Monday, November 29, 2010

Wikileaks: Big News, or Big Pile of Nothing?
So, Wikileaks has unmasked U.S. diplomatic communications around the world. What incendiary things have we learned? The Afghan government is corrupt, the Chinese have exploited Google to spy on damned near everyone, Qaddafi is pretty much crazy, there is too much material for nuclear weaponry out there, and nobody really knows how to deal with Iran or North Korea, though lots of people have ideas, including the Saudis who see Iran as the biggest problem they face but are afraid to say that out loud.

Of course, we pretty much realized this stuff all along. To me, the shocker here is not so much what we discovered but how little of substance is here. Reports from our embassies would seem to be primarily the stuff of gossip, speculation, and hypothetical wondering. I'm sure some officials are embarrassed and angry, but I'd say there's an even better chance that many world leaders are thrilled with this massive leak. Their biggest secrets are still under wraps. Of the 251,287 documents in this latest Wikileaks dump, not a single one was marked "Top Secret."

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