In a SPIEGEL interview, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, 39, discusses his decision to publish the Afghanistan war logs, the difficult balance between the public interest and the need for state secrets and why he believes people who wage war are more dangerous than him. SPIEGEL: You are about to publish a vast amount of classified data on the war in Afghanistan. What is your motivation? Assange: These files are the most comprehensive description of a war to be published during the course of a war -- in other words, at a time when they still have a chance of doing some good. They cover more than 90,000 different incidents, together with precise geographical locations. They cover the small and the large. A single body of information, they eclipse all that has been previously said about Afghanistan. They will change our perspective on not only the war in Afghanistan, but on all modern wars. SPIEGEL: Do you think that the publication of this data will influence political decision-makers? Assange: Yes. This material shines light on the everyday brutality and squalor of war. The archive will change public opinion and it will change the opinion of people in positions of political and diplomatic influence.
In a SPIEGEL interview, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, 39, discusses his decision to publish the Afghanistan war logs, the difficult balance between the public interest and the need for state secrets and why he believes people who wage war are more dangerous than him.
SPIEGEL: You are about to publish a vast amount of classified data on the war in Afghanistan. What is your motivation?
Assange: These files are the most comprehensive description of a war to be published during the course of a war -- in other words, at a time when they still have a chance of doing some good. They cover more than 90,000 different incidents, together with precise geographical locations. They cover the small and the large. A single body of information, they eclipse all that has been previously said about Afghanistan. They will change our perspective on not only the war in Afghanistan, but on all modern wars.
SPIEGEL: Do you think that the publication of this data will influence political decision-makers?
Assange: Yes. This material shines light on the everyday brutality and squalor of war. The archive will change public opinion and it will change the opinion of people in positions of political and diplomatic influence.
The archive will change public opinion and it will change the opinion of people in positions of political and diplomatic influence.
Is Assange really that naive ? keep to the Fen Causeway
Policy isn't made by public opinion these days, it's made by corporate lobbyists and the decision taken is determined by the amount gold on one side or the other.
Simply put, politicians live in a bubble of advisers and lobbyists where the information they receive is strictly sorted and rationed to ensure they "spontaneously" reach the right decision.
So, a bunch of DFHs with no real money working out of Iceland are gonna have zero effect. keep to the Fen Causeway
