What are the Wikileaks Diplomatic Cables?12/6/2010
On November 28th the largest collection of U.S. secret documents was released to the public. The embassy cables contain information on U.S. foreign policy.
Let me preface this post by stalling….OK here at Golden Book Traveler I give you facts and stories, usually relating to travel. I have the right to express my opinion on ALL maters, but in most instances I will leave that to the commentators.
Reading into the various news articles on the subject matter, I had a hard time understanding the meaning of the diplomatic cables. Who cares if someone releases information on where to find a bunch of classified long cords?? I mean aren’t we all going wireless anyway??
The definition of a (diplomatic) cable is a telegram sent abroad.
Whewww! Ok now that we got that out of the way, the rest of my article can be rendered useless! If you want to learn more and hear my uneducated political opinions, read on….
The mess started when the founder of Wikileaks, through hacked and stolen information, posted cables that bring negative attention to U.S foreign tactics. Included in the documents are allegations of corruption, spying on allies, and human rights abuses.
The main stories circulating the news wires because of the cables:
Tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan over nuclear fuel
Talks of unification between North and South Korea
Corruption in the Afghan Government
Global Chinese Computer Hacking
You can read more on the NY Times article, leaked embassy cables.
While damaging, I don’t find many of these foreign cables shocking. The U.S. is embarrassed more than anything that these cables, through less than acceptable practices, leaked to the public. It’s as if little Timmy told the family at the Thanksgiving dinner table that his 5 star football recruit brother Bobby was on drugs. Bobby’s not happy and wants revenge!
Or maybe there’s more to the story…documents yet to be released that excite something bigger. Never the less, Wikileaks has provided unprecedented access into what goes on behind the doors of government. It’s no surprise to me that their site is currently down and the owner, Julian Assange, is on the run facing rape charges (Are you kidding?!). Run, run fast, big brother wants revenge!