WikiLeaks Releases List of Global Sites 'Vital' to US Security

[Swede]

In other words a terrorists shopping list. I wouldn't want to be working at any of these factories with a big fat target on them on the internet.


(Dec. 6) -- WikiLeaks has released a list of "critical" industries and assets around the world, from vaccine factories in Belgium to oil pipelines in Georgia, that the U.S. considers vital to its national security.

In a February 2009 cable, the State Department asked all American embassies to list infrastructure and resources "within their host countries that, if destroyed, would likely have an immediate and deleterious effect on the United States." It added that diplomats were "not being asked to consult with host governments with respect to this request."

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/wikileaks-releases-list-of-global-sites-vital-to-us-security/19747497

[tekisui]

1. I quit being afraid of terrorists a long time ago.

[MineralMan]

2. Yah, well, you probably aren't a target for them, either.

That does not diminish the risk for some of the locations listed in that released document. Just because you're not a target does not mean that others aren't. That seems like basic reasoning to me, you know.

[tekisui]

3. You really think this is going to increase the risk of an attack on one

of these sites?

I don't.

[MineralMan]

6. To be quite frank, I don't consider your assessment of risk

to be of much value. Are you involved with site security in any way? What is your expertise that allows you to evaluate such risks in sites around the world, pray tell?

[tekisui]

18. Terrorism is best handled by good police work

and mitigating the hatred other have for us. Our Imperial Wars, decades long aggression and disregard for human life increases our risks far greater than a list.

[MineralMan]

16. Some of the sites weren't known to be considered strategic

before this release, at least to potential terrorists. Many are completely unprotected. So, yes, I do consider them to be targets, now that the information is known. Do you actually know anything about these facilities? Have you even seen the list? I have, and I do. I also know about international security issues.

[tekisui]

19. "I also know about international security issues. "

Sure you do.

Just like the fear mongering that the release of names would inevitably lead to deaths, this argument is jsut to gin up fear and discredit wikileaks.

We can talk again when there is a successful attack on one of the sites. I bet that doesn't happen.

[MineralMan]

20. Yes, I do. Thanks.

[Swede]

4. They showed 2 vaccine manufactures here on the list in Canada.

No security whatsoever.

[MineralMan]

9. And that's just in Canada. There are other sites all over the

world that probably lack serious security, too. None of them probably even consider themselves at risk from terrorism, but now that they've been identified as important resources, they certainly will be at risk.

[tekisui]

24. Because terrorism is SUCH a risk.

Don't buy into the waronterra bullshit.

[snappyturtle]

8. I live in fear of our government far more than in fear of the

so called terrorists our government pursues.

[MineralMan]

5. This is one of the more serious problems with the Wikileaks

deal. Some of these resources are in places that would be easy for terrorists to target. Most are not in the United States. This is a serious security risk for those places listed, and represents one of the reasons these cables should not have been leaked in a wholesale way.

Shortly, we will hear from people poo-pooing the risks.

[Swede]

7. There are many here in Canada,with no security.

They'll need it now. They'll just pass their costs onto the US taxpayer.

[MineralMan]

10. Yes. And there are more in countries even more at risk and accessible

by terrorists. Sites in the US and Canada are a little harder for ragtag terrorists to attack. Not so in many other places, though. We and Canada, at least, have some national security in place. Many countries don't. This is a dangerous release of information, unknowledgeable poo-pooers aside.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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[Swede]

12. This was released yesterday.

The companies they showed on the Canadian news had no idea they were on the list.

[leveymg]

13. Only proves how ridiculous efforts to over-classify everyday information are.

Duh, nobody would ever be able to figure out that strategic targets include dams, power plants, and pharmaceutical factories.

Watch the skies! Dambusters sighted!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. EEEK!! Quick!! Give the Pentagon more money and invade somewhere!! Terra!!!!

[leveymg]

15. We're under attack by the giant flying claw following a Wikileaks homing beacon!

(It wasn't even really scary when I was five years old)

[PVnRT]

17. Is there really anything suprising in that list?

Sure, there are a few (the antivenom factory, for one) that wouldn't pop into most people's minds, but how much of this information is really secret? I'd bet that you could deduce most of this list with Google.

[Bragi]

21. deleted by author

[TwilightGardener]

22. Goes to motive. What does this accomplish?

[msanthrope]

23. Precisely. Who benefits from the release of that list. n/t