Behind the Leaked Documents

Making Sense, By Michael Reagan

The man behind the torrent of leaked documents wants to end the war in Afghanistan, and he doesn’t care how much damage he does to the troops on the ground in that hostile environment. Now hailed by anti-war liberals as some kind of a hero, Australian computer hacker Julian Assange is part of an international cabal dedicated to doing mischief that endangers U.S. national security.

Cartoon by Daryl Cagle - msnbc.com (click to reprint)

Last April, his website Wikileaks posted a video, “Collateral Murder,” making Wikileaks what has been described as a prime source of unauthorized but accurate accounts, video and documents. Last week came the flood of leaked documents.

The viciousness displayed by Assange against the U.S. forces in Afghanistan was shown in sickening detail when he published the Social Security numbers of U.S. servicemen and women, exposing them all kinds of dangers.

His latest outrage is designed to do nothing less that end U.S. efforts to prevent Afghanistan from falling into the bloody hands of a band of international terrorist thugs.

Wikileaks, described by Wikipedia as an “international organization based in Sweden” and run by Assange, an Australian and skilled computer hacker. They brag that they have a database comprising more than 1.2 million documents.

Last week Assange released the so-called “Afghan Diary,” a staggering hoard of some 92,000 documents dealing primarily with the war in Afghanistan and the role of Pakistan in that conflict.

The alleged source of these documents in an American G.I., Bradley Manning, an allegation Assange denies, saying, “There is no allegation as far as we can determine” that the documents posted on Wikileaks Sunday are “connected to Bradley Manning.” He added however, that nonetheless his group has “committed funds” to Manning’s defense.

The information contained in these 92,000 documents among other things deals with civilian casualties, and the role of Pakistan in assisting the Taliban terrorists. Such allegations are designed to do nothing less than drive a wedge between the U.S. and Pakistan.

Summed up, the information is more than a year old, prior to the onset of the surge now underway. The documents are designed to bring unbearable pressure on the U.S. to bug out of Afghanistan much as America shamefully bugged out of Vietnam, leading to the massacre or imprisonment of over a million South Vietnamese U.S. allies. A similar fate would await those Afghan villagers who cooperated with U.S. forces. Only worse — the North Vietnamese didn’t behead their victims.

The import of these leaks can be measured if compared to what would have happened had American plans and capabilities had been revealed to the enemy in World War II during the Battle of the Bulge or any other key engagement in World War II.

And imagine what kind of penalty a leaker would have paid.

There is no doubt that the leaks had one overriding motive: get the U.S. and its allies out of Afghanistan, handing victory to a band of terrorist thugs.

This a war the U.S. must win if the struggle to end international terrorism is to succeed. Any actions designed to end that struggle without success are actions against the vital interests of the American people.

Jullian Assange, alleged anti-war crusader, has revealed himself for what he is — a subversive who has no qualms about the damage he does to the United States and to the members of our armed forces.

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Mike Reagan, the elder son of the late President Ronald Reagan, is chairman and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation (www.reaganlegacyfoundation.org). Look for Mike’s books and other information at www.Reagan.com. E-mail comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com.

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