Public Interest and Wikileaks

Completely irresponsible.

It's not often that I use words as definitive as this; but amongst the tittle-tattle of the Wikileaks material, some of which is undeniably interesting, I was appalled that Wikileaks decided that it was a good idea to release the list of crucial infrastructure worldwide.

Or, in other words, a list of things it would be really bad for the United States - and by extension the rest of the West - if they got attacked.

In an era where the pre-eminent security challenge is posed by salafist jihadis with a persecution complex and a fetish for ritualised "martyrdom", the release of this material has no basis in the public interest or anything else. It is simply irresponsible and shows both a complete disregard for the West's collective interest, and for many of these installations, of public safety.

I say again: completely irresponsible.