It seems as though the operations of WikiLeaks have set almost every source of power on the attack against a new enemy. But according to Liberation columnist Daniel Schneiderman, despite the focus on Julian Assange, pinpointing precisely what or who the enemy is – and how to stop it – is proving exceedingly difficult.
For Liberation, after outlining the importance of making sure that the sexual assault charges against Julian Assange are genuine rather than politically motivated, Daniel Schneiderman writes in part:
If this isn’t a war, it certainly looks like one. But what kind of war? This isn’t a war setting world powers against one another. Putin, who came vocally to Assange’s defense when the latter was imprisoned, will no doubt react differently when the site publishes Russian memos, which is bound to happen one day.
Neither is it a war between opposing economic interests. WikLeaks isn’t earning anything: it’s not a for-profit enterprise. At most, newspapers that have participated in its campaign may hope for some increase in circulation, but they simply climbed on the bandwagon – and money isn’t their primary motivation.
This a war that sets nation states – all nation states – and multinationals – all multinationals – against a new opponent, for which there is, as yet, scarcely a name. Global citizens’ opinion? The borderless republic of net-surfers? An ideal (transparency)? A technology (the Internet)? However hard one looks, it is difficult to find a precedent. In the battle raging right now, the smoke still swirls around the infantry.
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