U.S. Cautions People Named In Cable Leaks

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The State Department is warning hundreds of human rights activists, foreign government officials and businesspeople identified in leaked diplomatic cables of potential threats to their safety and has moved a handful of them to safer locations, administration officials said Thursday.

The operation, which involves a team of 30 in Washington and embassies from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, reflects the administration’s fear that the disclosure of cables obtained by the organization WikiLeaks has damaged American interests by exposing foreigners who supply valuable information to the United States.

Administration officials said they were not aware of anyone who has been attacked or imprisoned as a direct result of information in the 2,700 cables that have been made public to date by WikiLeaks, The New York Times and several other publications, many with some names removed. But they caution that many dissidents are under constant harassment from their governments, so it is difficult to be certain of the cause of actions against them.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/world/07wiki.html

[Proletariatprincess]

1. a pure propaganda move....

Truth is really scaring the hell out of the State Department and it really wants to make this an issue of security instead of just embarrassment. Besides...this will help with it's bogus case against Wikileaks Julian Assange.

[glinda]

3. Right you are. All of it. Bogus claims to create a front.

[karynnj]

11. Did you bother to read the article?

The state department is simply reading all the cables and making sure that anyone named knows they were named and the context. This is simply prudent.

The fact is that there are people who have said things in private that could put them in danger if they are exposed publicly - and out of context at that. Part of the problem is that the reports often are written between people where a lot of information is already assumed. Therefore nothing is put in context or any of the normal language that would be said to qualify the statements is made.

I have seen some articles that have taken short, not very detailed summaries of meetings that were completely spun into things that completely distorted things - as measured by all public information and actions at the time - and even by the full cable themselves.

There have been some embarrassments - the letter that seems to advocate spying on foreign diplomats at the UN is one prime example, but the majority of ones I read sound little different than the positions taken when the diplomats have spoken at the SFRC.

[Renew Deal]

2. Was Wheeler mentioned in the leaks?

:tinfoilhat:

[snot]

4. Thanks for posting this. Hope we'll hear further about what happens.

I too tend to believe it's a move NOT to pre-empt actual danger to persons named that wouldn't have exited without WL's publications, but to try pre-empt the argument that WL's publications have in fact been redacted well enough that not one person has ever been harmed from said publications. Like, no one's been harmed 'cuz they were moved, um-hmm.

[Robb]

5. Hmm.

The State Department is mainly concerned about the cables that have yet to be published or posted on Web sites — nearly 99 percent of the archive of 251,287 cables obtained by WikiLeaks. With cables continuing to trickle out, they said, protecting those identified will be a complex, delicate and long-term undertaking. The State Department said it had combed through a majority of the quarter-million cables and distributed many to embassies for review by diplomats there.

My first thought was that this was a touch of theater, which I think is a reasonable assessment; however, they appear to be doing this in advance of the release of later cables. It took me a moment to realize how they were doing this; I remembered (smacks head) they already have the cables. They had them first. :)

Edited to add: NYT paywall; Newser has a repack article here: http://www.newser.com/story/109190/us-warns-hundreds-named-in-wikileaks-cables.html">US Warns Hundreds Named in WikiLeaks Cables.

[Demeter]

6. Not to worry--they will hide the criminals only

no need to hide those that aren't hurting anyone.

[CBHagman]

7. "WikiLeaks came under fire from human rights organizations..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/world/07wiki.html?_r=1&src=me

WikiLeaks came under fire from human rights organizations last July, after it released a large number of documents about the war in Afghanistan without removing the names of Afghan citizens who had assisted the American military. When it later released documents about the Iraq war, the group stripped names from the documents.


(SNIP)

Human rights advocates share the State Department’s concern that many people could be at risk if cables become public without careful redaction. “There are definitely people named in the cables who would be very much endangered,” said Tom Malinowski, Washington director for Human Rights Watch.

[dipsydoodle]

8. Duplicate LBN ?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4686367

[lunatica]

9. They're catapulting the propaganda

Why would they bother to tell us this if it isn't a propaganda ploy to make them look like victims. Suddenly they want us to know something. Or is it that they're trying to keep this news from being leaked by Wikileaks later? Oh what a web they weave...

[molly77]

10. Our state dept. does not have any credibility

Prop up a dictator who overturned elections in Honduras.

Lanny Davis , former advisor to clinton, working for the president of the Gold Coast who was not reelected..but Lanny wants him to stay in power ...just because.

[alp227]

12. to clear out the paywall clear out your cookies

either all of 'em or specifically ones referring to NYTimes.com. That's how I evade registration.