These VJ Day Photos Teach Us That Wikileaks Is Not For Peace In Our Time
THEY came to honour the 30,000 dead and thousands more scarred and ruined by the war with Japan. It was the 65th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day and Norman Rolfe, 86, of the Suffolk Regiment, was there to pay his respects. He knows that war is bloody and bestial. The people of Nanjing and Kabul know it too.
Most of us do not know. We live in soft times. And we are glad for it. We live in times when a website called Wikileaks, run by a man with uber alles hair called Julian Assange, can publish documents that show war as being bloody and hard. We live in times when hacks and the cultural elite can express shock at the news. They sharpen their pencils and clack their tongues. They read the published leaks as they squat on the toilet and ride the train.
Meanwhile, veteran Albert Demett is at the Burma Star Association do to show Prince Charles his scrapbook of memories. He knows all about the sick nature of war.
Martin Flanagan, of the Sydney Morning Herald is one such hack who didn’t know.
He’s clearly talking to the Australian veterans of the Pacific campaign when he says:
This week, a number of human rights organisations called on Julian Assange to protect Afghans named in the avalanche of US Army intelligence on the Afghanistan war leaked to WikiLeaks. The Taliban execute people who give information to the Americans. There is no denying there are huge ethical questions in relation to what Assange and WikiLeaks have done. But Assange is correct when he says the leaks have revealed the true nature of the war.
The leaks provide a detailed picture of what is happening, including the civilian casualties. None of us can plead ignorance any more.
Yeah, no longer can you not realise that war is not all that nice. Thanks to Wikileaks and their leader you can now know that war is bloody, brutal and something it’s good to pick sides in. You see, when the enemy issues the challenge, whose side are you on? Think quick! You need to decided. There is no middle ground.
Article continues after our gallery of the War with Japan:
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Reporters Without Borders issues this decree:
RSF acknowledged that Wikileaks “has in the past played a useful role” by exposing violations of human rights and civil liberties. “But revealing the identity of hundreds of people who collaborated with the coalition in Afghanistan is highly dangerous. It would not be hard for the Taliban and other armed groups to use these documents to draw up a list of people for targeting in deadly revenge attacks,” says the letter.
These people had picked their side. And then people on their side let them down and broadcast their names. What does that make Julian Assange and his cohorts? Are they journalists protecting their sources and speaking truth unto power?
David Manuta has an idea:
It is the identification of those on the ground in Afghanistan (who are helping us) that is troubling to me. Al-Qaida and the Taliban have been boosted in ways unimaginable.
Due to this clear and present danger to others, a federal grand jury ought to seek an indictment of Assange and his peers for treason. The rest of the world needs to observe that “freedom of speech” is not synonymous with the “freedom to deliberately endanger the lives of others” …
Says Assange – without irony:
He expressed some ambivalence about the need to protect Afghans who have helped the U.S. military. “We are not obligated to protect other people’s sources,” including sources of “spy organizations or militaries,” unless it is from “unjust retribution,” he said, adding that the Afghan public “should know about” people who have engaged in “genuinely traitorous” acts.
Here are the pictures from VJ Day at 65. Try not to forget…
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Posted: 15th, August 2010 | In: Reviews Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink
