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Wikileaks more responsible than depicted

Although I generally look forward to the Gazette’s editorials, I was very disappointed with Wednesday’s commentary concerning Wikileaks, which demonstrated a very poor understanding of the situation.

Firstly, the release of information has not been indiscriminate. In the past two weeks, Wikileaks has released only 1,095 of 251,287 total documents. They are releasing the cables slowly so that they can all be given adequate attention, rather than dumping everything at once.

Secondly, Wikileaks did hand over all the information to legitimate sources in advance of the leak. Der Spiegel in Germany, El País in Spain, Le Monde in France, The Guardian in the UK, and The New York Times in the US were all given early access to the documents. All five of the sources have been publishing new cables with commentary daily.

Thirdly, Wikileaks does censor certain information in their releases. If the Gazette staff had taken the time to actually read some of the cables, they might have noticed that the names of informants and other potentially sensitive information is omitted in the published documents in the interest of safety.

Finally, Wikileaks’ “critics” are almost all politicians who have been embarrassed by the documents. The public is generally in support of the release because it shows just how often governments lie to each other and their people.

Although I truly appreciate the Gazette drawing attention to this and other important world issues, I hope any future commentary will be more thoroughly researched before going to print.

— Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood
MIT III

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