Exposing the secret state

[Joanne98]

The test of the true value of WikiLeaks is if it helps end the government culture of stealth.

THE wholesale release of official communications by WikiLeaks has been revealing and entertaining, condemned and applauded by the usual suspects, but it hasn't yet touched the heart of the matter, which is the state's secret life.

Exposing what diplomats and their sources say to each other brings pleasure to some and grief to others, but so far it is merely evidence that the diplomatic community is lively and well informed. The secret state is another matter. Diplomacy has been described as a "conversation between strangers", recognising the diversity of states and the need to acknowledge the concerns and interests of others. The secret state regards strangers as adversaries, even enemies, and sets out to intimidate, suborn or subdue them with whatever means are at hand.

Advertisement: Story continues below Niccolo Machiavelli put the argument succinctly: "Where the very safety of the country depends upon the resolution to be taken, no consideration of justice or injustice, humanity or cruelty, nor of glory or shame, should be allowed to prevail … The only question should be, what course will save the life and liberty of the country?" Accordingly, he advised his prince "how not to be good"

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/exposing-the-secret-state-20101229-19a42.html

[leveymg]

1. Wikileaks has not revealed state secrets. Those are Top Secret. What Assange has shown is the

over-classification of everyday knowledge by government, and the futility of attempting to monopolize and control access to it.

By those standards, Wikileaks has been profoundly helpful in revealing the folly of over-classification. The real secrets of state -- the rigged elections, false flag operations, assassinations made to look like suicides -- will mostly remain buried, the stuff of our instinctive distrust of states.

[struggle4progress]

2. Assange might be prosecutable under Australian law, if he released many Australian diplomatic cables

and any other publishers might similarly be prosecutable

... The High Court in Commonwealth v John Fairfax & Sons Ltd & Ors (the first major Australian case seeking prevention of publication of sensitive government documents relating to Australia's national security and foreign policy) commented that ... If .. it appears that disclosure will be inimical to the public interest because national security, relations with foreign countries or the ordinary business of government will be prejudiced, disclosure will be restrained ...
Australian secrecy regime
http://www.caslon.com.au/secrecyguide4.htm

... under the Crimes Act, 1914 (Cth) a Commonwealth officer is guilty of an offence if he or she communicates information which that person has a duty to treat as a secret to someone who is not authorised to receive it (Section 79). A journalist who receives such information and publishes it is guilty of an offence if he or she had reason to believe it was communicated in contravention of this provision. It is a criminal offence to publish such information regardless of whether the disclosure of the information would harm the public ...
Press Law in Australia
http://www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/fop/auspres.html