2010-11-29 14:01:10

US addresses impact of WikiLeaks release


The United States moved on Monday to deal with the fallout from the release of secret diplomatic cables by the online site WikiLeaks. Several hundred of the more than 250 thousand documents have already been made available to the general public, some of which have contained unflattering references to major figures in foreign countries, including US allies.

Professor of international relations at The American University of Rome, James Walston, told Vatican Radio that the leaks have thus far been a cause of embarrassment, but not a threat to security - as were the classified military documents wikiLeaks released earlier in the year. “The [US] State Department does what any other diplomacy does, said Walston. “They are there to report on what goes on in their country reasonably accurately – and they get that from the local newspapers, they get it from their own sources, they have private sources.” Walston went on to say, “Sometimes they do things which are ‘undiplomatic’. We should not be surprised if, every now and again, someone gets caught doing it, and there are a lot of red faces.”

Asked about the Obama administration’s concerns over potential security leaks, Walston said that, though there were legitimate security concerns over the WikiLeaks release of US military documents earlier this year, “So far, there is nothing [in the diplomatic cables] which is relevant to security.” He speculated, however, that there could be sensitive security-related information in the cables, which have yet to be released to the broader public. “Diplomacy,” said Walston, “unless we’re talking about operational security, does not damage national interests.”

Listen to Chris Altieri's interview with James Walston of AUR: RealAudioMP3








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