The recent arrest of an Air National Guardsman in Massachusetts is just the beginning of another protracted struggle over leaked top secret documents, renewing a recurring theme that predates the age of the internet.
Each new episode stirs debate, both legal and political, about the motives of the leakers, the proper response to their actions and the larger consequences to come.
But whether we call them whistleblowers or traitors, whether we consider their actions conscientious or unconscionable, the people who decide on their own to share such material have often altered the course of events.
