WASHINGTON – The release of more than 250,000 classified State Department documents forced the Obama administration into damage control, trying to contain fallout from unflattering assessments of world leaders and revelations about backstage U.S. diplomacy.
The publication of the secret cables amplified widespread global alarm about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and unveiled occasional U.S. pressure tactics aimed at hot spots in Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Korea. The leaks also disclosed bluntly candid impressions from both diplomats and other world leaders about America’s allies and foes.
In the wake of the massive document dump by online whistleblower WikiLeaks and numerous media reports detailing their contents, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was expected to address the diplomatic repercussions on Monday. Clinton could deal with the impact first hand after she leaves Washington on a four-nation tour of Central Asia and the Middle East — a region that figures prominently in the leaked documents.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, called the release very damaging to U.S.interests.
“The catastrophic issue here is just a breakdown in trust,” he said Monday, adding that many other countries — allies and foes alike — are likely to ask, ‘Can the United States be trusted? Can the United States keep a secret?’ ”
In London, David Field, a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron, said, “We work very closely with the U.S. and we will continue to do so.” But he also said that “it’s important that governments are able to operate on the basis of confidentiality of information.”
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said “we strongly deplore the deliberate and irresponsible release of American diplomatic correspondence by the site Wikileaks.:”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/wikileaks
