The Obama Administration is trying desperately to halt the dissemination of documents that they feel will jeopardize lives and diplomatic relations. Today, 250,000 diplomatic cables are slated to go public on Julian Assange’s Wikileaks site and this caught my eye::

“The cables are thought to include candid assessments of foreign leaders and governments and could erode trust in the U.S. as a diplomatic partner.”

The Obama Administration has been trying to limit the blowback for about a week, preparing foreign leaders for what I’m assuming to be unflattering depictions. While Barack has tried his hand at being an internationalist, the leaked documents could undermine his standing in the world. I think it really depends on what is in the leaks and how his administration chooses to handle this.

The State Department stated it will not negotiate with Wikileaks, emphasizing the illegality of publishing the documents, as well as putting “countless” lives at risk.

I find this to be an interesting situation, as the State Department appears to be framing today’s planned leak in terms of a “clear and present danger”. Mark Theissen in an August WaPo op ed has stated Wikileaks in such terms. What’s interesting to me is that the risks aren’t clear. How are lives is jeopardy? Who is in jeopardy? Will this be a credible cause of a military or diplomatic failure? The prior restraint of free speech is allowable for reasons of national security, but where is the line between sensitive information that has national security implications and publishing documents that increase governmental transparency?

I have a sense that these leaks may be more embarrassing than compromising national security, given the response of the State Department. A more forceful prior restraint intervention would be under a great deal of scrutiny and expected to have Constitutional validity.

So, if this is a tempest in a teapot and more about good foreign relations in light of candid statements, it would resemble Harriet the Spy {h/t LinnyQat}::

“Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she’s written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together?”

I’m quite curious to see how this plays out, in terms of the nature of what is leaked and the Obama administration’s response.

Twitterversion:: Showdown b/t State Dept.& Julian Assange’s Wikileaks on intercepted diplomatic cables.Security breach or Harriet the Spy? @ThickCulture @Prof_K