Assange: Changing Governments Around the World

Many governments are built upon undisclosed facts not meant for the people to see. Julian Assange has changed that in just a few years. Julian Assange is an Australian publicist, journalist, and computer hacker. He is the man behind WikiLeaks, a website publicizing worldwide news leaks. WikiLeaks was founded in 2006 with the purpose to create more open governments. Assange stated "the more secretive or unjust an organization is, the more leaks induce fear and paranoia in its leadership and planning coterie.... Since unjust systems, by their nature induce opponents, and in many places barely have the upper hand, mass leaking leaves them exquisitely vulnerable to those who seek to replace them with more open forms of governance." He has caused a whirlwind of criticism, from good to bad to ugly. Although Julian Assange may have hurt covert sources personally, on a larger scale he has greatly helped stop fraud and deception in government.

Julian Assange is exemplary for going against governments and exposing the truth that George W. Bush blurred. Not any person would stand up and go against the government to spread the truth. George Bush’s book “Decision Points”, highlights many facets of the war in Iraq while omitting information such as the Arab world despising Iran and the staggering death tolls. Bush justifies the war in Iraq by saying the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein. Saudi King Abdullah expressed that the war had given Iraq to Iran as a “gift on a golden platter”. Without Julian Assange we would not have the same insight into the truths of the war and what exactly goes on between other countries.

The current revolution in Tunisia shows what can happen to a government that is corrupt. Some reasons for the revolt are corruption, a lack of freedom of speech, and other political freedom. There have been 223 plus deaths and at least 94 injured in the Tunisian revolution. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia and officially resigned after 23 years in power. This revolt has sparked revolts in other countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Yemen, Libya and many more.

America is currently not in a revolution and it should be kept that way. If America becomes more corrupt and continues to conceal information, things could get ugly and we could soon too be in a revolution.

The American people deserve to know the reality of what is going on in the world right now and Assange has made that possible. Governments hide their flaws or mistakes which is understandable, however in some instances the people should know when corrupt events are occurring. People do not need to know every little detail but they should know about things such as American soldiers killing innocent civilians and reporters in Iraq.

Named Project B, Julian Assange publicized a 38 minute video taken from the cockpit of an Apache military helicopter in Iraq in 2007. This video contained footage of American Soldiers killing innocent people and laughing about it.

This was a closely guarded military secret, so obviously the government would not come out and tell the people but it is better that we know the truth. America presents itself as such a noble and caring, free country, yet our soldiers are making a joke of firing down innocent Iraqi’s. Assange has allowed us to understand the facts not what is conveyed to us.

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts." -Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was a revolutionary in the development of justice in America. Julian Assange is providing the truth to the people. Without the truth, the problems cannot be fixed. The current issues will just be swept under the rug, and that is what is happening right now. Everybody is so worried about stopping and prosecuting Assange when in reality he is helping. He cannot be stopped and should not be stopped.

It is regrettable that Assange has failed to redact the names of sources. A prime example of this is Rudolf Elmer. Elmer, a previous employee of Julius Baer Group Ltd., gave two compact discs to Assange and previously offered files to WikiLeaks on financial activities in the Cayman Islands. "I do think as a banker I have the right to stand up if something is wrong," said Elmer, who addressed reporters alongside Assange.

Just yesterday, USA Today reported that Bradley Manning is being charged with 22 additional counts for allegedly leaking documents and video published by WikiLeaks. Some of the material released by WikiLeaks contained the names of informants and others who had aided U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.

Some have suffered for leaking information to WikiLeaks but that is what they get for doing so. It is a risk that is taken when exposing governments and the truth. Assange did not force anybody to leak information, he only published it and made it public. What Assange is doing is for the greater good of the public.

Assange’s focus has always been international, rather than targeting a particular country. Some view him as an enemy of America, however that is definitely not true. Assange has exposed information about leaders in foreign countries as well as in America. The Libyan Leader Moammar Gaddafi is psychologically impaired with neurotic tics and cannot travel without his Ukrainian nurse. Also, Afghanistan’s vice president took 52 million dollars in cash out of the country and got it through customs in the United Arab Emirates.

If Assange was solely conspiring against America he would not uncover secrets of other countries. In fact, knowing these secrets could potentially assist America against those countries at war if need be.

It is seen that Julian Assange is surpassing the rights that go along with the First Amendment, which is false. He states, "We in the West have deluded ourselves into believing that we actually have a truly free press. We don't. And we can see that in the difference between what Wikileaks does and what the rest of the press does.” Assange is exemplifying true freedom of press and half the world wants to arrest him for that.

Assange also commented, “What does censorship reveal? It reveals fear.” America and countries around the world fear the power Assange has gained in exploiting confidential material, when in reality he is fighting censorship.

Ultimately, Julian Assange has been correct in publicizing government secrets. From Bush pretending there is actually pure reasoning behind the war to the military shooting video to facts about foreign leaders, Assange has exposed it all. He is a bold, wise man who has changed society. Technology is advancing and Julian Assange has taken advantage of that to change the political world. He is not perfect in the sense of whistleblowers getting jailed, but more importantly, he has increased transparency in government systems.