WikiLeaks May Actually Be Good For America

In essence, the cable leaks may inspire American taxpayers and legislators to ask questions about why a certain Afghan leader was able to exit the country, carrying $52 million of our hard earned cash in his man-purse at a time when many Americans are struggling to feed their families.

As far as national security is concerned, I can certainly understand how these leaks might raise the level of anxiety about potentially loosing innocent lives here in the U.S. and around the globe. But, I fail to see how the leaks could cause any more bloodshed than what has already occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan, or how it can affect the number of terrorist attacks already happening within our border.

Perhaps if we had a Wikileaks prior to start of the Iraq War in 2003, we would have had a better understanding of the evidence, or lack thereof, that lead the Bush administration to declare that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. And we might have raised questions as to why one of our biggest allies in the Middle East appears to be the home base for chief financiers of Sunni militant groups like Al Qaeda.

A little more transparency could have gone a long way in explaining the need for the Patriot Acts I & II, wiretapping, email snooping, terror watch list (which does not seem to be monitoring actual ‘terrorist’), and why we are getting felt up at airports.

Secrecy does not always work in the best interest of the people. Besides, if secrecy were truly important, wouldn’t the state department have done its due-diligence to ensure that all concerns were addressed, prior to the leak?

Yesterday, Assange announced plans for WikiLeaks to release information on an undisclosed but major American bank in the new year. Who said there was no Santa?

Charing Ball is the author of the blog People, Places & Things.