Even though I think Julian Assange needs to be jailed these top secret cables are pretty interesting for historians and followers of the Great Game like myself. Too bad they weren't leaked 30 years from now when the world is different than it is today. As they stand they might cause real problems in the world going forward.
1. Many Middle Eastern nations are far more concerned about Iran's nuclear program than they've publicly admitted
This was a long held secret belief but now sees the light of day. I think the other Arab Nations have just as much to fear from an Iranian nuke as Israel does. The whole detente in the area will be changed if Iran goes nuclear. This also exposes the true axis in the Middle East as Saudi Arabia and its allies versus Iran and its allies. The Israeli Peace Struggle is merely a sideshow and a distraction. The question going forward is whether Saudi Arabia will develop the Bomb as a counter measure. Also what will the Iranians do as a counter-Saudi strategy?
2. The U.S. ambassador to Seoul told Washington in February that the right business deals might get China to acquiesce to a reunified Korea, if the newly unified power were allied with the United States.
This is all planning for when North Korea falls apart or lapses into civil war. The idea that the Red Chinese is receptive to being bought off says quite a bit about them going forward. I bet the deals are for Chinese firms to rebuild the terrible state that North Korea is in. The Red Chinese would probably get the lions share of any minerals that the North might have as well. It sounds like a much better plan than eliminating the leadership of North Korea in order to bring them into their sphere of influence permanently. This doesn't solve the 1 million North Koreans fleeing into China issue though.
3. The Obama administration offered sweeteners to try to get other countries to take Guantanamo detainees, as part of its (as yet unsuccessful) effort to close the prison.
Ah so the White House tried to sell off the detainees to the highest bidder so to speak. Yeah, this one is pretty damaging to the White House so hopefully Assange goes on their enemies list in front of Fox News, Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh.
4. Afghan Vice President Ahmed Zia Massoud took $52 million in cash when he visited the United Arab Emirates last year, according to one cable
The Afghan leadership is corrupt? You could have knocked me down with a feather.
5. The United States has been working to remove highly enriched uranium from a Pakistani nuclear reactor, out of concern that it could be used to build an illicit nuclear device.
This would be a serious threat of Al-Quida or the Taliban was able to take over this facility. This would be the source of a dirty bomb if there ever was one.
6. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ordered diplomats to assemble information on their foreign counterparts.
Yawn. Who would think this was news? You always need to know who you are up against in order to compete on a level playing field. I'm pretty sure that these foreign ministers probably try to gather intel on her as well.
7. The State Department labeled Qatar the worst country in the region for counterterrorism efforts.
This is a bad deal because this means Qatar is running scared. They don't want reprisals so they are slow-playing us on counter-terrorism. This might hurt our relationship with them going forward.
8. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi are tighter than was previously known
This one is very interesting because Berlusconi seems to be Russia's man in Europe. Some gifts and favors buy you Prime Ministers according to Putin. This is Great Game stuff at its finest. Putin is trying to influence the EU by creating an erstwhile ally in Italy. This same ally would probably be deployed if they got into trouble again on sphere of influence issues in the Ukraine or Poland. I would be willing to bet even money that if the Ukraine petitioned for entry into the EU Italy would veto the crap out of it. This is an embarrassing revelation for Italy and to a lesser extent Russia. I'm sure Putin is working on some other hapless Prime Minister in the EU as we speak.
9. Hezbollah continues to enjoy the weapons patronage of Syria.
Shocker! Everyone knew that Syria is bankrolling Hezbollah and is providing them with better and better weapons. This is all part of Iran's anti-Israel tactics. Now it would be interesting to see what Iran will deploy against the Saudis. My money is on some anti-House of Saud terrorist group drummed up with Iranian money and patronage.
10. Some cables reveal decidedly less than diplomatic opinions of foreign leaders. Putin is said to be an "alpha-dog" and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to be "driven by paranoia." German Chancellor Angela Merkel "avoids risk and is rarely creative." Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi travels with a "voluptuous blonde" Ukrainian nurse.
Yawn. This stuff is decidedly low brow. Everyone knows that Putin is the alpha-dog of Russia. A Czar in all but name. Karzai is also supposed to suffer from manic depression and be a borderline personality as well. This one could be the White House easing him out because "that dude is crazy" or it might be the truth. Merkel the German chancellor avoids risk? She is German unless someone forgot about that fact. Gadhafi travels around with a blonde nurse? Sounds about right for a billionaire playboy like him. I'm pretty sure Access Hollywood wrote that cable.
No comments:
Post a Comment