it simply mentions “Abbottabad, PK” and Bin Laden in the same paragraph.

Really? It says that the courier “is the official messenger between UBL and others in Pakistan” and that he “worked between Abbottabad and Peshewar.” How much more would you like it spelled out? If you were UBL or one of UBL’s security people and saw this leaked document how would you react?

This is as serious a leak as if the Germans found out we broke Enigma or the Japanese learned that we broke Purple. This is no joke.

Rafer sez:
1. I’m sure WikiLeaks is a mixed bag, but it beats the hell out of a regime in which any old thing can be classified for political expediency. That’s the case today. 
2. #OBL didn’t seem to benefit much from the leak, did he?

That’s a classic false argument. He didn’t benefit from the leak, so it couldn’t have been so bad. You can’t rely on your enemy executing poorly. That’s a shit way to run anything. This information was appropriately classified SECRET and NOFORN and it was leaked illegally and it could have easily allowed UBL to slip out of our grasp for a second, third or fourth time. The ugly side of Wikileaks has been revealed.

Rafer sez:
My bad for adding point #2 in a fit of pique. Please respond to the clear substance of my point, i.e. #1 above. Is OBL escaping again really the greater of two evils here? If he needs to live for the Bill of Rights to live, then I’m up for it.

(Source: soupsoup)