"LOOSE LIPS, SINK SHIPS!"

When you were a kid did you ever have a secret? You must remember a time when there was something that you only wanted your closest friends to know, and no one else: a confidence, something not to be betrayed to another soul; that is the essence of a secret. "Whatever you do, don't tell Mom!" "If Dad finds out he will kill me!" Do either of these statements sound familiar?

In baseball and football the teams have signals and a play book. These are sensitive areas to the team; they are secrets, that if revealed to opponents could lead to defeat. A couple of years ago an NFL coach (who will be nameless) was fined for stealing signals from his opposition. Even the Mafia takes great store in the keeping of secrets, as it was said in "Goodfellas": "Always keep your mouth shut, and never rat on your friends!"

As a former service man, I was privileged to know things that were "classified", some of that information remains "classified' today; not for public consumption, information that if released, could do damage to the security of the United States of America; "CLASSIFIED!"

When is the right to know more important than national security? This is a difficult question. If there is the remotest possibility of the loss of an American serviceman's life then information must remain secret!

Recently "wikileaks" revealed over 90,000 classified documents to the general public. Even Robert Gibbs, who I seldom agree with, said "...potential harm to those keeping us safe...", in regards to this leak. There are those who don't believe this is serious. Any leak of classified information has the potential of aiding an enemy in the quest of killing our troops, and ultimately, our citizens.

Who is "wikileaks"? Julian Assange is the founder and editor-in-chief of this organization. He has said he has the final say-so on all publications. Mr. Assange is not an American citizen; he was born in Australia in 1971. He was investigated for computer hacking by the Australian Federal Police. He has, on occasion, fled to avoid arrest for his spurious activities. He has paranoid delusions that the Pentagon is pursuing him and his life is in danger if he enters the United States. He is a man of unstable nature. He has little formal education, yet he espouses his intellect at every opportunity. I must reiterate, he is not an American citizen! What right does this malcontent believe he has in breaching our national security? It is incumbent on our law makers to investigate this incident. It is necessary to prosecute those responsible for the jeopardy our country may now face.

Instead of worrying about what is said on cable news or talk radio, our Congress should take a long look at those who are really a threat to our nation's well being. During WWII, there was a saying "Loose Lips Sink Ships!" We could learn a lot from those words; perhaps our Congress should read them again!