We all spy, but must never admit it.

Mr. Assange of Wikileaks believes revealing the U.S. spied on the U.N. in violation of U.N. security protocols helps keep the government honest. Others think his leaks have jeopardized diplomacy and endangered our soldiers. Who knows the truth? Time was when one U.S. President shown diplomatic mail someone had intercepted said, “Gentlemen do not read other people’s mail.”

It is said Eisenhower shocked State Department people when he forthrightly admitted we were over-flying the USSR for surveillance after they had brought down the U-2 flight back in the ‘50s. State department rules are that everyone knows you do these things, but one must never openly admit it. Why not? Eisenhower’s admission provided a refreshing breath of candor in the formalistic world of diplomacy and pretended secrets.