The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2013

30 JULY-AUGUST 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL of classified information, and do not see him as a dissenter, I see Manning’s actions as similar to those of Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, who believed Americans had the right to know the secret history of their government’s involvement in Vietnam. The point of my including Manning in this list is that in each case, the government’s response appears to be dispro- portionate retaliation that does not take into account the rationale for disclosing the information (whether classified or unclassified): a government coverup of malfeasance. Moreover, many inside and outside the government note the lack of investigation, much less prosecution, of senior officials (across all administrations) who leak classified information to advance official policy. In contrast, Uncle Sam seems eager to go after anyone who reveals classified information that documents criminal activity committed by government officials. Sadly, despite its pledges to be open and transparent, the Obama administration has continued in its predecessor’s foot- steps. For example, it refuses to make public the memoranda that authorize the assassination by drone of American citizens and the rationale for its “signature” assassination program targeting Afghans, Pakistanis, Yemenis and Somalis. Despite efforts to cover up the truth, we now know a great deal about the machinations that led up to the Iraq War—both through the Downing Street memos and the huge cache of documents released through Wikileaks (although I understand that U.S. government employees have been told not to look at the Wikileaks cables). We know the pervasive untruths told by senior government officials to take the nation into war, as well as the protection of criminal acts committed by government officials: kidnapping, torture, eavesdropping and assassination. Whether such mea- sures were authorized via secret memoranda or by legislation that attempted to retroactively legalize previously illegal acts, the truth has now been exposed. Of special note, this past March the bipartisan Constitution Project released a report documenting the torture of prisoners detained by the United States. One of America’s most expe- There is no doubt that dissent may cut short your government career. But living dishonestlymay cause you a lifetime of anxiety and grief.