A democratic revolution in Tunisia. Pro-democracy demonstrations in Egypt. Foreign Policy magazine says “In one fell swoop, the candor of the cables released by WikiLeaks did more for Arab democracy than decades of backstage U.S. diplomacy.”

How? They helped the Tunisian people realize that it was obvious to the rest of the world what they thought only they knew — that their government was corrupt, repressive, and downright rotten to the core. It also showed them that the US would not back the Tunisian leader, giving them hope that change was possible.

Now the same thing is starting in Egypt and there are stirrings in other countries with repressive governments. Maybe we should stop persecuting Julian Assange, and instead award him the Nobel Peace Prize.