Okay, I know you posted this earlier and you're an AC (either to troll or to protect your identity--I'm not so bashful) so 1) you've already been lynched by a village of angry Slashdotters and 2) no one's going to bother reading my post, but I feel the need to address these for reasons that are not commonly espoused here on Slashdot. Your post happens to be an excellent one to bounce my thoughts off of to get them out there.
First, I need to get some political disclaimers out of my system (and some of you self-described American liberals will probably mod me down for my honesty):
One, I'm about as right wing, in terms of the American political system, as they come. I'm pro-Second Amendment, I'm a self-described conservative, and I generally find agreement with the majority of conservative pundits--except in some cases. This is one of them.
Two, I think it's fantastic what Assange and WikiLeaks have been doing. I see liberty, freedom of speech, and transparency as an all-or-nothing. You either have it or you don't. Yes, this may present a national security risk, but there are far, far worse things that could have happened (I'll address this in a moment).
Three, WikiLeaks has taught the US government a very important lesson about security, and it is one that I do not think our leadership has fully realized. I'm talking of course about how an enlisted man--a private--was able to gain access to so many secretive diplomatic cables. That alone is lax security, and if nothing else, I think the US government should consider hiring real security consultants to address the system (including people) as a whole. WikiLeaks has done us a favor in terms of exposing a very real flaw in national security protocol, and if we don't fix it, well, we get what we deserve.
The WikiLeaks issue is not nearly as bad as many conservative pundits are making it out to be. Don't listen to Huckabee, Palin, or any of the others. Much of the information that has been released has had identifiable information redacted. Anyone who claims this is putting a great deal of people at risk has either not read any of the releases or is falling for the fear mongering that the US media is insanely good at. (I also suspect that these same people probably feel the TSA really is keeping us safe.) And, really, there's nothing in the leaked cables that didn't surprise me or that I couldn't have already suspected based on my readings elsewhere and discussions with friends and family. The WikiLeaks stuff is interesting, but it isn't ground breaking by any stretch of the imagination. For example, we already knew the US government was insanely paranoid of everyone--the TSA groping and nude scanning pretty well proves this point--it's just enlightening to see how paranoid we are of our own allies. That kinda sucks for those of us who are citizens, because it means that we're liable to move closer toward a police state than we already are. Thank you endemic paranoia.
Secondly, and I think this is important to add, but truly secret information isn't handled in a manner that can be leaked like this. The only thing that was released here was still secret but not-so-secret-that-it-could-still-be-copied diplomatic wires and a few other things. Big deal. It's embarrassing, but I think it's well deserved.
I might also add that if you really want someone to hang for this, you should go after that army private. Going after Assange is just shooting the messenger. What would have happened if that private leaked it instead to the New York Times? To Al Qaida? That it was leaked to WikiLeaks was something of a blessing. Given the journalistic integrity of the US media, I certainly can't believe that they would have given it as much of a fair shake as it has, and I also cannot guarantee that they would have put so much effort into redacting sensitive information as WikiLeaks has. Plus, if he leaked it to the genuine enemies of the free world, all bets would have been off. (I should also add that much of this "sensitive" data is only sensitive in terms of time; WikiLeaks has sat on some of it for so long that it is no longer pertinent.)
However, I do suspect that if this had all been leaked to the NYT or some other media outlet, no one would have had a manhunt for anyone in particular. That Assange may well take the fall yet for something that wouldn't have given any of the main stream press as much as a slap on the wrist smells of double standards to me. We should all be ashamed of ourselves.
So that said, let's address your points:
Assange's actions provide aid and comfort to terrorists. He has, therefore, committed treason against those who oppose terrorism.
He's also breached the sanctity of diplomatic communications and compromised the US' intelligence-gathering capability, having, just as one example, released a cable that contains more than enough information to identify an Iranian intelligence source.
Again, no. Assange did not breach anything. The army private (Manning I believe?) did. The army private is the one who has done all of these things, and he should be punished for it. Assange did nothing of the sorts. Again, you're falling into the blame-trap the media has set for you.
I should also point out that even if Assange were guilty of any of these things, you couldn't try him for treason. He's not an American citizen. Even if he were, he'd be able to claim protection under the First Amendment anyway because he was only reporting data that was given to him by someone who was vested with the trust of the US government.
Okay, you won't buy that argument, so let's put it this way: How many times during the Iraqi war did the US media "accidentally" leak something sensitive because an embedded reporter overheard something they shouldn't have? It happened a lot more than you'd realize, and if you're going to advocate hanging Assange, you darn well better go after every single news company in the US for the exact same charges.
I wonder how the regime in Iran is going to treat that guy and his family. I wonder how many other potential sources, who could provide the US with information they could use to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, will reconsider telling the US what they know, for fear of being outed.
Total strawman argument. If someone genuinely wants to go against the ruling regime and tell a foreign country naughty things about the leadership, I don't think this is going to stop them. They're already putting themselves into a position that will potentially result in their death. Trust me, if they're willing to risk their own lives to stop something like the Iranian atomic program, I don't think they're too concerned about being outed. It's a risk they're well aware of.
And besides, if you believe what some places are reporting about Stuxnet, the Iranian weapons program is probably already crippled to the point that we won't have to worry for a few more years. North Korea on the other hand... (I find it funny that you don't mention NK at all when the situation down there is currently MUCH more dangerous.)
Bottom line: Assange is an enemy of humanity and I hope he's made an example of so that others who are thinking of following in his footsteps think again.
Bottom line: Don't believe what the press is feeding you. Read some of the cables yourself and make your own judgment. It's foolish to shoot the messenger.
The US has a lot of valuable things it could learn from these leaks, one of which is that we shouldn't be stamping our feet like a bunch of spoiled children. Oh, and maybe referring to our own allies in less demeaning language would be a good start (that little bit of nonsense really embarrasses me).
It's funny. A security exploits was found for part of our nation's intelligence system, and what do we do? Instead of plugging it and changing protocol to fix the problem, we turn around and throw a tantrum on the international theater. Even Eric Holder is calling for Assange's head (never mind Assange didn't technically violate US law)! Lesson to you guys on the left: If you thought the last administration was paranoid and terrible, it sure looks like these current clowns aren't much better, don't you think?