If you have read about the recent leaking of hundreds of classified military documents then you are probably just as disturbed as I am. What concerned me the most was that the article posted on CNN stated that earlier this year there was a first batch of documents leaked but it seems like the military has waited until this recent incident to take any action. What worried me even more is that Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, stated that “it is now much more difficult for someone to get access and move information outside of authorized channels”. This bothers me because there’s still a good chance that this could happen again, and this time the wrong person could gain access. Not only is there a chance that someone else could gain access again but Whitman also said that the technical solution they put into place was temporary. I personally think it’s a good idea to have our troops on the front lines able to access these documents that might be vital to their survival, but I think there should only be two people within each sector that can access them. This would further help prevent another solider from doing what Bradley Manning did. I do however like the steps that the Defense Department is taking. Such has restricting the number of systems where data can be moved from a classified computer to an unclassified computer and it also takes two people to move data. I hope that the department keeps adding more restrictions and restraints on gaining access to extremely important documents.
I read an article by my classmate, Megan. The article is well written but I do not agree with the subject. Julian Assange release diplomatic cables on his website Wikileaks. The part the I disagree with is the fact that Megan believes this is a catastrophic event. I see this turn of events and a great example of our first amendment rights in action. I myself have taken great pleasure in finding out the details my government has taken with the relationship with other countries.
ReplyDeleteThe Obama administration started with the idea of operating the government with full transparency. In fact earlier this year Hillary Clinton made a speak about the freedom of internet. In her speaks she stresses the need for users to have basic freedoms. She goes further to state that information freedom was not only a good policy, but connected to our National values. It isn't until the information that she didn't want released is known to the public, that it becomes and issue.
I have read a few articles about the documents that have been released. These documents were not pertaining to top secret military plans. They were cables between Diplomats and Washington. I do not feel that the documents that have been released have cause a risk to national security. I say bring on more documents.