02.03.11 |

According to NBC News, “Pentagon and military officials say some of the classified information released by WikiLeaks contained the names of informants and others who had cooperated with U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, endangering their lives. According to the officials, the U.S. military rounded up many of those named and brought them into their bases for their own protection. But, according to one military official, “We didn’t get them all.” Military officials tell NBC News, a small number of them have still have not been found.”

The irony is that the charge of “aiding the enemy”–a capital crime–is a direct result of Wikileaks’ profound failure to carefully edit and redact the information Manning provided to them. The moral to the story is that future Bradley Mannings who wish to leak classified government documents should be more careful about who they trust with their leaks. Had Manning provided the information to a reputable and careful news organization, he likely would not be facing this capital crime.

Future whistleblowers should be wary of dealing with the likes of Julian Assange. The mainstream media organizations care about their own sources, not to mention innocent third parties–such as Afghan insurgents, far more than unprofessional news outlets like Wikileaks. Because of Julian Assange’s carelessness, Bradley Manning now faces the death penalty.