Wikileaks Diplomatic Cable Dump - News and Discussion

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 28 Nov 2010 08:07

Sunday November 28,2010
By Ted Jeory

GORDON Brown and his failing government were described as paranoid, weak and unstable in secret briefings by US diplomats to President Barack Obama.

Downing Street sources said last night that the imminent release of sensitive diplomatic files by the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website would prove “highly embarrassing” to the former prime minister.

They are thought to contain damaging assessments of Mr Brown’s character and leadership skills and of the stability of his crisis-hit regime.

US ambassador Louis Susman has briefed British officials about the likely contents of the files, which are understood to date from 2008 until early this year. They are also thought to contain thoughts about both David Cameron and Nick Clegg while they were Opposition leaders

The Downing Street source said: “We don’t think there will be much about the Coalition Government. There might be some slightly embarrassing things about David Cameron’s time in opposition but it will be nothing compared with what was said about Brown.

“The diplomatic cables were more about Labour. Brown was seen as paranoid and weak and unstable. These files are going to be embarrassing for him.”

It is believed London-based diplomats were shocked by reports of Mr Brown’s erratic tantrums.

President Obama witnessed one outburst first hand. At the G20 Summit in London last year, he said to Mr Brown’s aides: “Tell your guy to cool it,” as the PM threatened to erupt over something that had upset him .

US State Department officials fear the release of such sensitive files could damage relations with their allies.

Millions of assessments of foreign leaders and foreign policies are expected to be released by WikiLeaks tonight.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 28 Nov 2010 08:15

I wonder what they have to say about MMS or Rajmata.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 28 Nov 2010 08:16

Embarrassment for Coalition as Wikileaks prepares to release secret US papers

By Patrick Hennessy, Political editor 9:00PM GMT 27 Nov 2010

Potentially "embarrassing" comments on the formation of Britain's coalition government are to be revealed this week as millions of leaked US diplomatic documents are made public.

The series of revelations on the Wikileaks website – which are expected to begin tonight – will put a fresh strain on the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States.

The leaked diplomatic cables, dating from January 2009 to June 2010, cover a huge range of issues and include "lively commentaries" sent to Washington about a host of world leaders whose numbers are understood to include David Cameron and Gordon Brown.

Another series of leaks is thought to deal with Canada's "inferiority complex".

Whitehall sources expect them to be "drip fed" out over about a week.

The revelations about what US diplomats reported back on Gordon Brown's final months in power and the formation of the coalition after May's election are thought to be among the earliest to be made public in Britain.

A coalition source described the leaks as likely to be "embarrassing rather than damaging" for the current government.

However, he added: "The last Labour government has a lot more reason to be nervous."

Mr Brown's rocky relationship with President Barack Obama, which included a notorious visit to New York in September 2009 during which the White House was accused of "snubbing" the former prime minister, is almost certain to be mentioned, as is Britain's troop withdrawal from Iraq.

The Sunday Telegraph understands that frank assessments of the likelihood – or unlikelihood – of the coalition lasting are set to be included.

The source said: "There could be queries on whether the coalition would survive. But they only cover one month of the current administration."

US officials have warned that the latest tranche of documents will be far the most damaging of Wikileaks's output so far because of the potential harm they could do to relations with America's allies.

Previous leaks have included hundreds of thousands of secret Iraq war logs.

Louis Susman, the US Ambassador to London, has briefed senior British ministers on the content of the latest leaks.

The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that the first tranche of documents, to be published in full tomorrow after an initial release tonight, are expected to feature "lively commentaries" by US diplomats on world leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, and Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.

Coalition sources say Tuesday's haul will deal with North and South Korea, as well as Guantánamo Bay, while Wednesday's tranche will include comments on Pakistan and counter-piracy operations in Djibouti.

Thursday will see attention focus on the Canadians and their "inferiority complex" while corruption allegations in Afghanistan will be under the spotlight on Friday. Saturday will cover Yemen while next Sunday will see the focus shift to China.

P J Crowley, the US State Department spokesman, said "We are all bracing for what may be coming and condemn Wikileaks for the release of classified material It will place lives and interests at risk. It is irresponsible.

"When this confidence is betrayed and ends up on the front pages of newspapers or lead stories on television or radio, it has an impact," he said.

The State Department "has known all along" that Wikileaks possesses classified documents, but it was not possible to predict exactly what information would be made public and what impact it would make, he said.

"We wish this would not happen, but we are obviously prepared for the possibility that it will," he added.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 28 Nov 2010 08:34

B.Raman's speculation

Among the various events relating to Afghanistan and Iraq in which India figured during this period, four could be sensitive from India's point of view. Firstly, the pressure on the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government by the administration of George Bush to send a Division of the Indian Army to Iraq. By July,2003, the Vajpayee Government had decided to say no to Washington DC, but there was a lot of voices in Delhi in favour of accepting the US request. Secondly, the papers captured by the US intelligence after the occupation of Iraq from the Iraqi Government Departments showing or corroborating the alleged involvement of a leader or leaders of the Congress (I) in contacts with the Saddam Hussein Government for acquiring preferential quotas for the import of oil from Iraq. Thirdly, the pressure exercised by the Bush Administration on the Manmohan Singh Government for voting against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. The Government of India succumbed to this pressure as a quid pro quo for the Indo-US civil nuclear co-operation agreement of July,2005. Fourthly, the analysis and assessment made in the State Department and the Pentagon regarding Pakistani allegations of Indian involvement in Balochistan.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 28 Nov 2010 08:36

This is really funny. The press is full with leaks and about leaks. What if there are no leaks. These day we are having toooo much gas in the press. Niira's leaks are same too. No substance in that leak which can point to fraud except that she said about thid fellow and that fellow.

Kati · Post by **Kati** » 28 Nov 2010 08:46

my two paise question -
how did wikileak get all these so called yet to be released sensitive diplomatic cables?
Thought 'SHIA' /'Nyasha' uses latest coding theory to encode all these messages. .....
Strange......

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 28 Nov 2010 09:03

Kati wrote:my two paise question -
how did wikileak get all these so called yet to be released sensitive diplomatic cables?
Thought 'SHIA' /'Nyasha' uses latest coding theory to encode all these messages. .....
Strange......

Leaks are being blamed on a US Army soldier named Bradley Manning, who worked as an Intel analyst. Perhaps he had an opportunity to access the decoded cables, as part of his job.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 28 Nov 2010 09:23

Muppalla wrote:This is really funny. The press is full with leaks and about leaks. What if there are no leaks. These day we are having toooo much gas in the press. Niira's leaks are same too. No substance in that leak which can point to fraud except that she said about thid fellow and that fellow.

Well said.

But in a way I am happy to see BRF so boring and trying to discuss crap. This is far better than having to mourn a 26/11 as we were doing 2 years ago.

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 28 Nov 2010 10:06

Clinton personally called China

According to reports by Hong-Kong-based television RTHK, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton personally called her Chinese counterpart. This is significant, since none of the other communications that have been reported involved the highest diplomatic figure in America. It might point at severe revelations about US-China relationships.

Fun became.

Nandu · Post by **Nandu** » 28 Nov 2010 10:33

shyam wrote:How does USG know what is going to be in the leak to warn countries in advance? Nothing significant happened after past two reports.

The leaker has been arrested and the government knows exactly which documents he accessed.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 28 Nov 2010 10:36

The leaks are bound to be juicy!!

Since Nixon and Kissinger thought about Indira Gandhi, with Nixon calling her a “witch” and a “bitch” ...

The others who followed have a much more colorful vocabulary.

Could the leaks even mention rajmata and the yuvraj? (gasp!!)

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 28 Nov 2010 10:39

Nandu wrote:
shyam wrote:How does USG know what is going to be in the leak to warn countries in advance? Nothing significant happened after past two reports.
The leaker has been arrested and the government knows exactly which documents he accessed.

What sort of a moron government allows such a massive quantity of documents to be accessed and released publicly??

Don't they have the FBI, CIA, ABCD and most of the other letters of the alphabet?

shukla · Post by **shukla** » 28 Nov 2010 11:07

US steps up pressure on WikiLeaks, warns it against leak
Hindustan Times

U.S. warns WikiLeaks on documents
Politico US

The United States has rejected talks with WikiLeaks over its planned release of confidential US documents, saying the whistle-blower website was holding them in violation of US law. The US State Department late Saturday set out its position in a letter to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

"We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained US government classified materials," State Department legal adviser Harold Koh wrote. "As you know, if any of the materials you intend to publish were provided by any government officials, or any intermediary without proper authorization, they were provided in violation of US law and without regard for the grave consequences of this action," Koh continued. "As long as WikiLeaks holds such material, the violation of the law is ongoing."

A lil late in the day I think.. Leak away Wiki!

Copy of the original letter sent to WikiLeaks by US admin

shukla · Post by **shukla** » 28 Nov 2010 11:19

My Thoughts on US caution to India about impending Wikileaks

B.Raman-The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai.

* It is, therefore, possible that the documents involving India which have reached Wikileaks relate to India's policies on Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

* Among the various events relating to Afghanistan and Iraq in which India figured during this period, four could be sensitive from India's point of view. Firstly, the pressure on the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government by the administration of George Bush to send a Division of the Indian Army to Iraq. By July,2003, the Vajpayee Government had decided to say no to Washington DC, but there was a lot of voices in Delhi in favour of accepting the US request. Secondly, the papers captured by the US intelligence after the occupation of Iraq from the Iraqi Government Departments showing or corroborating the alleged involvement of a leader or leaders of the Congress (I) in contacts with the Saddam Hussein Government for acquiring preferential quotas for the import of oil from Iraq. Thirdly, the pressure exercised by the Bush Administration on the Manmohan Singh Government for voting against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. The Government of India succumbed to this pressure as a quid pro quo for the Indo-US civil nuclear co-operation agreement of July,2005. Fourthly, the analysis and assessment made in the State Department and the Pentagon regarding Pakistani allegations of Indian involvement in Balochistan.

Is it possible that Wikileaks might have also got hold of diplomatic cables between the US Embassy in New Delhi and Washinton DC on Indian political leaders, bureaucrats and policy-making? If one goes by the demonstrated access of Wikileaks till now, one would rate this danger as low, but one can never be certain.

Altair · Post by **Altair** » 28 Nov 2010 11:42

Its not like the general public cares two hoots about who sold the country for hefty bank accounts in tax haven countries. It wouldnt matter what they leak! The opposition is useless.The media is compromised and delusional. Anything less than sex scandal wouldnt even run for a week.

James B · Post by **James B** » 28 Nov 2010 11:59

I remember some one from intelligence community saying on some American Talk show that around 800,000 people have access to top secret American documents. So there is/was a good potential for leaks and that's exactly what happened with wiki leaks.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 28 Nov 2010 12:05

shukla wrote:"We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained US government classified materials," State Department legal adviser Harold Koh wrote. "As you know, if any of the materials you intend to publish were provided by any government officials, or any intermediary without proper authorization, they were provided in violation of US law and without regard for the grave consequences of this action," Koh continued. "As long as WikiLeaks holds such material, the violation of the law is ongoing."

I don't think they have a case. Only the leaker was in contravention of US Law, not the holder of such material, who signed no Agreement of Non-Disclosure or Agreement of Secrecy with the US Govt..

Narad · Post by **Narad** » 28 Nov 2010 14:40

LEAKS TO BE PUBLISHED AT 2130 GMT SUNDAY, ie 0300 IST MONDAY

An independent French website owni.fr reported that the leaks would be published simultaneously at 2130 GMT Sunday by several Western newspapers.

Source

No weekend Fun

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 28 Nov 2010 15:10

(S//REL GCTF) TF THUNDER REPORTS CACHE 14K NE OF A-BAD. AT 0804Z THE FOLLOWING SALT REPORT WAS SENT, S: 1X 82MM MORTAR TUBE, 1X BASE PLATE, 1X TRIPOD, A: WEAPONS CACHE, L: 42S YD 06155 73288, T: 0740Z. REMARKS: INDIA COMPANY FOUND WEAPONS DURING A CORDON AND SOFT KNOCK IN THE VILLAGE OF SHIGAL (WEAPONS WERE FOUND BURIED IVO THE VILLAGE). WEAPONS WILL BE MOVED BACK TO ABAD AND TURNED OVER TO THE PRT. NFI.

What is this INDIAN COMPANY?

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 28 Nov 2010 16:07

Well yuvraj has lead a colorful life upto now, what with a columbian girl friend and all.

Sureshot political material along the lines of Imran Khan - Sita White scandal.

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 28 Nov 2010 16:20

krishnan wrote:
(S//REL GCTF) TF THUNDER REPORTS CACHE 14K NE OF A-BAD. AT 0804Z THE FOLLOWING SALT REPORT WAS SENT, S: 1X 82MM MORTAR TUBE, 1X BASE PLATE, 1X TRIPOD, A: WEAPONS CACHE, L: 42S YD 06155 73288, T: 0740Z. REMARKS: INDIA COMPANY FOUND WEAPONS DURING A CORDON AND SOFT KNOCK IN THE VILLAGE OF SHIGAL (WEAPONS WERE FOUND BURIED IVO THE VILLAGE). WEAPONS WILL BE MOVED BACK TO ABAD AND TURNED OVER TO THE PRT. NFI.
What is this INDIAN COMPANY?

Like Alpha, Bravo, Kilo company its India company

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 28 Nov 2010 16:21

My personal thought:
India is still not in the spotlight of the US media, it is only occasionally mentioned, and poverty apart, the news is usually positive - how Indians are using local tech to alleviate poverty, NGOs working, or scientific stuff-space launches, technology and then trade and business, economy etc.

There is not much acrimony such as that the US has with China or with Pakistan and some of the arab warlords. The main focus of the media and I guess the leaks will be
1. China
2. Ouirope
3. Canada
4. Af-Pak
5. Arab warlords
6. US's relations with the central american states, venezuela etc. (Bush had a wonderful time with Hugo Chavez for example, and there are likely to have been 'colorful' remarks made

)

India might be mentioned more as an afterthought

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 28 Nov 2010 16:25

This is electric. The wait is killing me. Can you feel the goosebumps? What mayhem awaits us in the near future? Which relationships will be soured for good? Who will declare war on whom? Will Mushy finally admit he wears a corset to tuck his tummy in? Will Jill actually leave Jack to start her own...(No, wait, that is part of another story).

Folks, with all the nerve-wracking anticipation and hand wrangling among the dozens of global leaders on what compromising information might be released through wikileaks leading to global catastrophe, this reminds me of the filmy situation where international spy agencies sent their best agents/assassins to knock off Inspector Clouseau. Is this about to be repeated? Will life imitate art? Will assassins from around the world including Agent 001/2-Abdul from EyeYesEye be dispatched to "take care" of Julian Assange, the founder and chief instigator of WikiLeaks? No wonder he is on the run.

James B · Post by **James B** » 28 Nov 2010 17:34

US in touch with Pakistan on WikiLeaks

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is reaching out to world leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari, as part of a damage-control exercise ahead of an imminent release of millions of secret diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks.

So, there will also be revelations about Pakis too. It must be a popcorn munching session for us jingoes going through choicest expletives used to describe the Pakis by Unkil.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 28 Nov 2010 17:40

hmmm, why is the US so scared , whats in there in those docs? Is it the language or the details that US is scared of

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 28 Nov 2010 17:45

US warns Wikileaks' Assange on possible leak

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 28 Nov 2010 17:49

Whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks will release a whole cache of secret diplomatic messages to the US related to former South African president Nelson Mandela, Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai and Libya's Colonel Gaddafi, a media report said here on Sunday.

Mandela, who stepped down as president in 1999, condemned George Bush over the Iraq war, saying the US president had ignored the UN's calls for restraint because the then secretary-general Kofi Annan was black.

http://sify.com/news/mandela-karzai-gad ... bjdhg.html

AdityaM · Post by **AdityaM** » 28 Nov 2010 17:58

2 pages on BRF over leak that hasnt happened yet!
The leaks are supposed to contain US assessment of leaders. On the face of it, obama says he has lot of respect for MMS. lets see what they say behind him.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 28 Nov 2010 18:18

http://www.rediff.com/news/column/b-ram ... 101128.htm

Secondly, the papers captured by the US intelligence after the occupation of Iraq from the Iraqi government departments showing or corroborating the alleged involvement of Indian lpoliticians in contact with the Saddam Hussein [ Images ] government to acquiring preferential quotas for the import of oil from Iraq (the oil for food scandal).

Thirdly, the pressure exercised by the Bush Administration on the Manmohan Singh [ Images ] Government for voting against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna [ Images ]. The government of India succumbed to this pressure as a quid pro quo for the Indo-US civil nuclear co-operation agreement of July, 2005.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 28 Nov 2010 19:18

huh I had a full night sleep and got up so late and still no leaks.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 28 Nov 2010 19:25

Is the US getting ready to cease domains that publish Wikileaks files?

Last week the US Department of Homeland Security ceased more than 76 domains because of "Copyright-infringment". These were mostly torrent sites but it shows where things are heading.

The domains were ceased on the eve of a massive Wikileaks file release and that could mean that the US government is showing that they will cease domains without court orders or without the owners being found guilty of anything.

It is almost as if the DHS is getting ready to blame all sites that post or share the Wikileaks files and (or) label them as "infringing copyright" (or illegal). That is just speculation but one wont be too surprised if that is in fact going to happen.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 28 Nov 2010 19:37

krishnan wrote:hmmm, why is the US so scared , whats in there in those docs? Is it the language or the details that US is scared of

I never go by US public pronouncements. If they are really as scared as they sound, US usually pre-emptively acts, as I sais, Asanga will accidently meet in an accident

. It could also be a public spectacle of showing a lot of concern over essentially not much as a way of covering up the lid and shutting out any speculation of more juicy stuff. Its like an adulterer making a huge show of remorse & contrition over revelation that he kissed someone other than his wife, when the reality is that he did much more. A lot more

.

Where the hell are the leaks, its Sunday morning on the west coast of USA

. Looks like a thus pataaki.

Dasari · Post by **Dasari** » 28 Nov 2010 20:29

CRamS wrote: I never go by US public pronouncements. If they are really as scared as they sound, US usually pre-emptively acts, as I sais, Asanga will accidently meet in an accident .

It is not that easy. In one of the interviews he said, that the materially is kept in several places to be automatically released to public on the event of any harm to them. It is like Tom Cruise deal with underworld dons in the movie 'The Firm'. I'm sure as an insurance against their lives, they will keep part of the leaks (the most sensitive one) with them for as long as they live.

However, it is possible that the latest letter from US made them think twice and there is no question that the job of US diplomats will be very hard with the release of these leaks.

The only question I've is why US couldn't buy them, sure those leaks worth more than several billion dollars. Perhaps Asanga rejected it and that explains the statement from US Govt that they don't know the motive of Asanga and why he is doing this.

Narad · Post by **Narad** » 28 Nov 2010 20:44

James B wrote: So, there will also be revelations about Pakis too. It must be a popcorn munching session for us jingoes going through choicest expletives used to describe the Pakis by Unkil.

Lots of new stuffs for the BRF Glossary too.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 28 Nov 2010 21:07

AdityaM wrote:2 pages on BRF over leak that hasnt happened yet!
The leaks are supposed to contain US assessment of leaders. On the face of it, obama says he has lot of respect for MMS. lets see what they say behind him.

Just the usual jokes that he wouldn't get himself a spine because he is too stingy! etc...

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 28 Nov 2010 21:50

@wikileaks

We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack. less than 20 seconds ago via web

mm cant imagine hackers wanting to stop wikileaks from embarrassing USA! wonder if USA is showing its skill in DoS attack on wikileaks!

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 28 Nov 2010 22:02

@wikileaks

El Pais, Le Monde, Speigel, Guardian & NYT will publish many US embassy cables tonight, even if WikiLeaks goes down

James B · Post by **James B** » 28 Nov 2010 22:13

British officials fear WikiLeaks will disrupt Iran policy

British officials fear that confidential WikiLeaks cables will reveal details of secret operation to disrupt Iranian smuggling of nuclear materials through the Gulf and Turkey.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 28 Nov 2010 22:49

http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/to ... TI20101128

ROME (Reuters) - The expected release of classified U.S. documents by Wikileaks will be the "9/11 of world diplomacy," Italy's foreign minister said Sunday, urging Italian prosecutors to investigate the whistle-blowing website.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, on a trip to Qatar, said he did not know the content of the files to be released but warned they would"blow up the relationship of trust between states," according to Italian news agencies.

"It will be the September 11th of world diplomacy," he said.

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 28 Nov 2010 22:50

While you wait for leaks