Slate Mag calls for Hillary Clinton's "Scalp"

Slate Magazine’s Jack Shafer has called for Sec. of State Hillary Clinton to resign her post after classified cables sent be her were released in the Wikileaks document dump. Slate is often an Obama ally however Shafer said, “The leaked cables make it impossible for Hillary Clinton to continue as secretary of state.”

Not withstanding the fact that numerous nations dabble in spying and say things in classified cables that aren’t meant for public consumption, previous Secretaries of State have engaged in similar efforts. Shafer acknowledges this but claims, “what makes Clinton’s sleuthing unique is the paper trail that documents her spying-on-their-diplomats-with-our-diplomat orders.” And because its now public, Shafer says we must give the offended nations Clinton’s “scalp” to “save face.”

One thing that’s missing here is the telling of who is responsible for the leak. That is Wikileaks’ Julian Assange. He and the captured soldier who provided the documents should be the ones to face punishment first, not Clinton. The fact that every other State department dabbles in this kind of thing, to the fact that all nations also do it should be enough for Clinton to keep her job. However, Shafer’s only distinguishing factor is that Clinton’s activity is now public.

While I find myself in the awkward position of defending Hillary Clinton, she is not the one to blame here. Clinton’s harsh rebuke of Assange and Wikileaks this week showed her anger at yet another breach of American security and our state secrets. She’s done nothing different than any other government, and for her to be punished only because its public would be a miscarriage of justice. Mr. Assange and his organization should be punished before we blame condemn Hillary Clinton.