WikiLeaks Diplomatic Documents Release
November 29th, 2010For whatever it’s worth:
Via: Guardian:
Among scores of disclosures that are likely to cause uproar, the cables detail:
* Grave fears in Washington and London over the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme, with officials warning that as the country faces economic collapse, government employees could smuggle out enough nuclear material for terrorists to build a bomb.
* Suspicions of corruption in the Afghan government, with one cable alleging that vice president Zia Massoud was carrying $52m in cash when he was stopped during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. Massoud denies taking money out of Afghanistan.
* How the hacker attacks which forced Google to quit China in January were orchestrated by a senior member of the Politburo who typed his own name into the global version of the search engine and found articles criticising him personally.
* The extraordinarily close relationship between Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, and Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, which is causing intense US suspicion. Cables detail allegations of “lavish gifts”, lucrative energy contracts and the use by Berlusconi of a “shadowy” Russian-speaking Italian go-between.
* Allegations that Russia and its intelligence agencies are using mafia bosses to carry out criminal operations, with one cable reporting that the relationship is so close that the country has become a “virtual mafia state”.
* Devastating criticism of the UK’s military operations in Afghanistan by US commanders, the Afghan president and local officials in Helmand. The dispatches reveal particular contempt for the failure to impose security around Sangin – the town which has claimed more British lives than any other in the country.
* Inappropriate remarks by a member of the British royal family about a UK law enforcement agency and a foreign country.
More: New York Times
“Allegations that Russia and its intelligence agencies are using mafia bosses to carry out criminal operations, with one cable reporting that the relationship is so close that the country has become a ‘virtual mafia state.'”
I laughed out loud at that one.
Pot and kettle, pot and kettle.
Just to state the obvious, once more, none of this stuff is particularly interesting. In fact, what is surprising is how totally UNinteresting it is. It makes the whole Wikileaks thing smell more and more like “wag the dog” type stuff. Or perhaps, a masterful ‘limited hangout’ ala Haldeman.
We got nothing of substance out of this whole charade.
My primary question is this: If it is a limited hangout, what does Assange get out of it? Perhaps it’s all just ego driven?
D
We got nothing of substance out of this whole charade.
how can you say that when they have still only released a couple of hundred cables out of tens of throusands?
We got nothing of substance out of this whole charade.
I thought the Apache Gunship kill camera was some pretty good ‘inside story’ stuff re how the mil operates in theater, all out in the public sphere and whatnot…I didn’t think many people had any idea how slip-shod and coldly the mil operates in practice on a daily basis in Iraq and Afg…that kind of live-action camera work had some effect during Vietnam…although nowadays, it appears most people are also pretty numb to the whole thing also…so, hangout or not, effective? Not so much… it seems most people yawn this stuff off now…
in case you haven’t seen it…
zunguzungu’s critique of the Assange method.
this is very relevant, imho.
Julian Assange and the Computer Conspiracy; “To destroy this invisible government