Assange and Yamamoto

A month after his historic victory at Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto said:

A military man can scarcely pride himself on having "smitten a sleeping enemy"; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten.

Betraying secrets is a weak form of heroism, if it can be considered heroic at all. It is a sneak attack. If your life was on the line, would you rather rely on a WikiLeaker or a warrior?

Perhaps much of the outrage at Mr. Assange is displacement. Instead of feeling shame in themselves (or their government), the anger is refocused on the one who exposed them.

If the secrets were important, why were they not protected better? Who was responsible for vetting whichever scoundrels betrayed the team?

Fortunately, so far in the latest batch of leaks, there seems to be little revealed that was not already known. It has been less “exposure” and more “confirmation”.

But still, Mr. Assange is a chief of scoundrels. And one way or another, the shamed will get retribution on those who smited them. Relativist morality allows no heroes, no trust, and no security.