Are WikiLeaks Cables More Striking Than Reality?

It is not easy to understand why secret American cables that are expected to be released at Australian Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks website are making the U.S. State Department so agitated.

These cables weren’t released until now. However, according to the leaked news appearing in the world press, the following are the topics of information that will be in the secret American diplomatic cables:

* Comments about the U.K.’s ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown and evaluations on the chances of his follower, David Cameron, winning elections.

* Unpleasant facts about the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, and his family.

* U.K. and U.S. comments about France that go beyond their purposes.

* Observations of the type that will make Italy angry.

* Unflattering evaluations about Putin and Russian leaders.

* Improper comments about Libya’s leader Gadhafi.

Unpleasant Notes…

Even if it is true that American diplomats relayed “unpleasant” notes to the State Department, what would change? In the end, they probably got access to that information or “secret information” by following the media of the country they are in or by listening to people from different sectors of the country.

For instance, if an American diplomat read what a Turkish columnist wrote about the opposition party’s leader and sent a secret cable about what he read to Washington, why would this affect Turkish-American relations?

Or, compared to what political party leaders in Turkey say about each other every Tuesday, what other kinds of reckless statements can take place in American diplomats’ private correspondence?

For instance, that so-called secret information cannot be more harsh and more intentional than The Washington Times’ news and comments regarding Turkish internal and foreign politics.

This situation exists for other countries too.

Besides American diplomats, who knows what other countries’ own diplomats say about France’s President Sarkozy or Italy’s Prime Minister Berlusconi.

Notes About Individuals

Yes… word has it that WikiLeaks’ “Embassy Cables” will hit the U.S. Department of State most because the reports and assessments that U.S. embassies around the world send to Washington involve several details and personal comments that would embarrass the U.S. in front of its allies.

According to the British newspaper The Sunday Times, the British government is concerned about the risk of putting the lives of its citizens living in Muslim countries in danger because of the secret notes and reports in the cables. According to The Sunday Telegraph, if the cables, which probably include embarrassing contents, are published, U.S.-U.K. relations may be damaged.

Clues about some of the cables that were expected to be published yesterday evening at the website mentioned and which may concern Turkey were mentioned in Al-Hayat, which is published in London. According to this, Turkey helped al-Qaida in Iraq, and the U.S. helped the PKK (Kurdistan Worker’s Party).

Finally, we can say that the State Department is showing an extreme level of agitation because of the secret cables. What stayed secret in the information and communication revolution?