Espionage in the Cyber Age.

TMI? Mayyyybe

         This week's lecture on Article Three, Sections Two and Three coincided rather perfectly with a piece of shocking news I unearthed on the New York Times' Website a day or two later.  What is being called one of the most ingenious acts of espionage in the history of the internet as well as this young century is unfolding as I type this--a self-titled "non-profit" website called Wikileaks.org (active for years in whistle-blowing for various human rights-abuse coverups such as those in Kenya and East Timor) just released what it called "the largest classified military leak in history."  The documents posted on the website (which, out of curiosity, I browsed) ranged from military journals--accounts of a day's mission--to tactics and strategy, all detailing a five year period of the the Iraq War.  Some 100,000+ deaths of Iraqis are recounted in the Wikileaks papers as well.
          Needless to say, the Pentagon and the Justice Department are both an uncomfortable mix of furious and deeply uneasy, as this brash vigilante journalist/computer hacker has, in their eyes, put national security at risk.  They have a point, according to various aid organizations such as Amnesty International who fear for the lives of Iraqi soldiers/rebel figures who have been put at risk for Taliban persecution by being named within the reports.  The mastermind of the operation, an Australian named Julian Assange, does not see any ethical repercussions for his actions, for he believes himself to be righteously exposing the Truth.  That said, he happens to be currently on the run, jumping between countries throughout Europe in order to evade the authorities who so ardently desire his arrest.
          How the U.S. would go about prosecuting Mr. Assange?  According to the Article Three he should be brought before the Supreme Court in a Foreign Citzen v. United States-type case.  However, the Eleventh Amendment changes this slightly, saying that citizens of foreign states are not to be tried against the United States in its highest court of law.  This Amendment notwithstanding, it will be interesting in the coming months to see what the United States will do toward this Australian man who, although clearly outside of US jurisdiction (and not just because he can't be found at the moment), has committed an "act of treason."  Currently, the Justice Department is trying to see if his actions fall under the domain of the 1917 Espionage Act, and if these actions merit a trial in front of some sort of high court. In the meantime, much of the US' doings in Iraq and Afghanistan are up on the web for anyone to see.