The first victims of the leaked cables released Sunday was anyone who shared secrets with American diplomats, especially Arab leaders who saw their private security deals – and their insistence that those deals be kept from their people – published online with undiplomatic bluntness.
But the main effect of the many details of American diplomacy revealed in the thousands of documents obtained and released by WikiLeaks was to deepen the damage to their intended targets: U.S. foreign policy, prestige, and power.
“The impression is of the world’s superpower roaming helpless in a world in which nobody behaves as bidden,” wrote Sir Simon Jenkins in the left-leaning Guardian, one of the publications that were given the documents.
People should be careful what they ask for. They may soon find they get it, in spades.
Where do all these leaks come from? Does anyone know? L
WikiLeaks should be treated like a hostlie foreign power and all of the resources at the government’s disposal should be used to target it for destruction.
Larry Morse, the Wikileaks docs from this summer on Iraq and Afghanistan at least (I’m not sure about the recent State Dept leaks) came from Bradley Manning, a disgruntled army intelligence specialist who wanted to disgrace the Army. He is now under arrest and being charged under the U.S. Military Code – he dumped over 150,000 digital emails and docs.
Good article at the Guardian here:
Thank God for Wikileaks. The sin that comprises “Rah-rah America” is finally being exposed to the light. The blood of innocents spilled without so much as an apology has cried out and has been heard.
Get a grip, Justin.
You mean the blood of the innocents whose family members aided US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan who will now be targeted?
justinmartyr, the replacement for what has amounted to Pax Americana may not be as benign with “the blood of innocents” as that nation you point your finger at.
I’m afraid this is — so far — so much sturm und drang. Frankly, I haven’t noticed anything leaked from the diplomats that we didn’t already know *in spades* anyway. Surprise surprise — Saudi Arabia wishes we would invade Iran! Heh . . .
Manning certainly has a grandly inflated sense of what he’s done — I suppose that’s fine. I mean — anyone could go “dump and leak” all the emails from one’s workplace too.
I think the media cares — a lot — and certainly I feel for any sources whose security has been compromised.
But as far as anything being “embarrassing” from the diplomats — I have to smile.