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US warns allies of WikiLeaks revelations
Source: Agencies |
November 26, 2010, Friday
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The Obama administration has alerted Congress and begun notifying foreign governments that the WikiLeaks website is preparing to release sensitive US diplomatic files that could damage US relations with friends and allies across the globe.
Officials said the documents may contain everything from accounts of compromising conversations with political dissidents and friendly politicians to disclosures of activities that could result in the expulsion of US diplomats from foreign postings.
US diplomatic outposts around the world have begun notifying other governments that WikiLeaks may release these documents in the next few days.
"These revelations are harmful to the United States and our interests," State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said. "They are going to create tension in relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world."
Crowley said the release of confidential communications about foreign governments probably will erode trust in the US as a diplomatic partner and could cause embarrassment if the files should include derogatory or critical comments about friendly foreign leaders.
"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," Crowley said.
A major focus of the documents is Europe, but the cables are likely to touch on relations with many important countries in Asia and elsewhere, an anonymous official said.
The posting of the leaked diplomatic cables by the self-styled whistle-blower website is expected this weekend, although WikiLeaks has not been specific about the timing. Many of the cables are believed to date from the start of the Obama administration, meaning that the White House will not be able to distance itself from any disclosures.
Officials worried
US officials are worried that some of the leaked cables could include details of conversations in which senior foreign politicians offer candid appraisals of their governments. Those assessments could embarrass not only the US but also the politicians and governments concerned.
Some of the documents may provide specifics of meetings US diplomats have had with opposition leaders, dissidents or human rights activists in various countries that could expose them to retaliation, particularly in authoritarian nations, officials said.
In more extreme cases, officials fear the cables could divulge embassy activities or analyses that might result in American diplomats being declared "persona non grata" and expelled from foreign countries.
Diplomatic cables are internal documents that would include a range of secret communications between US diplomatic outposts and State Department headquarters in Washington.
Officials said the documents may contain everything from accounts of compromising conversations with political dissidents and friendly politicians to disclosures of activities that could result in the expulsion of US diplomats from foreign postings.
US diplomatic outposts around the world have begun notifying other governments that WikiLeaks may release these documents in the next few days.
"These revelations are harmful to the United States and our interests," State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said. "They are going to create tension in relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world."
Crowley said the release of confidential communications about foreign governments probably will erode trust in the US as a diplomatic partner and could cause embarrassment if the files should include derogatory or critical comments about friendly foreign leaders.
"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," Crowley said.
A major focus of the documents is Europe, but the cables are likely to touch on relations with many important countries in Asia and elsewhere, an anonymous official said.
The posting of the leaked diplomatic cables by the self-styled whistle-blower website is expected this weekend, although WikiLeaks has not been specific about the timing. Many of the cables are believed to date from the start of the Obama administration, meaning that the White House will not be able to distance itself from any disclosures.
Officials worried
US officials are worried that some of the leaked cables could include details of conversations in which senior foreign politicians offer candid appraisals of their governments. Those assessments could embarrass not only the US but also the politicians and governments concerned.
Some of the documents may provide specifics of meetings US diplomats have had with opposition leaders, dissidents or human rights activists in various countries that could expose them to retaliation, particularly in authoritarian nations, officials said.
In more extreme cases, officials fear the cables could divulge embassy activities or analyses that might result in American diplomats being declared "persona non grata" and expelled from foreign countries.
Diplomatic cables are internal documents that would include a range of secret communications between US diplomatic outposts and State Department headquarters in Washington.
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