Flutterby™! : Wikileaks and diplomatic memos 2010-11-29 16:40:42.465118+00

Wikileaks and diplomatic memos

2010-11-29 16:40:42.465118+00 by Dan Lyke 8 comments

Three views on the Wikileaks release of 251,287 leaked United States embassy cables:

The cables, which date from 1966 up until the end of February this year, contain confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Washington DC. 15,652 of the cables are classified Secret.

Eccentric Flower: Assangery:

No, I don't mean the cables need to be destroyed; too late for that. I mean WikiLeaks needs to be destroyed. It is clear now that this is not the work of someone who has a legitimate cause or any sort of good motivation.

zeto28 on reddit: Self: Some clarification on what makes Wikileaks' release of secret US cables so damaging:

Because states are basically prison gangs and their leaders are gang leaders, understanding these prison mechanis is essential to understanding politics.

Scott Gilmore: In Defense of Secrecy:

I used to be a diplomat. I was one of those guys who wrote secret cables. Lots of them. And I said some very frank and nasty things in those cables.

(The latter two via Mark Hershberger)

I am having no luck mustering up any sympathy whatsoever for the US Government here. I don't care how damaging the information is: the feds have proved themselves poor guardians of the truth, and I'm glad there's someone out there with the means to challenge them.

Personally, I feel sorry for the individuals who wrote those cables in the same way I feel sorry for the individual who hits the "reply all" button on an embarrassing email. Some things need to be said, face to face, and never written down. If a person writes down something that belongs in that category they have to be aware it could easily become public.

#Comment Re: Protecting "OUR" Borders? made: 2010-11-30 00:45:49.261206+00 by: jeff

#Comment Re: made: 2010-11-30 19:21:30.92085+00 by: Mark A. Hershberger

As I've tweeted, this really drives home a lot of what is written in Death of the Liberal Class. Had liberalism of the sort that existed before WWI, the sort that is dying in the book, been alive and strong, I think things would have been different with this leak.

I'm not sure how, but I've a feeling that the climate in which the cables were sent would be different. Maybe the US Gov would have less of an imperialistic bent and we would have fewer jingoistic hot heads like Sarah Palin. And, maybe, just maybe, this would mean that Wikileaks wouldn't find the U.S. to be such an easy score.

I was amazed at the lack of professionalism demonstrated in the cables. I mean, if I were to send an official communication that contained those kinds of slurs and language in my job at the USGS, I would get into trouble.

And Jeff - that story is freakin' scary. I'm starting to rethink my attitude about how we manage our southern border. I'm also wondering if Mexico may be more important for us to consider as a military target than Iran.

#Comment Re: Our Border With Mexico made: 2010-12-01 00:20:01.685838+00 by: jeff

Eric--I've been writing for years (on occasion here at Flutterby) about the border situation with Mexico and how the drug-related gang violence would eventually be "coming to a neighborhood near you." The violence is spreading northward at a rate analogous to the killer bee population spreading north.

Mexico is a failed state which little-to-no chance for a turnaround due to its embedded culture of corruption. Because of that I consider Mexico to be a long-term threat to our national public security.

Note: national public security, not national military security. The distinction is very important. To me, they're both extremely critical to our way of life.

#Comment Re: Big Bend National Park made: 2010-12-02 11:30:58.396385+00 by: jeff

As an aside, I once fancied taking a trip and spending a few days doing some hiking and photography in Big Bend National Park.

#Comment Re: Interesting Counterattack? made: 2010-12-08 23:32:05.164525+00 by: jeff