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Nothing is confidential, clearly
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
THE United States government has traditionally been able to keep documents out of the public domain by declassifying them only after long periods, and even then, by rendering part of the text ineligible.
When individuals have released documents without permission, for example, Daniel Ellsberg and the infamous Pentagon Papers, it has been at risk of prosecution.
But it seems that nothing is confidential these days. There is a new phenomenon of nongovernment organisations releasing on their websites confidential documents which have been purloined and made available to them.
WikiLeaks released 75,000 documents in July on the Afghan war and 400,000 documents about the Iraq war in October. Now it has released the first batch of some 250,000 US diplomatic cables dealing with US foreign policy, including assessments of delicate military and diplomatic situations and candid evaluations of foreign leaders.
This raises a number of issues which are of concern to all governments, including Jamaica’s, because what has happened to the US could even more easily happen to other countries.
First, we have to determine the legality of this action and if it constitutes a breach and what are the repercussions in regard to prosecution and punishment.
Second, the risk of exposure of confidential material could damage the conduct of foreign policy by eroding confidence and trust. Individuals and governments who have been willing to be open and frank in their dealings with the US may become cautious. It could cause diplomacy to resort to vague and ambiguous language in a profession noted for its opacity.
Third, the nature of the revelations is at odds with the pronouncements and posture of the US on several very important issues, thereby undermining American foreign policy. This kind of information casts doubt on the veracity of public statements by spokespersons and diplomatic representatives.
Fourth, a judicious and pragmatic balance has to be struck between the legitimate demand by the public to be fully informed about policy being implemented on their behalf and the judgment of governments about what type of and when information can be made public. The released material, while adding to public debate, runs the risk that disparaging commentary by a political officer in some embassy could be misconstrued to be the US position.
Fifth, the asymmetry of information is a part of winning negotiations and prevailing in foreign policy but some of the information collected by the US is intrusive to individual privacy and national sovereignty. The Barack Obama administration professes a commitment to responsible, accountable, and open government at home and abroad, but can it change the traditions of the US government?
Sixth, there are security implications in the publication of confidential US government documents and correspondence for the conduct of foreign policy by all governments.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has condemned the release of stolen secret documents by WikiLeaks as putting at risk the lives of US officials. The Pentagon said it would take action to prevent future illegal releases of classified information, including removing the ability of classified computers to download information onto removable disks.
Security will have to be strengthened to restore confidentiality but the question we ask is, will this be at the expense of transparency and make foreign policy more covert?
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz17EHacevr