To the Editor:
Re “Leaked Cables Offer a Raw Look Inside U.S. Diplomacy” (front page, Nov. 29):
As one who spent 40 years in journalism, I have great regard for press freedom. But I’ve been an American for much longer, and in that capacity I am appalled by the WikiLeaks operation and the media’s role as accomplice.
The United States government is dealing with two wars. It seeks to contain the rogue regimes in Iran and North Korea. It must manage a problematic relationship with China, not to mention an unstable, nuclear-armed Pakistan. In this situation, America needs all the friends it can muster, and it needs those friends to have confidence in Washington.
Leaks of the diplomatic cables undermine that confidence, making the administration’s role all the more difficult. Meanwhile, the disclosures tell us very little, if anything, of value to us as citizens.
The Pentagon Papers these are not. The Times should be denouncing WikiLeaks for what it is: a practitioner of serious but pointless mischief.
Laurence I. Barrett
Chevy Chase, Md., Nov. 29, 2010
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 