i have a feeling that what is now going to happen to assange and wikileaks is going to make it evident - as though the actual contents of the leaks themselves didn't make this obvious - that the united states operates as a worldwide police state. this summary of the response from a guardian opinion piece gives the flavor.

WikiLeaks' release of 250,000 United States embassy cables – shared with the Guardian and other international newspapers – was an act of terrorism, congressman Peter King declared. Sarah Palin called for its founder Julian Assange to be hunted down as an "anti-American operative with blood on his hands", while former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has demanded that whoever leaked the files should be executed for treason.