re: "Should the Media Be Prosecuted for Espionage, Too?"

Kevin Jon Heller at Opinio Juris is a sharp cookie. I like the way he thinks.

Money quote(s):

"The New York Times, Der Spiegel, The Guardian, Le Monde, and El Pais — all are just as guilty of violating the Espionage Act as WikiLeaks. There is no “we redacted some of the documents” defense in the Act, and prosecuting a news organization after it has published documents does not create prior restraint problems. Moreover, given that those newspapers have a vastly wider readership than the WikiLeaks website, they have arguably harmed America’s national-security interests far more than WikiLeaks itself. (And let’s not forget, WikiLeaks did not steal the documents; it obtained them from the person who did. So there is no relevant difference between the newspapers and WikiLeaks in that regard; the “espionage” is simply one level removed with the newspapers.)"

re: "Wikileaks Hyperventilation or "Transatlantic Brainwashing""

Joerg Wolf at Atlantic Review ("A Press Digest for Transatlantic Affairs") gives us a German perspective.

Money quote(s):

"According to Spiegel, Wikileaks reveals that US diplomats consider Foreign Minister Westerwelle to be incompetent and Chancellor Merkel to be risk averse. So what? Most Germans think the same. Of course, US diplomats are more candid in secret cables than in public statements. Everybody is."

re: "Ambassador Philip Murphy: "I'm a big boy ....the buck stops with me..." "

Domani Spero at Diplopundit ("Just one obsessive observer, diplomatic watcher, opinionator and noodle newsmaker monitoring the goings on at Foggy Bottom and the worldwide available universe") shares an example of a leader taking responsibility.

It's very refreshing.

This is the sort of thing that causes FSOs to take jobs in really awful places, just for that chance to work for a great boss.