THE LEAKS ARE OUT – AT 11:22 P.M. ET:  WikiLeaks has struck.  The leak of this treasure trove of diplomatic cables will seriously affect America's ability to do business.  Foreign nations will wonder why we can't keep our secrets.  Most of them do.  Consider this, published joyously by The New York Times, whose role in covering for these leaks has been disgraceful:

There was little surprising in Mr. Barak’s implicit threat that Israel might attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. As a pressure tactic, Israeli officials have been setting such deadlines, and extending them, for years. But six months later it was an Arab leader, the king of Bahrain, who provides the base for the American Fifth Fleet, telling the Americans that the Iranian nuclear program “must be stopped,” according to another cable. “The danger of letting it go on is greater than the danger of stopping it,” he said.

His plea was shared by many of America’s Arab allies, including the powerful King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who according to another cable repeatedly implored Washington to “cut off the head of the snake” while there was still time.

These warnings are part of a trove of diplomatic cables reaching back to the genesis of the Iranian nuclear standoff in which leaders from around the world offer their unvarnished opinions about how to negotiate with, threaten and perhaps force Iran’s leaders to renounce their atomic ambitions.

COMMENT:  No matter what you may think of these leaders, they deal with the U.S. on a confidential basis.  What has happened here is disgraceful.

Excellent talk show host Mike Scully sends us a quote from the conservative columnist, Max Boot, that sums up how many of us feel about what has become of our profession:

"There was a time when editors and reporters thought of themselves as citizens first and journalists second. There were damaging leaks even during World War II, but when they occurred they were generally denounced by the rest of the press. We now seem to have reached a moment when the West’s major news organizations, working hand in glove with a sleazy website, feel free to throw spitballs at those who make policy and those who execute it. This is journalism as pure vandalism. If I were responsible, I would feel shame and embarrassment. But apparently, those healthy emotions are in short supply these days."

Indeed.  Indeed.

November 28, 2010