ALL THE RAGE – AT 9:09 A.M. ET:  Wasn't it a time, wasn't it a time?  Ah yes, members of the sixties generation, now very much in the saddle in Washington – even John Kerry still has a pulse – are always looking for a new gimmick to bring them back to the feathers and flower-jeans days.

And nothing does it better than a good dose of "anti-war" goo.

So they're in Heaven today.  A little wormy left-wing group called Wikileaks, led by an Australian chap who has an Obamagod complex, has gotten hold of thousands of pages of classified documents related to our effort in Afghanistan, and released them.   Frankly, there's not much there, but, to the sixties crowd, it's going home again.

Some of you will remember that there was this chap named Daniel Ellsberg who released a packet called "The Pentagon Papers," setting off an uproar in the early 1970s over the limits of press freedom.  The papers really didn't change anything, but Ellsberg became a hero on the left for doing his thing to reduce popular support for the Vietnam War.

And who should turn up on Larry King last night?  Why, Ellsberg himself, looking almost as old as Larry.  And of course, his voice hadn't changed.  He still had that grim I-am-a-wonderful-person demeanor, and yes, of course, Wikileakers reminded him of what he'd done to save humanity way back then, before home computers and airbags. 

But Senator Joe Lieberman, one of the great stalwarts of national defense, reminds the nation of the cost leaks like this, and the nature of the people behind them:

The disclosure of tens of thousands of classified documents on the Afghanistan war is profoundly irresponsible and harmful to our national security. The Obama administration is absolutely right to condemn these leaks.

Most of these documents add nothing to the public understanding of the war in Afghanistan. The materials – which cover the period from 2004 to 2009 – reflect the reality, recognized by everyone, that the insurgency was gaining momentum during these years while our coalition was losing ground. That is precisely why President Obama carried out a policy review in late 2009 and subsequently ordered a surge of forces to Afghanistan as part of a comprehensive civil-military counterinsurgency strategy that is now under way under the command of General Petraeus. We should give General Petraeus and our troops on the ground the time and support they need to succeed. Although we know that the path ahead is difficult, we also know that the consequences for our national security will be catastrophic if we abandon this effort and allow the Taliban and their allies to regain a safe haven in Afghanistan. That is the path back to 9/11.

It is also important to recognize that Wikileaks is not an objective news organization but an organization with an ideological agenda that is implacably hostile to our military and the most basic requirements of our national security. Americans and our allies should be wary of drawing conclusions based on materials selectively leaked by Wikileaks, as it seeks to sap support for the Afghan war among the American people and our European allies.”

COMMENT:  Superbly said.  Now I hope other members of Congress come out and support Joe. 

And yes, the Obama White House has strongly condemned the leak, for which the president should be commended.  Maybe now he's starting to understand the gross irresponsbility on the left.

As for Ellsberg, he did no good.  The collapse of the American effort in Vietnam led to ghastly events in both Vietnam and Cambodia.  And, as usual, the left has never apologized for its recklessness, its very selective "anti-war" movement, and its disgraceful treatment of returning American soldiers.

July 27, 2010