Wikileaks is not terrorism

United States Vice-President Joe Biden is the most senior government official that I have heard accuse Wikileaks founder of being a terrorist. I find the use of such a word as ‘terrorist’ in this case to be puzzling. Usually terrorists employ bombs to increase fear in general society. People just don’t know when a bomb will go off. At anytime, suddenly your life or the lives of those you love can end. That is the terror of a terrorist.

How does that exactly mesh with someone who is publishing leaked government documents? The comparison between a terrorist and Mr. Assange is ever more puzzling when you consider that there are more easily comparable events in US history. A common comparison has been the Pentagon papers in the 1970s that showed the Vietnam War for the error that it was.

Joe Biden rejects that comparison:

"I would argue it is closer to being a hi-tech terrorist than the Pentagon papers. But, look, this guy has done things that have damaged and put in jeopardy the lives and occupations of people in other parts of the world.”

Claiming that Wikileaks is closer to terrorism than the Pentagon papers implies a spectral view of what terrorism is. The place on the spectrum, it is also implied, can be judged by the amount of harm it does. In that case Mr. Biden, give us an example of the harm that has taken place due to these leaks:

"He's made it more difficult for us to conduct our business with our allies and our friends. For example, in my meetings – you know I meet with most of these world leaders – there is a desire now to meet with me alone, rather than have staff in the room. It makes things more cumbersome – so it has done damage."

That’s it? Your assistants are temporarily forced to cool their heels in the hallway and you define this as terrorism? Compare that to the destruction of any terrorist act and the inconvenience caused by the Wikileaks pales.

It seems that the word terrorist has slid from being defined as a murderer of the innocent to a political enemy of the state. This is a horrifying development. Angered by being inconvenienced, Joe Biden is looking for a moral justification to use the full force of the state against Mr. Assange. It is better, for the state’s purposes, to cast him as something we find evil not praise worthy. He must be viewed as an evil murderer of children not as an intrepid truth revealer for the public to view force against Mr. Assange as justified.

This is why we are being presented with this horrifying fallacy: terrorists are enemies of the state, therefore all enemies of the state are terrorists.

The only comfort I take is that Joe Biden is a buffoon who doesn’t understand the importance of the meaning of words. Small comfort when you consider that this buffoon is the second highest official in the United States government.