Apropos of your cover story, Hark, The Neo World Order (Dec 20), the irony of Julian Assange’s spy machinery lies in the fact that it closely resembles espionage systems so far adopted by rulers and governments—from Chandragupta Maurya, Queen Elizabeth I to Adolf Hitler; from the world wars, the Cold War to the war on terror. What he is doing has been done earlier by a Francis Walsingham or a Fritz Joubert Duquesne. Even today, the US government uses elaborate systems to track the whereabouts of the American people, both officially and unofficially.
Padmini Raghvendra, Secunderabad
The netnapped WikiLeaks stuff defines diplomatese for what it is: the public language of deception artistes. A dictionary of ‘unvarnished diplomatese’ may well be in the offing so that we can all make sense of the gobbledygook wired out of US missions. It’s not the number of leaked cables that should shock us but the mediocre presumptions rife in those “secret” missives used so casually to describe people and elected leaders. These observations were supposed to be from the best and brightest of our time. Really? The simplistic and naive generalisations in the leaks must shock even the most dim-witted editorial writer in small-town US. I do have two suggestions. One to the US government: use the tax dollars you’re wasting now to chase Assange to retrain your diplomats in better report writing and usage. And two, to my buddy Assange. I, too along with the NYT, support your right to “publish and perish”. But I must ask you, ‘Why are you holding on to other missives?’ Come, let us fair to be all.
Radhakrishnan, Thiruvananthapuram
WikiLeaks is an example of how the internet has truly empowered the people. One man could dare to defy the might of the most powerful government in the world. The masses were privy to information meant for a very small group of very powerful individuals. Not that it surprised the world at large, it was only confirmation of what was suspected all along: that few governments practise what they preach. Democracy, liberty, human rights—all sound fine from the pulpit, but when it comes to making decisions, only self-interest matters.
D.L. Narayan, Visakhapatnam
WikiLeaks, which has rattled Washington, shows how even the most classified information is no longer safe. Julian Assange might have been instrumental in launching the first internet war in cyberspace and has shown that in a fast-changing technological world, wars can be started even by unarmed non-state players. While one cannot but appreciate his audacity, the wisdom of putting so much confidential information in the public domain is questionable. Since democratic and liberal governments are faced with so many threats, such leaks can only be to the benefit of totalitarian governments. They will most likely lead to increased curbs on individual freedoms in democratic countries too.
G. Vijayaraghavan, Chennai
A strange name to most of us till some time ago, Julian Assange is now in the headlines! Whatever may be the motives behind this, the reactions of the ‘victims’ affirm the veracity of the leaked cables. One thing one can glean from the leaks is that no conflict ends with the reporting and analyses. The leaks should also educate other countries about the importance of retaining sensitive information and its safekeeping.
Ramachandran Nair, Oman
A man charged with murder is released on bail within hours of his arrest. One charged with rape is, at least initially, refused bail. held in solitary confinement and denied access to his lawyers. Is this the British idea of fair play and justice?
Bonita, Chennai
I have huge respect for your magazine, I also admire the values and ethics you uphold. But you definitely mislead the general public by equating Assange with Osama. How could a man who believes in exposing the truth to the public be compared to someone who is just his opposite?
Afsal Khan, on e-mail
It’s quite a shock to find the number of people without values and ethics in this world. Given Assange’s quest for truth, perhaps your headline should have read Cyber Gandhi instead of Cyber Obama. The only difference is that Gandhi fought for truth and Assange is fighting for a more transparent system. Of course diplomacy is important, but not to the extent that it becomes manipulation.
Sumit Shah, Pune
Is Outlook joking by comparing Assange with Osama? Assange has revealed US state secrets but not done any harm to the world at large. Osama, on the other hand, wants to destroy secular democracies and impose his Wahabi Islamic order. He hates countries like India and targets them.
Sanjay, Delhi
The developed world has committed immeasurable atrocities and countless murders all over the world. The West has, in fact, spearheaded, justified these and created a model for other countries to follow without shame or guilt. So even as it rages on Assange’s leaks, the US is answerable on leaks which have been employed to bring down non-cooperative governments/individuals in its old scheme to plunder developing nations. For example, the exposure of Natwar Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyar by CIA-maintained websites is well-known, though Natwar was exonerated by the courts. Now that nemesis has caught up with them , the US government cannot tolerate it. Assange must be supported for bringing them down to their knees.
Nasar Ahmed, Karikkudi
