After having read Schoenfeld's article, I am somewhat split on how I feel towards what WikiLeaks does. I believe it is important to not only take opinion into the matter, but also the legal aspect. In my case these two aspets contradict each other.
When looking at WikiLeaks from a legal standpoint, it seems clear to me that Julian Assange and anyone else associated with WikiLeaks are innocent. In Schoenfeld's article he clearly states that in order for them to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917 Assange must have intended for the information to hurt the U.S; however, it would be extremely hard to prove this point. Personally, I don't think Assange's goal was to hurt America; he almost certainly just felt that the citizens of the U.S. should know what's going on in there own country. When this as well as the first amendment are considered, I think it's clear that Assange is innocent in a court of law.
Despite how I feel about WikiLeaks and Assange from a legal standpoint, personally I think that he had no right to publish classified documents without government permission. Assange can't know the repercussions of his work. Assange may have unknowingly killed an American spy or gave away the position of American troops. In return, all that is gained is information that the public will forget within a month. In my opinion Assange was and is too impulsive in how he runs WikiLeaks, and I completely disagree with the idea of a website that releases classified information.
I totally agree with it being hard to prove that he is trying to purposely impose fear. I also think he is just giving us the information just so we can know.
ReplyDeleteHowever, some of the information Assange has released has caused quite a scene so I'm not sure it'll all just be forgotten about in as month. I do see where you're coming from though when you mention your thoughts on releasing classified information to the public; it could potentially give way to american troops or get an innocent american killed!
I'm in agreement with you about the idea that Assange is an innocent man. I explained in my post how the First Amendment came into play here.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion does differ with yours from the standpoint of right and wrong. However, your point about the public forgetting is a GREAT point. Unless something somehow keeps occuring this nation keeps forgetting.
I agree with you, Will, from a legal standpoint Assange is innocent. The Espionage Act of 1917 seems out of the question here, as his intent was not to hurt the US. He will also be protected under the 1st Amendment like Schimmel mentioned. I do disagree with on whether it was right of Assange to leak these classified documents. I feel that the people of the world should have the right to know this information. Yes, the information will have large impacts on the world--good and bad. I would like to think that the good outweighs the bad in this situation. We heard of many great examples of where the information being leaked has changed countries for the good (Kenya Elections.) I also don't think that Assange is super "impulsive" with his post. Yeah he might have to meet deadlines, but I'm sure he considered the impact the information will have on the world. He is just trying to make the world a better place.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is a hard issue to take a stand on- exactly how far does "freedom of speech" stretch. The legal points could be argued for hours, everything from charges to punishment. I think it comes down to morally right and wrong. Keeping in mind that morals vary among people, I believe that most Americans would agree it's morally right to inform the public of corruption, and morally wrong to endanger our citizens. So it really all comes down to if the posts actually endangered people, or just the governments reputation.
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