WIKILEAKS – A HUMILIATION

A distinguished American professor in a current newspaper article has poured scorn on the “latest barrage of Wikileaks”, a quarter of a million classified U.S. government cables now open on the Web, describing them as the “tittle-tattle” of a “juvenile Australian”. His main point is that like a smoke screen they obscure very much deeper and serious problems, military, economic and social that now face the U.S. The title of his article is, “Wake up America”. It’s a call not to get side-tracked, but to take stock of those big issues.

He is absolutely right, of course in his main point. But there still remains the phenomenon of Wikileaks. Recent disclosures may do little harm in the long run, but they are without any question an embarrassing humiliation for the U.S. with more likely to come. The most powerful nation in the world (or is it?) has once again has its tail painfully twisted.

The first feature of that humiliation is that the U.S. has had to go cap in hand to many nations apologising for the sordid nature of remarks that have been made of national leaders etc. Of course, every body knows that it is not just the Americans who make nasty, coarse remarks in private - all the nations do it, some no doubt with greater coarseness and cynicism. And it is something that has always happened, right throughout history. But, none the less, the Americans have been exposed and humiliated in an unprecedented manner. It is certainly going to make their diplomatic relations a little trickier and give others countries a bit more leverage. It’s a blow to pride in a nation that has been full of pride. They have been made to look silly; they’ve lost face.

The second feature of the humiliation is that the security of the U.S. cyber and intelligence world has been seriously called into question. This is more important. The future battles between nations will be fought in cyber space as much as anywhere. At this very moment, it seems, the Iranian progress toward nuclear weapons is being hampered more by hacking into its computer systems that by the threat of military action. Keeping ahead with security in cyber space is very much the new arms race. It is not good to be humiliated on this front.

As I wrote a number of weeks ago, ever since 9/11 this last decade has been one of deep humiliation for the U.S. Its vulnerability has been exposed even as it has vaunted its vast military arsenal. It has failed in its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; it has failed in its economy.

It is impossible for the prophetic eye not to see in all this a “Wake up!” cry from God, not only for America but for the whole of the West, whose future is so intertwined with America’s. When God wants to warn nations (or people), he has an extraordinary way of puncturing their defences, exposing their vulnerability and tweaking their tails.

One should add, I think, that there is a positive mercy in all this. Not for one moment do I think God is unmindful of all the Christian work, and especially the prayer and missionary work, that emanates from the U.S. It may be a painful tweak, but God, in grace, is seeking to warn.


Bob

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