The Wikileaks Exposé

Wikileaks, a whistleblower website, began releasing sensitive US documents on November 29, 2010. In what is seen as the largest cumulative leak of classified information in history, the site claimed to have more than 250,000 secret US State Department documents, which it intends to release over the next couple of months. The documents, which caused uproar among American officials, found a place in some of the leading newspapers across the world.

While one report dates back to 1966, most of them are from 2004 onwards. The cables originated from 274 US embassies across the world and the US Department of State. The revelation of this classified information poses a grave threat to US diplomatic relations with other countries. The “secret” diplomatic cables reveal unflattering profiles of some foreign leaders, backroom negotiations at embassies and assessments of terrorism and political situation in certain countries.

The New York Times said that the cables “reveal for the first time that the United States believes that Iran has obtained advanced missiles from North Korea that could let it strike at Western European capitals and Moscow and help it develop more formidable long-range ballistic missiles.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton termed the release of these documents by Wikileaks as “an attack on the international community, the alliances and partnerships, the conventions and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity.”

Wikileaks Release Of Confidential Documents: Is That Legal?

Some of the questions that have been raised by people are:

• Can the US government legally prohibit Wikileaks from publishing these documents?

• Can the publisher be prosecuted?

What sets precedence is the Pentagon Papers case (1971), New York Times vs. U.S. In this, the apex Court had ruled that “the First Amendment barred the Nixon administration from keeping the New York Times and Washington Post from publishing classified information related to the Vietnam War.” (according to an article by Ashby Jones on blogs.wsj.com). 

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could be charged under the Espionage Act, 1917. “Active investigations” are on by Federal authorities in this regard. However, the Act precedes cases that have expanded protection under the First Amendment.
The Wikileaks matter is complex from a legal point of view. This is because it is difficult to set the jurisdiction within which the case should fall. Moreover, there are really two parts of the legal angle – (1) the illegal obtaining of the documents and (2) the publishing of these documents. 

Wikileaks and India

In relation to India, the most startling revelation so far has come from a cable dated 2009 from Hillary Clinton, where she has asked American officials to eye on Indian diplomats and assimilate more information like addresses and credit card details    
Out of approximately 3,038 classified cables that have originated from the American Embassy, India has been mentioned in the following contexts:

• Turkey did not invite India in order to have good relations with Pakistan in an Afghan summit during 2007-2008

• Bahrain's King Hamad speaks highly on India's role in Afghanistan

• India’s bid as the permanent UN Security Council member

• India being vocal on sanctions imposed on Iran

• The US confidence on India being able to handle its nuclear program

• The discussion on Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty and India

• Israeli-Indian partnership

• German economic interests in India

• Germans ambitious plan for the role of India/China in climate control
   

About Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange

Julian Assange, an Australian publisher, came into the limelight as an internet activist with his role as the editor-in-chief for the controversial Wikileaks website. The site was founded by Assange in 2006. Prior to the November 2010 incident, the site released classified information related to the role of the US in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.