[Julian Assange] sees himself as a moral crusader, exposing “injustice” and bringing down “administrations which rely on concealing reality.” Rubbish. He’s a renegade, a brilliant and reckless rebel who wields cyber-power without accountability. His leaks tear down civilization, his “truth” endangers rather than reforms. His little power trip should be brought to a halt by any legal means available.
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
The Pentagon is taking steps to ensure there are more technological barriers to such massive thievery, and that is certainly warranted. But military, law enforcement and diplomatic officials should resist the urge to clamp down on valuable information-sharing as a result of this breach.
The Roanoke Times
The question that should survive the current contretemps, the political outrage and even the diplomatic damage is why the national security exercised on important documents is so poor that one person or organization can have access to a trove of 251,287 cables. Given the repeated release of U.S. secrets this year, Americans should also ask what their leaders can and should do to prevent it, and why they haven’t done so already.
The Virginian-Pilot
There are two schools of thought about WikiLeaks. Some see its release of U.S. documents as anti-American espionage, others as a triumph of free speech. The same cannot be said for some of WikiLeaks’ admirers, who have resorted to mob action in their defense of the enterprise. There are no two sides to that coin.
Richmond Times-Dispatch