The first indications of today’s WikiLeaks release came early in the morning Sunday, when certain newstands in rural Germany released early copies of Monday’s Der Spiegel centering around the leaks. In short order The Guardian and the New York Times jumped in with their own releases, followed a bit later (owing to problems with their site coming under attack) by WikiLeaks themselves.
The releases spilled a number of major stories, but they are also only the tip of the iceberg, incredibly, as the leaks on cover 220 specific cables out of 251,287 that WikiLeaks says it will release in the weeks and months to come.
Primary Sources for WikiLeaks coverage:
Original News.Antiwar.com coverage
- Hillary Clinton Ordered Diplomats to Steal UN Officials’ Credit Card Numbers
- US ‘Warned’ Germany Over Bungled El-Masri Kidnapping
- Saudi King Pressing for US War Against Iran
- Slovenia Agreed to Accept Gitmo Detainees in ‘Trade’ for Obama Meeting
- The Truth Hurts: US Says New WikiLeaks Release ‘Most Damaging’ Yet
- State Dept: FDP Makes Germany a ‘Difficult Partner’ in Terror War
- US Warned Turkey Not to Publicly Question Allegations on Iran
- Yemeni President Pledged to Help US Cover Up Attacks
- Senators: Prosecute WikiLeakers
- Israeli DM Gave US Until End of 2010 to ‘Resolve’ Iran Nuclear Program
- Buying Influence: US Cash Key to Keeping Kyrgyzstan Base
- Prince Andrew: UK, US, Western Europe Back in the Great Game
- Election Panic: US Feared Rise of German FM Westerwelle
- Clinton: WikiLeaks Revelations ‘An Attack on the World’
- US: Saudi Donors ‘Chief Financiers’ of al-Qaeda
- Hawks Claim Vindication Over WikiLeaks Cables
- South Korea: China Resigned to Eventual Collapse of North Korea
- UN Chief to US: Don’t Steal My Credit Card
- State Dept Warned Spain: US ‘Running Out of Patience’ With Antiwar Positions
- Mike Huckabee Demands Bradley Manning’s Execution
- Brown Govt Pledged to Foil Its Own Iraq Probe for US
- US Disconnects Access to Diplomatic Cables From Classified Network
As an Australian citizen and steadfast ally of the U.S. I feel compelled to comment on the Julian Assange affair. The U.S has declared itself the ‘Policeman’ of the planet. This is an honourable position that should be globally applauded and respected if the U.S. Intentions are truly honest and selfless. But we should be mindful that there is nothing that undermines the rule of law more than corrupt and dishonest officials. And an honest and transparent precedent set by government officials is what encourages adherence and respect for law not only on a local but also a global level. The U.S. is the world’s premiere endorser of democracy and should hold itself to a higher accountability when it comes to transparency of government. Transparency is the corner stone of an enlightened democracy, an unenlightened public cannot vote honestly for a government that represents its interests in secret even if the elected government performs these actions for the voter’s perceived well being. If the elected government performs actions that the voting populace is uninformed of then democracy itself cannot exits.
What we are witnessing today is the failure of the U.S. wartime media to hold the U.S government accountable. Thus an independent organization has stepped into the breach to enlighten the world of U.S. actions when the national media has failed. What we see today may be the growing pains of the global democracy that the U.S. has endorsed for half a century and these may be the standards that are required for a global democracy to judge itself by and to take root. Illegal and secret actions do not represent nor benefit a democratic nation, especially when the nation is the shining beacon upon that great hill. In conclusion Julian Assange’s actions should not be looked upon as treason or terrorism as they have been judged by some, but as a service to an enlightened society which the world must emulate if it is to rid t itself of an ill informed, self serving tyranny. Please do not judge this man harshly as his actions are performed with the spirit and intent that that the U.S. founding fathers would not only look upon favourably but endorse in the spirit of freedom.
Nick Mulgrave.
Most incredibly, certain "journalists" are already bored stiff by the fact that "nothing new" has been revealed and consider all this "trivia" (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/29/wikileaks_diplomatic_yawn/)
What's going on here? Cool kids trying to outcool their peers or what?