WikiLeaks: plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

The Pentagon Papers and the revelations concerning the "secret" Cambodian bombings were, to me and my generation at least, the origins of major document dumps. I do believe that there are people who are still pissed about them.

When the "secret" bombings of Cambodia were finally revealed, my how the powerful squealed. Who were the bombings secret from? Us. Not the Cambodians certainly, nor the USSR, and most of Europe knew it. I was only us rubes here who didn't have a clue. Oh well more of the same, I guess. The anger was extreme and it was all because the American people were given some information about who else their government was killing in that interminable war. The anger was really, once again, directed against the people who leaked the information, not against the people ordering the "secret" bombings.

The anger against Ellsberg for the Pentagon Papers was even more extreme and even less reasonable. An internal "Defense [Orwell quotes]" Department study that came to the conclusion the the war was not winnable. No new information concerning tactics or war plans, but now everybody could know that we were there in a losing cause, killing untold numbers of Vietnamese and killing very told numbers of American and allied troops killed for apparently no reason at all.

At least as far as our military leaders thought at the time. But at any rate no anger against those who were insisting on killing for no particular reason, just against those who told us there was no particular reason. Since Ellsberg was in therapy the government went after his psychiatrist and lucky for him were caught breaking in. However, that didn't stop them from implying the Ellsberg was crazy and so shouldn't be believed because of it. Still most of the anger was directed at Ellsberg not those who were insisting on waging an unwinnable war.

Yes I do understand that the New York Times did publish these things, but they were attacked for giving aid and comfort to the enemy by most of the middle American press.

Now Assange is under attack by Sweeden not because he is letting the people in a democracy know what their government won't let them know, but rather because he allegedly is guilty of sexual misconduct with a couple of women who it turns out if and this is a big if his lawyer is correct decided after the fact that they were assualted. I guess they just didn't think of this for Ellsberg.

Well, well, well lookie at this there is nothing that the governments of the world and their lackies won't do to keep the people of a democracy from having information about their governments.