I have accepted I will disagree with the editorial staff of the Alligator on almost any given political issue, but Monday’s offensive editorial needs to be addressed.
The editorial in question, which had the temerity to endorse the odious WikiLeaks release of thousands of diplomatic communiques, cannot in good conscience be equated with Woodward and Bernstein’s reporting on the Watergate scandal, and the damage to diplomacy worldwide is incalculable.
Of course, the Alligator brings up the non-surprises that the Saudis support terrorism and the Karzai government is corrupt.
I am a bit surprised the Editorial Board mentioned Obama’s prisoners-for-access blackmail on Slovenia, but it didn’t mention the administration responsible for that reprehensible exchange.
The real casualty is a frank discussion of issues because every country that has diplomatic relations with us is less likely to share its real views with us if those views are likely to end up in the public sphere.
Additionally, some of the information divulged by WikiLeaks was gathered by real people, sometimes at considerable risk to themselves. But hey, it’s no skin off the editors of the Alligator if those people are endangered; the editors are safely ensconced in their office in Gainesville.
That’s the only thing that matters to our teenage arbiters of the truth.
