[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18252]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    DISCLOSURE OF CLASSIFIED CABLES

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, America's secrets are not what 
are at risk with the exposure of thousands and thousands of documents 
of classified cables. America's friends and allies are at risk and, 
therefore, America's national security is at risk.
  When classified cables identify certain people who have helped us 
from around the world as we advance the interests of the free world, 
defend our national security, and the safety of all humankind--when 
those people are exposed, there are a lot of bad people out there who 
want to get rid of those kind of people. When sources of information--I 
will dress it up and tell you exactly what it is; it is called 
intelligence--when sources of intelligence are betrayed by being made 
public, by the disclosure, indiscriminately, of thousands and thousands 
of cables that were marked ``Top Secret'' or marked ``Secret,'' then 
what we have done is we have started to shackle our arms behind 
ourselves in our ability to defend ourselves.
  Why do I say that? Well, look at all the recent attempts at a 
terrorist act. We were able to avert the terrorist striking because we 
got the information that he was going to strike before he struck. Where 
did that source of information come? Often that source of information 
comes from far corners of the globe because we have a relationship with 
people who are giving us information that we then track down and find 
that, in fact, it is true and stop the terrorist from doing their 
dastardly deed upon innocent humans.
  Since 2001 and the September 11th bombings and the September 11th 
crashes of the airliners, over and over again the newspapers of this 
country have chronicled terrorist plots that have been thwarted for the 
reasons I have just said. Now along comes someone who, for whatever 
reasons of being a misfit, wants to disgorge thousands of classified 
cables that start to betray our sources of information to protect 
ourselves and protect others--not even necessarily our allies--but 
other innocent victims in other countries with whom we may not even 
have a relationship.
  This is the height of dishonoring our country and our people and all 
humankind, and it is the height of traitorous activity. It has to stop. 
We cannot continue to thwart these terrorist acts if we do not have 
reliable sources of information in order to disrupt the terrorist 
plots. Do you know what? The newspapers have chronicled, since the 
attempt, for example, of blowing up FedEx and UPS--and, by the way, 
those packages also were carried on commercial airliners with 
passengers on them--you know what the newspapers have chronicled? They 
have pointed out how the terrorist organizations are crowing about how 
little it costs them and how they will find another way in order to do 
this. As the newspapers reported, we found out and stopped that plot by 
long-distance sources of information that came to us. To betray those 
sources, to now put their lives in jeopardy by the indiscriminate 
turning over to an organization called WikiLeaks that suddenly puts all 
of this up on the Web, is the height of irresponsibility, an act 
against humanity, and it has to be stopped.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.

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