Reason brought us from the Dark Ages to Modernity. Reason brought the Greeks and Romans to the pinnacle of well run societies during their times. Reason brought us the revolution that started with a single piece of paper. That single piece of paper became the shot heard round the world.
Today, we are too far away from reason. We are running our country on opinions based more on tribal identification than on real loyalty to principles--the very principles we claim to hold dear. If our tribe members say the other tribe should get nothing done, then obstructionism is the watchword, and nothing, not even necessary things, get done. Or worse, past mistakes are not corrected or preventable in the future.
Birth certificates noting a country not known by a certain name until it's real independence in 1963. Race defined by terms not heard for another five years after this document was supposedly generated.
A man is suddenly dead, whose death was reported on CNN, the various Egyptian newspapers and, hand to God, Fox News. Those reports were in December 2001. Apparently, they do not matter now that the operation begun months earlier suddenly paid off big time, either months later or nearly a decade so.
Take the Wikileaks problem. It is a problem. The problem is not that the leaks took place, but the reaction to those leaks. Surely the problems that made the leaks necessary, as is true with all leaks made so as to correct a wrong course of action, must be addressed. I am not making light of the great losses endured by those killed or injured in wars, but there also must be clear action taken to prevent all future injuries and death from those persisting in wrongheaded courses of action. This is true of countries, industries and individuals. And all are involved in the subject matter covered by the leaked documents.
Why, in a nation that has a long and proud history of never standing mute in the face of criminal activity, is the major reaction that we should never have had these leaks hit the light of day? In war, as in peace, documents are leaked from the government. And leaking is reprehensible. It was wrong that the documents were leaked. Breaching confidentiality is always wrong, and when illegal, remains wrong. But, the leaks happened, and that damage was done. So, America, as a proud and basically good nation, must take the leaked documents and learn from them to prevent further unnecessary casualties and deaths. We must learn from our errors set forth in the documents, and we must make sure we don't go off on further misadventures that will cause unnecessary blood and treasure to be wasted.
The problem is not that the leaks took place, because right now the cat is out of the bag. As happened with the Pentagon Papers, the leak happened, and now we have to face the heart of the issue. That central issue is why were the leaks necessary? What made the leakers willing to risk everything to put into the public domain, everything that was included in the leaked documents.
We need a Congressional investigation. We need probing by an impartial group to investigate the facts, the whys and wherefores that brought about the need for the leaks in the first instance.
We need a thorough investigation into these events. All of them. We need to know the hows and whys of Wikileaks just as we need to know the hows and whys of certified documents that were scanned in one go, but have 50 layers visible in the Adobe viewer. We need to know why words that would not be used for years in the future were used in that document. Prescience? Political correctness nearly a half century before it has nobbled us all?
That is the central issue. When you get down to it, people don't risk everything for trivial matters. Sane people don't risk everything just for embarrassment. Those that leaked the documents appear, from all reviews of the leaked documents, to have been very sane in making sure those documents did see the light of day. The leaked documents are begging for our investigation. Heck, documents all over the place are demanding investigation.
We are faced with the contents of those documents. The America that does not condone war crimes is faced with the content of the documents. Now released, the test of our moral fiber will be the unflinching response to the content of the leaked documents. We must admit our mistakes, and make sure that systems are put into place so that mistakes are not repeated in the future.
That future should not be merely a way to keep the wrongs hidden better. This nation has never gained strength in backing away from mistakes. We make sure that we don't make those same mistakes again, for that is what a mature and reasoning nation does.
Forget the claims that only traitors would leak documents. Not all leaking is treasonous. And now that the truth has been "outed", let us be strong men and women, face the errors identified in the leaked documents and do better. And if, after careful examination, documents are found that really are releasing secrets that will make a difference in the future, as to actual planned battles and actual future strategic plans, well, those trains have now left the station. Those secrets are gone, as secrets.
Where mistakes have been made in Afghanistan or Iraq, we must correct our actions. It is imperative if we are to retain our ethic as a nation that values right and rule of law more than victory at all cost. We have done it before, we have looked at our own war crimes and prosecuted them as such. We must not back down from doing the right thing, for that is the only thing we can do.
So, let the planners and strategists do better at keeping those future things secret in the future. But let's first address the mistakes that were made, for mistakes are inevitable in any human endeavor. Let us stand up and squarely face the music and shout down those that dismiss the crimes and wrongs as mere fog of war, or battlefield mistake. Some wrongs may be such, but certainly not all. And let reason prevail, and let us make sure our errors are not repeated as a matter of honor. Reasoned honor, not honor reasoned away or buried under the cacophony of cries of wrongdoing only directed at the leakers while ignoring the reason that the leaks occurred in the first place.
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