The Australian and Swedish governments show themselves to be poodles of the American establishment, Australia by besmerching a citizen who hasn’t yet been charged with any related crime, and Sweden by resurrecting a once-dropped legal case surrounding unprotected consensual sex.
Wikileaks acted as a distributor of information they have been supplied with, and following true journalistic principles, have protected their source. If there is a crime, it has not been carried out by wikileaks. You can argue about whether they should be more discriminating about what they have released but that is not illegal.
The released cables have been created, stored and inadequately protected by the American government. The fault lies with them for allowing them to be accessed and released. Indeed it may yet prove to be an ‘inside job’.
The australian government’s behaviour so far in this shameful episode has been grubby and cowardly – sucking up to American popular opinion. Grow some balls, Australia, and defend a citizen who has done nothing but reveal the shabby truth about what is actually going on in global politics.
The Opium machine continues to thrive in Afghanistan. The Russians were often accused of sanctioning and assisting in the production and distribution of Opium whist in Afghanisatn. Has anything changed?
Drug production in Afghanistan has increased dramatically since the US-led invasion and a recent report by the United Nations states that Afghan opium is having a devastating impact on the world, killing thousands in consumer countries.
Meanwhile, The New York Times has reported that Ahmad Wali Karzai, brother of the Afghan president, is involved in the opium trade, meets with Taliban leaders, and is also a CIA operative.
The opium trade is the major source of Taliban financing.
US defence company Raytheon has been demonstrating a new solid-State, powerful laser that can shoot down aircraft and projectiles as well as sinking ships, with the capability of being hooked up with existing anti-aircraft weaponry. They are also working on land-based and more mobile versions with increased power.
A massive cache of secret US military files released by Wikileaks to selected newspapers provides a devastating portrait of the war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, attacks by Taliban groups have soared and also how NATO commanders fear that Pakistan and Iran are fuelling the insurgency.
Regardless of your personal opinion of the conflict in Afghanistan or of the leaking of these papers, the material released should be studied. One of the best summarisations of the material can be found at the Guardian’s website:
