Keep your replies coming. I love them.

A very dear friend of mine wrote in a reply to my position concerning the Wiki-Leaks:

"Regarding the Wiki-Leaks. I agree with you that the latest release may not endanger many lives; however, if the US can't promise its allies that what they say to us in confidence won't be made public, then they will stop saying anything to us other than their "public" stance. I also think that the reason they tell us one thing and their people another is because their people would rebel otherwise. If the Saudis knew their rulers were more afraid of Iran than Israel, what might that lead to? And sure, ideally it would lead to some Saudis changing their own minds. But that's in an ideal world."

I could not agree with my friend more.  However, since this is not an ideal world, I don't like being treated like a mushroom.  Where do I start?  The Maine, Gulf of Tonkin, WMD, Iran-Contra?

You know that our leaders have lied to us constantly to justify wars we would have refused.  All governments do. You state it yourself when you talk about the Saudi leaders lying to their people.  What that has caused is JIHAD, JIHAD, JIHAD, and retaliation, retaliation, retaliation.

So, as long as we live, and I mean the entire world lives, in a Kleptocracy, I want everything out in the open.  My entire point is that the only reason that governments lie is that their people would revolt otherwise; to which you agree.  So it is NOT for our good that they lie to us but to maintain a subjugated population and to protect their privileged status.

I am from the government and I am here to help you is now, and always has been, a lie.  We can't trust them to protect our cities with dams and levees, our food from e-coli, our basic medicines from contamination, our rivers and streams from radioactive discharges from nuclear power plants... ad nauseum.  Do you want me to go on as to the thousands of reasons that I do not trust the government?  Read The Pentagon Papers, Nixon's tapes, Johnson's Tapes, etc., etc.,

So If you think that diplomacy is the ONE area in which the government is not lying to us and we need to trust them, just look at what this leak says about Karzai.  Is this REALLY how we want our country to be run?

No, it's not an ideal world, and it seems that the only thing that is out in the open is what we have to reveal if we want to fly anywhere!!!!!