Secrecy in the Age of WikiLeaks

After the biggest document leak in history — on the Afghan War — all eyes are on WikiLeaks.  We’re looking at secrecy and transparency in the Wikileaks age.

We’re all learning this week, it’s a whole new world when it comes to busting out secret information.

A few keyboard clicks, a file passed to Wikileaks, and suddenly six years of classified US military field reports out of Afghanistan are naked online for all the world to see.

Missouri Senator Kit Bond says “somebody ought to be wearing an orange jumpsuit” – in prison to pay for the leak.

The Pentagon Papers’ Daniel Ellsberg welcomes a new era of transparency. There is a power shift here.

This hour On Point: Wikileaks, and the future - maybe the end - of secrecy.Guests:

Daniel Ellsberg, worked as an analyst at the RAND Corporation in 1971, when he leaked the so-called Pentagon Papers to the New York Times. They included classified high level discussions about the Vietnam War, and showed a belief among U.S. officials close to the war that it could not be won, even as it expanded scope.

Philip Shenon, contributing editor at The Daily Beast, where he’s reported on Julian Assange and Wikileaks. Author of "The Commission, The Uncensored History of The 9/11 Commission."

Gabriel Schoenfeld, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.  Author of "Necessary Secrets: National Security, the Media, and the Rule of Law."