Arthur Hulnick, a 35-year veteran of the intelligence profession, mostly with the CIA. Contact 617-353-8978, ahulnick@bu.edu

“These leaks are as dangerous to the U.S. as a terrorist attack, and the people who stole this material ought to be tracked down just like someone from Al Qaeda. The FBI should have been on top of this after the first series of leaks from WikiLeaks. Other countries will be reluctant to share intelligence with us, and diplomats will wonder why the U.S. can’t keep secrets. The press cannot be faulted for publishing, but someone in government ought to be found and punished.”

William Keylor, author of “A World of Nations: The International Order Since 1945″; Contact 617-358-0197, wrkeylor@bu.edu

“If the ‘cable traffic’ between American ambassadors abroad and the State Department is accessible to any disgruntled PFC in the U.S. Army, then why the expressions of shock and outrage that it finds its way to the public? If the U.S. government is unable to devise a reliable communication system that will ensure the diplomatic cables are read only by the restricted list of intended recipients, then we can expect a full and continuous publication of all such messages. It is difficult to imagine how diplomacy can be conducted in such an environment.”

Michael Corgan, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who taught there and a specialist in international security with extensive service in political and military planning (especially NATO). Contact 617-353-3553, mcorgan@bu.edu.

“Mr. Assange has taken away secrecy and we and perhaps the world will surely suffer for that. WikiLeaks, whose founder doesn’t really understand how the U.S. constitutional democracy was meant to work, has ensured that we will not be trusted in our foreign relations efforts for a long time to come. For the ordinary citizen the appropriate question might be, just how many friends do you have that can’t keep a secret?”

Arthur Hulnick, International Relations professor; a 35-year veteran of the intelligence profession, mostly with the CIA

Contact 617-353-8978, ahulnick@bu.edu

Joseph Wippl, International Relations professor; a 30-year CIA veteran

Contact 617-353-8992, jwippl@bu.edu 

Tom Fiedler, Dean of the College of Communication; Expert on American politics; a regular contributor to Politico “The Arena”

Contact 617-353-3488, tfiedler@bu.edu

Robert Zelnick, Journalism professor; Former ABC News foreign correspondent

Contact 617-353-5007, bzelnick@bu.edu

“Unfortunately, security professionals tend to see everyone as the ‘enemy,’ and don’t like to be challenged about their procedures.

“Bruce Hoffman, an expert on terrorism, has said that we should be using full-body screenings and extensive body searches on those people who seem to be threatening. I agree.

“The President could order changes. But if he does not take a position on this, I don’t expect changes in current invasive measures.”

Contact Arthur Hulnick, 617-353-8978, ahulnick@bu.edu

Hulnick: “The case demonstrates that the FBI is really good at uncovering such spy rings.  I’m not sure what will happen to the Russians who have devoted so much time and effort to what appears to be a failed operation.  I suspect the Russian government will deny that it is behind the operation.”

Wippl: “Unlike diplomats, none of the 11 has diplomatic immunity which would result in a PNG (Persona Non Grata) expulsion from the U.S.  Without diplomatic immunity, they will be prosecuted in a U.S. court according to the charges brought against them.”

Contact Arthur Hulnick, 617-353-8978, hlnk@aol.com, or Joseph Wippl, 617-353-8992, jwippl@bu.edu