The Philippine Online Chronicles

Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks started publishing hundreds of thousands of US Embassy cables, the largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain.

The documents–which date from December 1966 up to February this year--were released on the site Cable Viewer starting November 28. “The confidential documents will give people around the world an unprecedented insight into US Government foreign activities,” the site’s introduction said.

Majority of the documents are classified communications between the United States State Department and 274 embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions in countries worldwide. More than 15,652 of the cables are classified Secret.

“The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN (United Nations); turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in "client states"; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them,” the site said.

The latest release is seven times larger than "The Iraq War Logs" previously released by Wikileaks in September.

“External political relations and internal government affairs account for most of the cache, but more than 100,000 items concern human rights and economic conditions and 28,801 concern terrorism,” technology website Boingboing.net posted.

The cables can be accessed by origin and classification, subject, country, organization, program, and topic.

Prior to the announced release of the sensitive documents, the US State Department refused to negotiate with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Wikileaks requested U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Louis Susman for the names of individuals who may be "at significant risk of harm" due to the release of the documents.

But the State Department rejected Wikileaks’ request. Legal advisor Harry Koh wrote to Assange: "Despite your stated desire to protect those lives, you have done the opposite and endangered the lives of countless individuals. You have undermined your stated objective by disseminating this material widely, without redaction, and without regard to the security and sanctity of the lives your actions endanger. We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained U.S. Government classified materials."

Sensitive data and diplomatic crisis

According to BBC, the released information include “reports of some Arab leaders - including Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah - urging the US to attack Iran and end its nuclear weapons programme, the security of Pakistani nuclear material that could be used to make an atomic weapon and the Chinese government’s widespread use of computer hacking.”

The New York Times and The Guardian also published excerpts of controversial reports that the cables detailed. Among those include:

• 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.
• Inappropriate remarks by Prince Andrew about a UK law enforcement agency and a foreign country.
• Suspicions of corruption in the Afghan government, with one cable alleging that vice-president Zia Massoud was carrying USD52 million 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.
• 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."
• The extraordinarily close relationship between Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, and Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, which is causing intense US suspicion.
• Devastating criticism of the UK's military operations in Afghanistan by US commanders, the Afghan president and local officials in Helmand.
• Iran attempting to adapt North Korean rockets for use as long-range missiles.
• Bargaining to empty the Guantanamo Bay prison camp - including Slovenian diplomats being told to take in a freed prisoner if they wanted to secure a meeting with President Barack Obama.
• US officials being instructed to spy on the UN's leadership by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
• Yemen's president talking to then US Mid-East commander General David Petraeus about attacks on Yemeni al-Qaeda bases and saying: "We'll continue saying the bombs are ours, not yours."
• Faltering US attempts to prevent Syria from supplying arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The US government said the documents put at risk the lives of diplomats and could spark a global diplomatic crisis. Koh demanded that Wikileaks unpublish the documents and remove the information from all its databases.