

Julian Assange and the Computer Conspiracy: To destroy this invisible government - nkurz
http://zunguzungu.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/julian-assange-and-the-computer-conspiracy-%E2%80%9Cto-destroy-this-invisible-government%E2%80%9D

======
panarky
Here's a PDF of the original: <http://cryptome.org/0002/ja-conspiracies.pdf>

Assange quotes Teddy Roosevelt, in what appears to be the main justification
for his actions:

"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing
no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy
this invisible government, to befoul this unholy alliance between corrupt
business and corrupt politics is the ﬁrst task of statesmanship."

~~~
nkurz
To me the most interesting part of the article was the means of befouling: the
idea that the release of information does not need to have a direct effect,
rather that the process of leaking will cause the targeted organization to
change its own behaviour from within. I had not previously considered these
secondary effects.

If an organization (government, corporate, scientific) thinks that its actions
will be scrutinized and that the walls have ears, and if internally it
realizes that its methods are questionable and embarrassing, it will become
paralyzed with fear of discovery and less able to act effectively. Like an
allergic reaction, the leaks themselves are not the point --- it's the body's
autoimmune response to the leaks that can be life threatening.

~~~
panarky
Right. It's not about the cables themselves, it's about driving the government
apparatus to degrade its own effectiveness by tightening security, increasing
compartmentalization and reducing collaboration.

The genius of this approach is its asymmetry. In response to Bin Laden's
'investment' of $100,000 and 19 lives, the US sacrificed thousands of
soldiers, spent trillions of dollars and destroyed a reputation and moral
authority that took generations to build.

The US did most of the damage itself.

Similarly, in response to Wikileaks' disclosures that mostly confirm what's
already well known, the US is already overreacting.

Looks the US is well on its way to multiplying Wikileaks' investment untold
thousands of times.

