I am one of those who found nothing surprising in the candid comments made by ambassadors to the State Department, in fact a lack of candour would have been very worrying. However there is a difference between having the sense to know these things are ‘probably’ being said and having the hard evidence set before one.
There is also a marked difference between an intellectual talking about the right to freedom and other people who will read these and find new targets for their perverse world picture. Not only the people who are not smart enough to work out for themselves that these things are said, but also those who have been looking for stronger foundations for their antipathy, and have been given it on a plate.
It is one thing to out people in a democratic society where all they will face is barracking in their Governments, outrage from their journalists and a lot of jokes. It is another to out men in countries where their candid thoughts make their lives shorter. It is one thing to estimate what a country’s strategic interests are and quite another to give them an address.
Information is a weapon and it is good to use it as a weapon for free speech but remember when you do you are ending other people’s lives.