“I think it is important to raise a debate about freedom of expression and that truth is always the first casualty in war, WikiLeaks wants to make governments accountable for their actions and that contributes to peace.’’
This is what Snorre Valen, a 26-year-old legislator from Norway’s Socialist Left Party, said when he nominated WikiLeaks for the nobel peace prize on Tuesday.
This is really interesting, and it also serves a nice compliment to the reading assigned today. In the New York Times Company v. United States case, the court repeatedly mentions that the essential purpose of the First Amendment was to protect the people from the government and allow democracy to fully function. "Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government." The quote from the case goes straight to the heart of why supporters of WikiLeaks think it is so important that the information be published.
I can understand both sides of the debate. The government is worried about national security and how other people are viewing its power and status during the war. On the other hand, the defenders of WikiLeaks say that it is advancing the struggle for free speech. The publishing of the information goes straight to the heart of what seems to be the essential issue of the first amendment. There is obviously a lot of information out there, and I think WikiLeaks is really testing the right to free and unrestrained press and freedom of information.
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