What Does Wikileaks Tell Us?

Posted on 12/03/2010 @ 09:30 AM

Tags: Government Affairs

The release of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks has made headlines every day this week. Commentators on all sides of the political spectrum have opined on the possible negative repercussions these cables could have on US foreign policy. The cables that have been released so far expose very little that could actually be detrimental for US relations, most of it is just embarrassing.

We have heard many of the negatives associated with this release, but could anything beneficial come of this? What if the release of these cables leads us to a reassessment of what United States Diplomacy is meant to achieve, and how we are engaging with the world? That might not be so bad…..

Or, what if these cables helped advert violent conflict? The cables reveal evidence to the very real fact that any possible military confrontation with Iran would result in “unacceptable collateral damage”, making a military strike “unacceptable” for either Israel or the United States.

A recent article by Phyliss Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies explores this in more depth, and raises some thoughtful ideas on the WikiLeaks cables. I recommend reading it!