UPDATE below

Wikileaks, (wikileaks.org), the group that exposed the government’s (both Bush and
Obama’s) secrecy and lies over the Afghan War is an astounding step forward in
the internet’s capacity to promote freedom and offset the power of politics and
money.  Wikileaks is the world’s
first stateless news organization, their servers in many countries so that they
can make the truth available no matter which government tries to close them
down. 

Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York
University,  has written a
wonderful piece on who they are and how they operate.  I urge everyone to give it a read.  After reading him I think you’ll agree Wikileaks is one of the most interesting
and hopeful developments on the internet.

The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, recently gave a fascinating
presentation to TED.  I highly
recommend you watch the video.  (In it he announces
a new leak and incredibly important news for all of us from Iceland.)

Over the past few years Wikileaks has apparently released
more classified documents than the rest of the world’s media, combined.  Not just embarrassing secrets of the
American government, but also to in many other governments.  In some cases the revelation of truth
changed the outcome of elections. 
In case after case the winners have been the public, for what is
classified has nothing to do with national security and everything to do with
leaders and rulers holding themselves aloof from responsibility for their lies
and actions.

The Obama administration is proving itself about as two
faced and deceptive with respect to the truth about Afghanistan as the previous
Bush administration.  They have
said that the leaks say nothing new and that they endanger our troops.  Actually both statements are both
self-contradictory and false. 

They complain that Wikileaks did not contact them in
advance, and they also say they are going to try and hunt them down.  Anyone notice a bit of incoherence
there? 

Obama promised us transparency but faithfully covers for
Bush era crimes while diligently pursuing whistleblowers exposing
malfeasance.  In Afghanistan as in
the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama Administration has proven itself as secretive and
deceptive as the Bush regime. 
Wikileaks does the job for Americans that Obama promised and did not
deliver.  Even better, they are
doing it for the rest of the world as well.

Two good overviews of the leaks and why they are so
important are Glenn Greenwald’s usual excellent piece in Salon  and Amy Davidson’s analysis in the New Yorker.  Good journalism is not dead in this country, it just doesn’t pay enough for
people like Russert and Blitzer to want to do it when shilling for corporations
and the establishment is so lucrative.

Wikileaks is one force for truth well enough organized to
give these hacks and those they serve a run for their money.  The future of freedom may depend on
their continued success.

UPDATE

I had no idea the hypocrisy had gotten this bad.  Daniel Ellsberg, of Pentagon Papers fame during the Vietnam War, observed, the Obama administration has indicted more whistleblowers than all
previous administrations COMBINED. Even including people Bush did not prosecute who blew the whistle under his administration.  Compare that with the failure to prosecute crimes by Bush’s people.  There is no honest or principled excuse for this. Obama is a liar.