DESTROY!

Media speculation about the motives behind Wikileaks and its mercurial founder Julian Assange is somewhat entertaining in light of the fact that Assange has laid it out in great detail -- in essay form, no less.

Assange is an anarchist whose stated goal is to provoke an over-reaction on the part of the state that will expose its authoritarian nature, turn it inward in a spasm of paranoia and ultimately prevent it from functioning.

And he may get his wish. This week, Senator Joe Lieberman, I-Connecticut, persuaded Amazon to take down the “cable-gate” files it had been hosting on its servers. Reuters reports that “government lawyers working on the Justice Department investigation are trying to be ‘creative’ in their exploration of legal options” against Wikileaks and Assange. Rep. Peter King, R-New York, the incoming head of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Wikileaks should be designated as a terrorist organization. He wasn’t alone. Others, including an adviser to the Canadian prime minister, have called for Assange’s assassination.

All of this is part of a larger, and wholly irrelevant debate -- or series of debates -- over the importance of Wikileaks. Are these dispatches going to result in even more secrecy in the future? Will they cause a massive setback in diplomacy, leaving us only military options for influencing other states? Or maybe the cables will have a salutary effect, shining needed light on a murky and secretive function of government? Is secrecy a bad thing in and of itself? And what of Assange? Is he a dedicated whistleblower willing to risk everything to “speak truth to power,” or a malign narcissist whose goal is simply to turn himself into a worldwide media star.

The reason these debates are largely irrelevant -- and calls to do something about Wikileaks are dangerous -- is straightforward. Legally speaking, it’s virtually impossible to distinguish between an organization like Wikileaks and any other online media outlet -- publications like the Christian Science Monitor, or RadioFreePenzance. And, legally speaking, it’s virtually impossible to distinguish between someone like Assange and any working journalist hanging around the newsroom of your local paper.

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