A Brief History
On July 25, 2010, the web media non-profit organization, WikiLeaks, released a trove of American secret documents regarding the War in Afghanistan, commonly referred to as “The Afghan War Diary” or “Afghan War documents leak.”
Digging Deeper
Although WikiLeaks somehow got their hands on 91,000 classified documents, only 71,000 have been released, allegedly out of consideration for the person or persons that leaked the documents to WikiLeaks who claimed to want to limit damage to US security.
While people that leak classified information are liable for severe criminal penalties, there seems to be no shortage of leakers willing to take that chance. Some may claim leakers are merely informing the public about sneaky things the government is doing, thus performing a public service. Others say leakers are traitors.
Some famous leaks include the Pentagon Papers in 1971, undermining the US war effort in Vietnam, and the 2013 leaks by Edward Snowden about US surveillance of American citizens.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Are leakers heroes or heels?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Ellsberg, Daniel. Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers. Penguin Books, 2003.
Maurizi, Stefania. Secret Power: WikiLeaks and Its Enemies. Pluto Press, 2022.
