Wikileaks and Julian Assange Mega-thread
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- Start date
Heh....they all do...
Obama ordered diplomats to spy on Canada
By BRIAN LILLEY, Parliamentary Bureau November 28, 2010
Article Link
OTTAWA - The Obama administration ordered diplomats to spy on foreign governments and dignitaries – including here in Canada – as a way to provide key biographical data to the Central Intelligence Agency.
The July 2009 directive to embassies around the world, including the one in Ottawa, asked diplomats to go beyond collecting the usual information of name, title and phone number. Diplomats were also asked to pass along “Internet and intranet ‘handles,’ Internet e-mail addresses, web site identification-URLs, credit card account numbers, frequent flyer account numbers, work schedules and other relevant biographical information.”
The directive was one of thousands of diplomatic cables made public Sunday by WikiLeaks and media partners the New York Times, the Guardian and Der Spiegel.
In addition to that very personal information, the directive also asked American diplomats to gather the views of their hosts or other dignitaries on a whole range of issues from hot security topics such as Darfur, Afghanistan and North Korea to issues such as climate change policy ahead of the Copenhagen negotiations that took place late last year.
The news that President Barack Obama and his secretary of state Hillary Clinton wanted diplomats to spy on their Canadian hosts could strain the relationship between the U.S. embassy and Parliament Hill, especially in the short term.
“Long-standing relations such as those with Canada and the U.K. will no doubt weather the storm. Relationships that are troubled, such as those with Turkey and Russia, could see some resettling,” said James Jay Carafano, a foreign policy expert with Washington’s Heritage Foundation.
Carafano told QMI Agency that if there is credible evidence that Turkish officials gave material support to al-Qaida or that the U.S. was secretly negotiating side deals on missile defence with Russia, the White House will have some explaining to do.
More on link
Obama ordered diplomats to spy on Canada
By BRIAN LILLEY, Parliamentary Bureau November 28, 2010
Article Link
OTTAWA - The Obama administration ordered diplomats to spy on foreign governments and dignitaries – including here in Canada – as a way to provide key biographical data to the Central Intelligence Agency.
The July 2009 directive to embassies around the world, including the one in Ottawa, asked diplomats to go beyond collecting the usual information of name, title and phone number. Diplomats were also asked to pass along “Internet and intranet ‘handles,’ Internet e-mail addresses, web site identification-URLs, credit card account numbers, frequent flyer account numbers, work schedules and other relevant biographical information.”
The directive was one of thousands of diplomatic cables made public Sunday by WikiLeaks and media partners the New York Times, the Guardian and Der Spiegel.
In addition to that very personal information, the directive also asked American diplomats to gather the views of their hosts or other dignitaries on a whole range of issues from hot security topics such as Darfur, Afghanistan and North Korea to issues such as climate change policy ahead of the Copenhagen negotiations that took place late last year.
The news that President Barack Obama and his secretary of state Hillary Clinton wanted diplomats to spy on their Canadian hosts could strain the relationship between the U.S. embassy and Parliament Hill, especially in the short term.
“Long-standing relations such as those with Canada and the U.K. will no doubt weather the storm. Relationships that are troubled, such as those with Turkey and Russia, could see some resettling,” said James Jay Carafano, a foreign policy expert with Washington’s Heritage Foundation.
Carafano told QMI Agency that if there is credible evidence that Turkish officials gave material support to al-Qaida or that the U.S. was secretly negotiating side deals on missile defence with Russia, the White House will have some explaining to do.
More on link
- Reaction score
- 4,660
- Points
- 1,160
Nemo888 said:
Got a link? I don't like indulging these sensationalist idiots, but reading some of the stuff would sure be laugh-worthy.
- Reaction score
- 146
- Points
- 710
Where the WikiLeaks likely came from-and what they show
http://unambig.com/where-the-wikileaks-likely-came-from/
Mark
Ottawa
http://unambig.com/where-the-wikileaks-likely-came-from/
Mark
Ottawa
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 127
- Points
- 710
Was he wrong?
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
CSIS ex-chief slams courts, Canadians: WikiLeaks
29/11/2010 6:01:57 PM
CBC News
LINK
A U.S. official reported that former CSIS director Jim Judd said Canadians and their courts had an "Alice in Wonderland" worldview, according to a 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.
Judd and the U.S. official were discussing threats posed by violent Islamist groups in Canada, as well as recent developments in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In the cable, which was sent by the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa to the U.S. government, the official states that Judd said Canadian judges have "CSIS 'in knots,' making it ever more difficult to detect and prevent terror attacks in Canada and abroad."
Judd said the situation "left government security agencies on the defensive and losing public support for their effort to protect Canada and its allies," the cable states.
The cable is one of hundreds of thousands of cables released by the website WikiLeaks.
The dispatch goes on to state that Judd "derided" recent Canadian court judgments that threaten foreign governments' intelligence-sharing with Canada.
"These judgments posit that Canadian authorities cannot use information that 'may have been' derived from torture, and that any Canadian public official who conveys such information may be subject to criminal prosecution," the cable says.
Judd credited Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government for " 'taking it on the chin and pressing ahead' with common sense measures despite court challenges and political knocks from the opposition and interest groups," according to the document.
The cable said that Judd stated CSIS had responded to recent, non-specific intelligence on possible terror operations by "vigorously harassing" known Hezbollah members in Canada.
Judd also said that sections of a court-ordered release of a DVD of Guantanamo detainee and Canadian citizen Omar Khadr "would likely show three ... adults interrogating a kid who breaks down in tears."
Judd stated that the video "would no doubt trigger knee-jerk anti-Americanism" and "paroxysms of moral outrage, a Canadian specialty," the cable said.
Judd was the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service from 2004 to 2009.
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
CSIS ex-chief slams courts, Canadians: WikiLeaks
29/11/2010 6:01:57 PM
CBC News
LINK
A U.S. official reported that former CSIS director Jim Judd said Canadians and their courts had an "Alice in Wonderland" worldview, according to a 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.
Judd and the U.S. official were discussing threats posed by violent Islamist groups in Canada, as well as recent developments in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In the cable, which was sent by the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa to the U.S. government, the official states that Judd said Canadian judges have "CSIS 'in knots,' making it ever more difficult to detect and prevent terror attacks in Canada and abroad."
Judd said the situation "left government security agencies on the defensive and losing public support for their effort to protect Canada and its allies," the cable states.
The cable is one of hundreds of thousands of cables released by the website WikiLeaks.
The dispatch goes on to state that Judd "derided" recent Canadian court judgments that threaten foreign governments' intelligence-sharing with Canada.
"These judgments posit that Canadian authorities cannot use information that 'may have been' derived from torture, and that any Canadian public official who conveys such information may be subject to criminal prosecution," the cable says.
Judd credited Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government for " 'taking it on the chin and pressing ahead' with common sense measures despite court challenges and political knocks from the opposition and interest groups," according to the document.
The cable said that Judd stated CSIS had responded to recent, non-specific intelligence on possible terror operations by "vigorously harassing" known Hezbollah members in Canada.
Judd also said that sections of a court-ordered release of a DVD of Guantanamo detainee and Canadian citizen Omar Khadr "would likely show three ... adults interrogating a kid who breaks down in tears."
Judd stated that the video "would no doubt trigger knee-jerk anti-Americanism" and "paroxysms of moral outrage, a Canadian specialty," the cable said.
Judd was the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service from 2004 to 2009.
- Reaction score
- 361
- Points
- 930
tomahawk6 said:
Canada, and those Canadians who are taking pleasure in reading these, should just thank their lucky stars our own cables back to Ottawa aren't being released. Jebus Christ, what do people think diplomats talk about in confidential cables? The f***ing weather? These are diplomats. Their JOB is to communicate. With other nations and, as importantly, with their superiors - in the most honest and straightforward manner possible.
It makes me sick that people are :
a) surprised/shocked/aghast; and
b) in any way "happy" to see these
I feel for the US administration right now, as I would for my own government if the situation was reversed.
Sorry for the rant, I have been bumping into troglodytes all day long who are surprised by the content.
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 127
- Points
- 710
Interesting news video report on this link:
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
Who is behind the leaked US cables disclosed by Wikileaks?
29 November 2010 Last updated at 14:04 ET
BBC News
LINK
The publication of confidential US diplomatic cables by Wikileaks has been criticised by governments including Britain, America and Pakistan
Suspicion about the leaks has fallen on one man - US Army Private Bradley Manning.
Currently, he is in military custody over the leaking of material from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Gordon Corera reports.
Video report on LINK
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
Who is behind the leaked US cables disclosed by Wikileaks?
29 November 2010 Last updated at 14:04 ET
BBC News
LINK
The publication of confidential US diplomatic cables by Wikileaks has been criticised by governments including Britain, America and Pakistan
Suspicion about the leaks has fallen on one man - US Army Private Bradley Manning.
Currently, he is in military custody over the leaking of material from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Gordon Corera reports.
Video report on LINK
Wikileaks a U.S. plot, says Ahmadinejad
Iran's president has labelled WikiLeaks disclosures that Arab states demanded that the United States attack his country as an orchestrated attempt by Washington to destabilize the Middle East.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has led Tehran's resistance to sanctions against its nuclear program, suggested that WikiLeaks was an American tool to plant misinformation around the world.
Reports that the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states had repeatedly pressed U.S. officials to strike against Iran were ridiculed as an effort to pit the country against its "Arab brothers".
"Let me first correct you. The material was not leaked, but rather released in an organized way," Mr Ahmadinejad told a press conference.
"We don't give any value to these documents. It's without legal value. Iran and regional states are friends. Such acts of mischief have no impact on relations between nations."
According to the documents, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia urged America to "cut the head of the snake", while the leaders of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates also urged a military solution. The Sunni Muslim monarchies fear that a nuclear-capable Shia Muslim state would wield supremacy in the Middle East.
Stung by the leaking of the revelations, their governments maintained a wall of silence Monday, fearful of a backlash for advocating military action in a region still resentful of the U.S. war in Iraq.
However, analysts said the reported comments were a true gauge of anxiety over a strong Iran.
"I think it confirms that the [Gulf] states are all more united on the anti-Iranian front than previously disclosed," said Theodore Karasik, a Dubai-based analyst.
Khaled al-Dakhil, a Saudi security expert, said Iran should take the revelations as a warning that its neighbours were exhausted by its aggressive foreign policy. "I don't think Iran takes at face value public declarations coming from the Gulf, whether for a war or not - just as Gulf leaders do not believe declarations about how peaceful the Iranian nuclear program is," he said.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, was one of the few government leaders to discuss the detail of the leaks, warning that U.S. diplomatic exchanges with allies including Israel could be scaled back as a result of the leak.
He anticipated potential embarrassment for Arab leadership. "There is usually a gap between what is said in public and what is said in private. In Israel, the gaps aren't so large, but in some of the other countries in the region the gaps are very large," Mr Netanyahu said. "Leaders should be ready to tell their people the truth."
But Israel also expressed satisfaction that its position on Iran had been vindicated. "We come out looking very good," a senior government official. "They [the leaked documents] confirm that the whole Middle East is terrified by the prospect of a nuclear Iran."
link
(Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)
Iran's president has labelled WikiLeaks disclosures that Arab states demanded that the United States attack his country as an orchestrated attempt by Washington to destabilize the Middle East.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has led Tehran's resistance to sanctions against its nuclear program, suggested that WikiLeaks was an American tool to plant misinformation around the world.
Reports that the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states had repeatedly pressed U.S. officials to strike against Iran were ridiculed as an effort to pit the country against its "Arab brothers".
"Let me first correct you. The material was not leaked, but rather released in an organized way," Mr Ahmadinejad told a press conference.
"We don't give any value to these documents. It's without legal value. Iran and regional states are friends. Such acts of mischief have no impact on relations between nations."
According to the documents, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia urged America to "cut the head of the snake", while the leaders of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates also urged a military solution. The Sunni Muslim monarchies fear that a nuclear-capable Shia Muslim state would wield supremacy in the Middle East.
Stung by the leaking of the revelations, their governments maintained a wall of silence Monday, fearful of a backlash for advocating military action in a region still resentful of the U.S. war in Iraq.
However, analysts said the reported comments were a true gauge of anxiety over a strong Iran.
"I think it confirms that the [Gulf] states are all more united on the anti-Iranian front than previously disclosed," said Theodore Karasik, a Dubai-based analyst.
Khaled al-Dakhil, a Saudi security expert, said Iran should take the revelations as a warning that its neighbours were exhausted by its aggressive foreign policy. "I don't think Iran takes at face value public declarations coming from the Gulf, whether for a war or not - just as Gulf leaders do not believe declarations about how peaceful the Iranian nuclear program is," he said.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, was one of the few government leaders to discuss the detail of the leaks, warning that U.S. diplomatic exchanges with allies including Israel could be scaled back as a result of the leak.
He anticipated potential embarrassment for Arab leadership. "There is usually a gap between what is said in public and what is said in private. In Israel, the gaps aren't so large, but in some of the other countries in the region the gaps are very large," Mr Netanyahu said. "Leaders should be ready to tell their people the truth."
But Israel also expressed satisfaction that its position on Iran had been vindicated. "We come out looking very good," a senior government official. "They [the leaked documents] confirm that the whole Middle East is terrified by the prospect of a nuclear Iran."
link
(Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 127
- Points
- 710
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
Paging Maxwell Smart
Juicy WikiLeaks snooping details shows ‘intelligence community’ is an oxymoron
By WARREN KINSELLA, QMI Agency
Last Updated: November 30, 2010 1:00am
Winnipeg Sun
LINK
When you take a gander at the mountain of classified U.S. documents WikiLeaks offered up on Sunday, you are inevitably left pondering the phrase “intelligence community.”
Turns out, it’s an oxymoron.
The “intelligence community,” clearly, is neither “intelligent” nor a “community.”
In fact, when you ponder what America’s top spies are pondering, it’s not so amazing that Osama bin Laden has escaped capture for more than a decade. The alleged Maxwell Smarts overseeing America’s intelligence-gathering aren’t particularly smart — and they have a tenuous grasp on that important allies/enemies distinction, too.
What else are we to make of a July 2009 State Department cable sent to American diplomats based at that nation’s fortified embassy in Ottawa, blandly urging them to spy on us, their allies? Us, their biggest trading partner — you know, the ones who recently acceded to their pleas we remain on the battlefields of Afghanistan for a few more years?
Us, whose prime minister rolls over to get his belly scratched by the White House so regularly he should be kennelled alongside Bo, the presidential pooch?
One secret document directs U.S. diplomats to “include as much of the following information as possible” about Canadian officials — including “numbers of telephones, cellphones, pagers and faxes ... Internet and Intranet ‘handles,’ Internet e-mail addresses, website identification-URLs; credit card account numbers; frequent flyer account numbers; work schedules, and other relevant biographical information.”
Hey, um, Mr. President? If we object to our American allies cataloguing our critically important “frequent flyer account numbers,” does that mean we’re now with the terrorists?
More to the point, does Osama bin Laden have a “work schedule” that will finally assist you and your crack team of intelligence experts to dispatch him, so we can finally bring our troops home?
(Missing from the WikiLeaks leaks, surprisingly, was the Top Secret cable describing how — if you ask him to completely reverse himself and commit to a few more years of war — Liberal foreign affairs expert Bob Rae will fold like a cheap suit.)
Tellingly, the U.S. government got word WikiLeaks was going to dump hundreds of thousands of supposedly sensitive documents on the Internet from, well, WikiLeaks. The Americans said “countless” lives would be put at risk by disclosure, so they got very angry. They got very tough.
They had one of their lawyers send WikiLeaks a sternly worded letter!
To the surprise of none of us holding Top Secret “frequent flyer account numbers,” that didn’t work. Back in the good old days of the Bush regime, the White House would have bombed WikiLeaks’ HQ. Now it sends lawyer’s letters. Wow.
My 15-year-old daughter safeguards her Facebook account better than these clowns protect national security. These goofs make the Austin Powers movies look like a documentary.
When one eyeballs WikiLeaks’ stuff — when you actually read some of the idiocy that masquerades as “intelligence” within the U.S. intelligence establishment — I wouldn’t be astonished to learn the al-Qaida boss is now in the U.S., selling timeshares in Florida.
But wherever bin Laden is — possibly still holed up in a cave somewhere with cable and an Xbox — you can be sure of one thing this week.
He’s laughing his *** off.
— Kinsella is a lawyer, consultant and Liberal Party spin-doctor. He blogs at warrenkinsella.com
warren.kinsella@sunmedia.ca
=====================================================
Ummmmm? Warren? Do you have a Rolodex or file index somewhere where you keep the names and contact numbers of all your important friends/clients/contacts? I'm sure you do. I am just as sure that the President of the United States of America does as well, and he would like to ensure that the information is current.
WikiLeaks is causing a lot of consternation over trivia.
Paging Maxwell Smart
Juicy WikiLeaks snooping details shows ‘intelligence community’ is an oxymoron
By WARREN KINSELLA, QMI Agency
Last Updated: November 30, 2010 1:00am
Winnipeg Sun
LINK
When you take a gander at the mountain of classified U.S. documents WikiLeaks offered up on Sunday, you are inevitably left pondering the phrase “intelligence community.”
Turns out, it’s an oxymoron.
The “intelligence community,” clearly, is neither “intelligent” nor a “community.”
In fact, when you ponder what America’s top spies are pondering, it’s not so amazing that Osama bin Laden has escaped capture for more than a decade. The alleged Maxwell Smarts overseeing America’s intelligence-gathering aren’t particularly smart — and they have a tenuous grasp on that important allies/enemies distinction, too.
What else are we to make of a July 2009 State Department cable sent to American diplomats based at that nation’s fortified embassy in Ottawa, blandly urging them to spy on us, their allies? Us, their biggest trading partner — you know, the ones who recently acceded to their pleas we remain on the battlefields of Afghanistan for a few more years?
Us, whose prime minister rolls over to get his belly scratched by the White House so regularly he should be kennelled alongside Bo, the presidential pooch?
One secret document directs U.S. diplomats to “include as much of the following information as possible” about Canadian officials — including “numbers of telephones, cellphones, pagers and faxes ... Internet and Intranet ‘handles,’ Internet e-mail addresses, website identification-URLs; credit card account numbers; frequent flyer account numbers; work schedules, and other relevant biographical information.”
Hey, um, Mr. President? If we object to our American allies cataloguing our critically important “frequent flyer account numbers,” does that mean we’re now with the terrorists?
More to the point, does Osama bin Laden have a “work schedule” that will finally assist you and your crack team of intelligence experts to dispatch him, so we can finally bring our troops home?
(Missing from the WikiLeaks leaks, surprisingly, was the Top Secret cable describing how — if you ask him to completely reverse himself and commit to a few more years of war — Liberal foreign affairs expert Bob Rae will fold like a cheap suit.)
Tellingly, the U.S. government got word WikiLeaks was going to dump hundreds of thousands of supposedly sensitive documents on the Internet from, well, WikiLeaks. The Americans said “countless” lives would be put at risk by disclosure, so they got very angry. They got very tough.
They had one of their lawyers send WikiLeaks a sternly worded letter!
To the surprise of none of us holding Top Secret “frequent flyer account numbers,” that didn’t work. Back in the good old days of the Bush regime, the White House would have bombed WikiLeaks’ HQ. Now it sends lawyer’s letters. Wow.
My 15-year-old daughter safeguards her Facebook account better than these clowns protect national security. These goofs make the Austin Powers movies look like a documentary.
When one eyeballs WikiLeaks’ stuff — when you actually read some of the idiocy that masquerades as “intelligence” within the U.S. intelligence establishment — I wouldn’t be astonished to learn the al-Qaida boss is now in the U.S., selling timeshares in Florida.
But wherever bin Laden is — possibly still holed up in a cave somewhere with cable and an Xbox — you can be sure of one thing this week.
He’s laughing his *** off.
— Kinsella is a lawyer, consultant and Liberal Party spin-doctor. He blogs at warrenkinsella.com
warren.kinsella@sunmedia.ca
=====================================================
Ummmmm? Warren? Do you have a Rolodex or file index somewhere where you keep the names and contact numbers of all your important friends/clients/contacts? I'm sure you do. I am just as sure that the President of the United States of America does as well, and he would like to ensure that the information is current.
WikiLeaks is causing a lot of consternation over trivia.
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 127
- Points
- 710
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
WikiLeaks Diplomatic Cables
A 'Teflon' Chancellor and 'Wildcard' Foreign Minister
How America Views the Germans
By Jan Friedmann, John Goetz, Ralf Neukirch, Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark
Spiegel Online
LINK
The State Department dispatches that have now been released show just how critically the US views Germany. They see Chancellor Merkel as "risk averse" and Foreign Minister Westerwelle as a "wild card." The US Embassy in Berlin has informants at all levels of German government.
The secret informant who handed over internal documents from German coalition negotiations to the Americans in October 2009 doesn't want his cover blown. And the US has been careful to protect his identity. They simply call him "a well-placed source."
The source is a member of the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), the junior coalition partner to Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Philip Murphy, the US ambassador in Berlin, describes him as a "young, up-and-coming party loyalist. The cable is numbered 229153, it was sent on Oct. 9, 2009 and is marked "confidential." Murphy never thought that it could be made public.
The cable was sent just 12 days following German general elections and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in the process of negotiating a governing coalition with FDP Chairman Guido Westerwelle. Germany was in the process of charting a new course, and it now looks like the US government was a fly on the wall. Murphy, the cables make clear, was proud of that fact.
On Oct. 7, the informant met with US diplomats. He had brought along a stack of internal documents: lists of working groups and their members, schedules and handwritten memos. He had also noted who had said what during the meetings -- he had been tasked by the FDP with keeping minutes of the talks.
He told the Americans that there had been an internal argument over disarmament, and that Westerwelle wanted to see the United States remove its nuclear weapons from German soil. Then Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, of Merkel's Christian Democrats, countered that the weapons serve as a deterrent against Iran. Westerwelle, according to the informant, had answered that this wasn't true, because the nuclear warheads couldn't even reach Iran. Merkel, Murphy writes in his memo, eventually cut off the debate by pointing out that German unilateralism on disarmament would lead nowhere.
'Happy to Share His Observations'
The FDP's subsequent anger with Schäuble was intense. The source said that Schäuble was "neurotic" and "saw threats everywhere." The FDP, he later added, viewed him as "an angry old man" who sought to portray himself as the CDU's "grey eminence" in order to expand his influence. The FDP informant hoped that the CDU would also view Schäuble's role as "counterproductive." At the end of the meeting, he handed over several copies of documents from his files on the coalition negotiations. "Post will seek meetings with source after the plenary negotiation rounds to see if additional readouts are possible," an obviously satisfied Murphy cabled to Washington.
The unknown German government informant must be bold and unscrupulous, or perhaps merely naïve and power hungry. Who knows exactly what motivates a party employee to reveal the details of his party's coalition negotiations to US diplomats?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
AN INTERACTIVE ATLAS OF THE DIPLOMATIC CABLES
A time lapse of 251,287 documents: The world map shows where the majority of the cables originated from, and where they had the highest level of classification.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Murphy did his best to provide an explanation to his boss, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The source, he writes, had "offered (the embassy employee) internal party documents in the past. Excited with his role as FDP negotiations note taker, he seemed happy to share his observations and insights and read to us directly from his notes."
A few days later, on Oct. 15, the informant was ready to deliver his next batch of information. This time he had brought along a list of 15 items that the FDP wanted to see included in the coalition agreement. Once again they included calls for "entering negotiations with our allies" over the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Germany in the near future. How important is nuclear disarmament to Westerwelle, the US diplomats asked? Very important, the FDP source responded. He also said, though, that Westerwelle wanted to do Merkel the favor of enabling her to be elected chancellor before she traveled to Washington November 2.
Details of the German Decision-Making Process
Once again, Murphy sends off a dispatch to Washington -- the confidential cable is titled: "Germany Could Have New Coalition Government Within Two Weeks." It is coded "Noforn," meaning it is not to be seen be foreign governments, and is marked priority.
The cables clearly indicate that the source provided the US with details of the German government's decision-making process even before the coalition agreement had been reached. Should Merkel's government now begin searching for a traitor within its own ranks? And how should Berlin react to American diplomats who maintain sources at the upper levels of German politics, behaving at times in Berlin as if they were employees of an intelligence agency?
The two cables from Murphy are part of the most comprehensive leak in the history of diplomacy. They come from within the US State Department, two of a total of 251,287 State Department cables that the organization WikiLeaks has obtained, likely from the same source as the previous documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the wake of the military secrets that made headlines worldwide, most recently in late October, these new revelations focus on the second column of American power politics: diplomacy.
For the US government, it must feel as though they have been robbed of their clothes. The US has been exposed on the marketplace of global politics. The confidential dispatches begin with a cable from Dec. 28, 1966 and end on Feb. 28, 2010. They include situational reports from US Embassies across the globe sent to Washington. Some are also instructions from the State Department sent to its overseas posts. Most of them are from the administration of US President George W. Bush and from the beginning of the presidency of his successor, Barack Obama. Just from the year 2008, the year of Obama's election victory, there are 49,446 dispatches. A total of 1,719 of them come from the US Embassy in Berlin.
A Network of US Embassy Informants
The emergence of the documents is a disaster of global proportions for US foreign policy, one that will also affect Washington's relations with Berlin. Faith in the Americans' ability to protect their diplomatic traffic is deeply shaken -- that alone will change German-American relations. A superpower's diplomacy has never been revealed to quite the same degree.
But the secret documents also paint a picture of a political landscape in Germany covered by a network of US Embassy informants that even reaches into the capitals of Germany's states. It is a shameful portrait of a political class that has nothing better to do that to go behind the backs of others with the Americans -- to engage in conspiracy, denunciation and obstruction.
The US diplomats reported back to Washington when Economics Minister Rainer Brüderle complained about Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. They made note of it when Guttenberg went after Westerwelle yet again, or when SPD General Secretary Andrea Nahles criticized fellow Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The uncomplimentary reports were sent on to Wasthington. The US, the documents make clear, knows more about the secrets of German politics than many a German politician.
The diplomatic cables also reveal something else: The trans-Atlantic relationship is not in very good shape. The US view of German politics is distanced and cautious. American diplomats have never really hit it off with Chancellor Angela Merkel. They discount Horst Seehofer, the chairman of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), because of his ignorance and populism. They feel that Development Minister Dirk Niebel (FDP) was a strange choice for the post. And Foreign Minister Westerwelle? US envoys are particularly critical of Germany's top diplomat. The secret cables describe him as incompetent, vain and critical of the United States, and as a burden on the trans-Atlantic relationship.
Part 1: How America Views the Germans
Part 2: The German Foreign Minister's 'Lack of Gravitas'
Part 3: American Insight into German Infighting
Part 4: America's Trojan Horse in Europe
Part 5: Standard Diplomatic Procedure?
WikiLeaks Diplomatic Cables
A 'Teflon' Chancellor and 'Wildcard' Foreign Minister
How America Views the Germans
By Jan Friedmann, John Goetz, Ralf Neukirch, Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark
Spiegel Online
LINK
The State Department dispatches that have now been released show just how critically the US views Germany. They see Chancellor Merkel as "risk averse" and Foreign Minister Westerwelle as a "wild card." The US Embassy in Berlin has informants at all levels of German government.
The secret informant who handed over internal documents from German coalition negotiations to the Americans in October 2009 doesn't want his cover blown. And the US has been careful to protect his identity. They simply call him "a well-placed source."
The source is a member of the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), the junior coalition partner to Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Philip Murphy, the US ambassador in Berlin, describes him as a "young, up-and-coming party loyalist. The cable is numbered 229153, it was sent on Oct. 9, 2009 and is marked "confidential." Murphy never thought that it could be made public.
The cable was sent just 12 days following German general elections and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in the process of negotiating a governing coalition with FDP Chairman Guido Westerwelle. Germany was in the process of charting a new course, and it now looks like the US government was a fly on the wall. Murphy, the cables make clear, was proud of that fact.
On Oct. 7, the informant met with US diplomats. He had brought along a stack of internal documents: lists of working groups and their members, schedules and handwritten memos. He had also noted who had said what during the meetings -- he had been tasked by the FDP with keeping minutes of the talks.
He told the Americans that there had been an internal argument over disarmament, and that Westerwelle wanted to see the United States remove its nuclear weapons from German soil. Then Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, of Merkel's Christian Democrats, countered that the weapons serve as a deterrent against Iran. Westerwelle, according to the informant, had answered that this wasn't true, because the nuclear warheads couldn't even reach Iran. Merkel, Murphy writes in his memo, eventually cut off the debate by pointing out that German unilateralism on disarmament would lead nowhere.
'Happy to Share His Observations'
The FDP's subsequent anger with Schäuble was intense. The source said that Schäuble was "neurotic" and "saw threats everywhere." The FDP, he later added, viewed him as "an angry old man" who sought to portray himself as the CDU's "grey eminence" in order to expand his influence. The FDP informant hoped that the CDU would also view Schäuble's role as "counterproductive." At the end of the meeting, he handed over several copies of documents from his files on the coalition negotiations. "Post will seek meetings with source after the plenary negotiation rounds to see if additional readouts are possible," an obviously satisfied Murphy cabled to Washington.
The unknown German government informant must be bold and unscrupulous, or perhaps merely naïve and power hungry. Who knows exactly what motivates a party employee to reveal the details of his party's coalition negotiations to US diplomats?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
AN INTERACTIVE ATLAS OF THE DIPLOMATIC CABLES
A time lapse of 251,287 documents: The world map shows where the majority of the cables originated from, and where they had the highest level of classification.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Murphy did his best to provide an explanation to his boss, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The source, he writes, had "offered (the embassy employee) internal party documents in the past. Excited with his role as FDP negotiations note taker, he seemed happy to share his observations and insights and read to us directly from his notes."
A few days later, on Oct. 15, the informant was ready to deliver his next batch of information. This time he had brought along a list of 15 items that the FDP wanted to see included in the coalition agreement. Once again they included calls for "entering negotiations with our allies" over the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Germany in the near future. How important is nuclear disarmament to Westerwelle, the US diplomats asked? Very important, the FDP source responded. He also said, though, that Westerwelle wanted to do Merkel the favor of enabling her to be elected chancellor before she traveled to Washington November 2.
Details of the German Decision-Making Process
Once again, Murphy sends off a dispatch to Washington -- the confidential cable is titled: "Germany Could Have New Coalition Government Within Two Weeks." It is coded "Noforn," meaning it is not to be seen be foreign governments, and is marked priority.
The cables clearly indicate that the source provided the US with details of the German government's decision-making process even before the coalition agreement had been reached. Should Merkel's government now begin searching for a traitor within its own ranks? And how should Berlin react to American diplomats who maintain sources at the upper levels of German politics, behaving at times in Berlin as if they were employees of an intelligence agency?
The two cables from Murphy are part of the most comprehensive leak in the history of diplomacy. They come from within the US State Department, two of a total of 251,287 State Department cables that the organization WikiLeaks has obtained, likely from the same source as the previous documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the wake of the military secrets that made headlines worldwide, most recently in late October, these new revelations focus on the second column of American power politics: diplomacy.
For the US government, it must feel as though they have been robbed of their clothes. The US has been exposed on the marketplace of global politics. The confidential dispatches begin with a cable from Dec. 28, 1966 and end on Feb. 28, 2010. They include situational reports from US Embassies across the globe sent to Washington. Some are also instructions from the State Department sent to its overseas posts. Most of them are from the administration of US President George W. Bush and from the beginning of the presidency of his successor, Barack Obama. Just from the year 2008, the year of Obama's election victory, there are 49,446 dispatches. A total of 1,719 of them come from the US Embassy in Berlin.
A Network of US Embassy Informants
The emergence of the documents is a disaster of global proportions for US foreign policy, one that will also affect Washington's relations with Berlin. Faith in the Americans' ability to protect their diplomatic traffic is deeply shaken -- that alone will change German-American relations. A superpower's diplomacy has never been revealed to quite the same degree.
But the secret documents also paint a picture of a political landscape in Germany covered by a network of US Embassy informants that even reaches into the capitals of Germany's states. It is a shameful portrait of a political class that has nothing better to do that to go behind the backs of others with the Americans -- to engage in conspiracy, denunciation and obstruction.
The US diplomats reported back to Washington when Economics Minister Rainer Brüderle complained about Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. They made note of it when Guttenberg went after Westerwelle yet again, or when SPD General Secretary Andrea Nahles criticized fellow Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The uncomplimentary reports were sent on to Wasthington. The US, the documents make clear, knows more about the secrets of German politics than many a German politician.
The diplomatic cables also reveal something else: The trans-Atlantic relationship is not in very good shape. The US view of German politics is distanced and cautious. American diplomats have never really hit it off with Chancellor Angela Merkel. They discount Horst Seehofer, the chairman of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), because of his ignorance and populism. They feel that Development Minister Dirk Niebel (FDP) was a strange choice for the post. And Foreign Minister Westerwelle? US envoys are particularly critical of Germany's top diplomat. The secret cables describe him as incompetent, vain and critical of the United States, and as a burden on the trans-Atlantic relationship.
Part 1: How America Views the Germans
Part 2: The German Foreign Minister's 'Lack of Gravitas'
Part 3: American Insight into German Infighting
Part 4: America's Trojan Horse in Europe
Part 5: Standard Diplomatic Procedure?
- Reaction score
- 4,660
- Points
- 1,160
Well, seems like the Wikileaks is finally going to start losing places to hide in, he's just had an Interpol warrant listed for his arrest:
http://www.interpol.int/public/data/wanted/notices/data/2010/86/2010_52486.asp
Good luck flying anywhere, Julian.
http://www.interpol.int/public/data/wanted/notices/data/2010/86/2010_52486.asp
Good luck flying anywhere, Julian.
Ecuador offers residency to WikiLeaks founder
By Reuters
Article Link
QUITO - An Ecuadorean government official has invited the founder of the WikiLeaks whistleblower website to live and lecture in the country, days after the site caused an international uproar by releasing additional sensitive U.S. documents.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kintto Lucas told local media that Ecuador was attempting to get in touch with WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange to invite him to the country, praising his work as an investigator.
Ecuador is part of a leftist bloc of governments in South America, including Venezuela and Bolivia, that have been highly critical of U.S. policy in the region.
More than 250,000 State Department cables were obtained by WikiLeaks and given to media groups, which began publishing stories Sunday exposing the inner workings of U.S. diplomacy, including candid and embarrassing assessments of world leaders. WikiLeaks previously had released U.S. documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We are inviting him to give conferences and, if he wants, we have offered him Ecuadorean residency,” Lucas said in an interview published Tuesday in local newspaper Hoy.
Australian citizen Assange’s whereabouts are not known and he is believed to move from country to country. He had been seeking residency in Sweden but is now wanted in that country on sexual abuse charges that the former hacker says are part of a conspiracy against him.
Asked if the offer of residency was a formal invitation from the government, Lucas said, “sure.”
The U.S. government said Monday it deeply regretted the release of any classified information and would tighten security to prevent leaks such as WikiLeaks’ disclosure of a trove of State Department cables. The U.S. Justice Department said it was conducting a criminal investigation of the leaks.
end
By Reuters
Article Link
QUITO - An Ecuadorean government official has invited the founder of the WikiLeaks whistleblower website to live and lecture in the country, days after the site caused an international uproar by releasing additional sensitive U.S. documents.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kintto Lucas told local media that Ecuador was attempting to get in touch with WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange to invite him to the country, praising his work as an investigator.
Ecuador is part of a leftist bloc of governments in South America, including Venezuela and Bolivia, that have been highly critical of U.S. policy in the region.
More than 250,000 State Department cables were obtained by WikiLeaks and given to media groups, which began publishing stories Sunday exposing the inner workings of U.S. diplomacy, including candid and embarrassing assessments of world leaders. WikiLeaks previously had released U.S. documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We are inviting him to give conferences and, if he wants, we have offered him Ecuadorean residency,” Lucas said in an interview published Tuesday in local newspaper Hoy.
Australian citizen Assange’s whereabouts are not known and he is believed to move from country to country. He had been seeking residency in Sweden but is now wanted in that country on sexual abuse charges that the former hacker says are part of a conspiracy against him.
Asked if the offer of residency was a formal invitation from the government, Lucas said, “sure.”
The U.S. government said Monday it deeply regretted the release of any classified information and would tighten security to prevent leaks such as WikiLeaks’ disclosure of a trove of State Department cables. The U.S. Justice Department said it was conducting a criminal investigation of the leaks.
end
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 127
- Points
- 710
You would figure Interpol would have grabbed his photo off the internet.
Buzz is Wikileaks next target is one of America's big banks and then the Russians. Assange better get a bunker when the Russian stuff drops.
The leaks totally subverted the mainstream media and got the truth out. The USA is shown in a very favourable light. Tough minded guys trying to do whats right in a morally ambiguous world. Sometimes telling the truth is the best policy. These leaks have done no real damage and you can't pay for publicity this good. This looks like a public relations win so far. Now they just have to stop short of making Assange a martyr and leave it to the FSB.
The leaks totally subverted the mainstream media and got the truth out. The USA is shown in a very favourable light. Tough minded guys trying to do whats right in a morally ambiguous world. Sometimes telling the truth is the best policy. These leaks have done no real damage and you can't pay for publicity this good. This looks like a public relations win so far. Now they just have to stop short of making Assange a martyr and leave it to the FSB.
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 210
Apparently Tom Flanagan, a former adviser to PM Harper, told the CBC he'd like to see Wikileaks' founder assassinated.
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