It is the very first conclusion I drew when the WikiLeak files were released. As bad as such a breach can be in national security and strategy, I found that its most damaging blows would fall onto public support once some of the details emerged. If you missed it, you can read it here.
The New York Times is also asking just how bad will these leaks affect congressional and public support for the war effort.
The disclosures, with their detailed account of a war faring even more poorly than two administrations had portrayed, landed at a crucial moment. Because of difficulties on the ground and mounting casualties in the war, the debate over the American presence in Afghanistan has begun earlier than expected. Inside the administration, more officials are privately questioning the policy.
In Congress, House leaders were rushing to hold a vote on a critical war-financing bill as early as Tuesday, fearing that the disclosures could stoke Democratic opposition to the measure. A Senate panel is also set to hold a hearing on Tuesday on Mr. Obama’s choice to head the military’s Central Command, Gen. James N. Mattis, who would oversee military operations in Afghanistan.
Administration officials acknowledged that the documents, released on the Internet by an organization calledWikiLeaks, will make it harder for Mr. Obama as he tries to hang on to public and Congressional support until the end of the year, when he has scheduled a review of the war effort.
“We don’t know how to react,” one frustrated administration official said on Monday. “This obviously puts Congress and the public in a bad mood.” (New York Times)
If there were such leaks during WWII it would have undermined support for that war as well. We made so many screwups that got so many of our own people killed I could go on forever.
That said, the difference is that FDR made the case for fighting, whereas GWB and The One have not. Sure, Bush made the case after 9-11, but then seemed to think he didn’t have to talk much about it anymore. Obama of course is only interested in his domestic agenda.
Such are the consequences of inattention.
I should also say that Wikileaks founder/editor Julian Assange is traitorous scum.
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Tom, I agree. The sort of press we have today and the huge partisan divide in the country makes it entirely impossible for the country to move in one direction. There were certainly great blunders in WWII, but, then again, it was a world war with a clearly defined goals that was nearly unanimously supported. We haven’t been that country since the 60s.
Just an FYI for everyone. If you d/l any of the documentation exposed by WikiLeaks the government may be able to seize your personal computer. This is because they still consider the paperwork to be classified and the second it is copied to your puter it goes into secret status and your machine becomes the property of the US government.