The Internet: it’s old news, right? For many of us, this technology has been so integrated into our lives since it’s inception that we forget how new it really is, and everyday is allowing things that have never been possible. On Sunday WikiLeaks, a website that publishes information and comments on leaked documents relating to government and corporate misconduct, released over 90,000 secret US military reports concerning the war in Afghanistan. This is considered by many the most substantial intelligence leak about a war while it is still happening in American history.
The secret documents known as the Afghan War Diary provides dates, locations, and details about everything from missions to civilian casualty downplays and cover-ups. This information was provided to other news sources such as The New York Times and The Guardian several weeks before the release on WikiLeaks. Sources were removed from the documents before publication to protect their identity.
This is the first time in history that government information of this magnitude has been leaked on such a large scale. People around the world are able to read these documents, send links to their friends about it, and comment on it at the click of a mouse. WikiLeaks has even provided a Google Map that links documents to the corresponding locations.
Obviously, this information would never have been released so quickly, and on a global scale if it weren’t for the Internet. WikiLeaks operates in several nations, therefore avoiding censorship or jurisdiction from any one nation. I am undecided if this will have any significant impact on the current state of the Afghan War, but I do think it will affect decision-makers in the future. If persons are more likely to be held publicly accountable for their actions, I feel it will have a positive impact over time. Sites like WikiLeaks are redefining the way we receive the news. What do you think? Do you think this will have any significant impact on the Afghan War and future conflicts, or will this blow over in time?
TweetTags: Afghan War Diaries, Afghanistan, Google Maps, internet, War, WikiLeaks
