Cablegate: The US Embassy Cables

1. Introduction
2. Revelations
3. Chronology
4. Data resources
5. Major coverage from release partners

1. Introduction

The momentous release by WikiLeaks of 251,287 US diplomatic cables starting on November 28, 2010 in conjunction with The Guardian, Le Monde, El País, Der Spiegel and The New York Times has been regarded by many commentators as "a worldwide diplomatic crisis" (The Guardian) and "political meltdown for American foreign policy" (Der Spiegel).

"The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in "client states"; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them," said WikiLeaks on the introduction page for the release.

The documents point not only to questionable practices on behalf of the US, but also on behalf of the partner states concerned. As the release will this time be done in stages, the full extent of the revelations in the cables is not yet apparent. The five major release media partners will continue to analyze the content and provide further in-depth reporting.

2. Revelations

A few key disclosures made so far include the following:

• The US State Department has asked its diplomats to spy on the UN
• Arab states asked the US to bomb Iran
• US pressured Spain over CIA rendition and Guantánamo torture investigations
• US special forces working inside Pakistan
• US memo accuses Sri Lanka President of war crimes
• US airstrikes in Yemen, covered up by the Yemen government
• UK government's secret pledge to protect US at Iraq inquiry
• Qatar okays use of airbase for U.S. attack on Iran
• Blackwater flouted German arms export laws
• US haggled to find takers for detainees from Guantánamo
• The Russian "mafia state"

3. Chronology

• 2010-11-22: History in the making
  WikiLeaks announces the upcoming release on Twitter.
• 2010-11-23: WikiLeaks in today's media
  Global media reactions to the WikiLeaks announcement. Speculation starts on the nature and subject of the release.
• 2010-11-24: WikiLeaks in today's media
  Bloomberg, Reuters, BBC and The Guardian on State Department briefings with regards to the WikiLeaks release, International Zeitschrift on 'Casualties of War,' the adjunct director of El Pais on WikiLeaks and more.
• 2010-11-25: WikiLeaks in today's media
  Sydney Morning Herald, The Globe and Mail, Sky News, NRK, Politiken Ha'aretz, CBC and more on local governments being contacted by the US in advance of the expected embassy cable release.
• 2010-11-26: WikiLeaks in today's media
  Jturn on the 'war on journalism,' plus Radio Free Europe, Bloomberg, The Age, AFP, Aftonbladet, Telegraph, Reuters, AP, Die Zeit and more on the US government's diplomatic damage control campaign.
• 2010-11-26: Defence Advisory Notices issued to UK press on WikiLeaks
  The Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee issues two DA-Notices to the UK press requesting voluntary briefings on the planned media coverage of the WikiLeaks release. The Guardian's editor in chief declares himself "puzzled" by the request, given that the majority of the material does not concern the DA-Notice subject. The international press reports that the UK government wants the press to self-censor.
• 2010-11-27: WikiLeaks in today's media
  The unprecedented US government effort to minimize fallout from an expected WikiLeaks release of diplomatic cables continues unabated. Countries to be warned now include India, Belgium and Colombia, in addition to the UK, France, Norway, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iceland, Russia, Sweden, Iraq, Israel and China. The global media reports.
• 2010-11-27: "The Embassy Files" ready for launch
  Der Spiegel inadvertently posts a Q&A page about the release one day early, then withdraws it; OWNI readies its own live-blog and data portal; The Guardian gets ready; and the State Department issues an ominous letter to Julian Assange.
• 2010-11-28: WikiLeaks v. United States: The Pentagon Papers redux?
  The language used in the State Department letter to Julian Assange recalls in detail that used when the US government attempted to prosecute Daniel Ellsberg for releasing the Pentagon Papers. We take a look at the State Department claims and revisit the Supreme Court's decision on the Pentagon Papers case.
• 2010-11-28: WikiLeaks under DDoS attack
  Just hours before the release, WikiLeaks comes under a DDoS attack. The Guardian and El País promise to go ahead with the release even if the site is down. Mexican newspaper Excélsior offers the use of its servers. WikiLeaks.org recovers in time for the scheduled release.
• 2010-11-28: WikiLeaks in today's media: "Cablegate" release imminent
  Der Spiegel and El País post lead-ins to the Cablegate release. The Guardian wonders why some editors, supposedly committed to the freedom of the press, are instead following the UK government's lead and attacking WikiLeaks.
• 2010-11-28: WikiLeaks in today's media: "Cablegate" goes live
  The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, El País and The New York Times go live with the first in-depth coverage of Cablegate within minutes of each other. Unlike previous WikiLeaks releases, this time the rollout will be done in stages, with further topics being covered in the following days.
• 2010-11-28: WikiLeaks Cablegate database now online
  WikiLeaks launches its cable viewer. OWNI goes live with its own application.
• 2001-11-28: Domestic Cablegate coverage: Ireland
  What the Irish press did and did not cover in the wake of the embassy cables release.
• 2010-11-29: Who is the German citizen abducted by the CIA?
  One of our editors finds evidence in the Al-Masri case among the cables just released by WikiLeaks.
• 2010-11-29: WikiLeaks in today's media: Cablegate coverage
  Further coverage from The Nation, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, McClatchy, CNET, Crikey, The National Times and more.
• 2010-11-29: Cablegate: Official reactions: Truth is terrorism
  Official reactions from the chairs of the US Senate and House Homeland Security Committees call for WikiLeaks to be prosecuted and considered a "foreign terrorist organization." The Australian government starts an investigation into Julian Assange, at the apparent request of the US government, which "has the lead," as per Attorney General McClelland's statement.
• 2010-11-29: Journalists in defence of WikiLeaks
  John Kampfner of Index on Censorship, Simon Jenkins and Nick Davies of The Guardian, The Nation's Marc Cooper, Javier Moreno of El País and independent journalist Brad Friedman write in support of WikiLeaks.
• 2010-11-29: Democracy Now!: Daniel Ellsberg, Greg Mitchell on WikiLeaks and Cablegate
  Ellsberg responds to Adm. Mike Mullen's accusations that "WikiLeaks has blood on its hands" and asks officials with higher level access to make public information on "the high level dealing and stupid formulations, theories, 'mad man' theories and others that are informing our policy." Greg Mitchell responds to King and Lieberman's "WikiLeaks is a terrorist organization" statements.
• 2010-11-29: Craig Murray: "Raise a glass to WikiLeaks"
  Former British ambassador and human rights activist Craig Murray writes in support of WikiLeaks.
• 2010-11-29: WikiLeaks in today's media, part 2: Cablegate coverage, continued
  CNN interviews Kristinn Hrafnsson, The New York Times and El País explain why they decided to publish the embassy cables, Salon, Der Spiegel, The Nation and New Statesman look at various Cablegate revelations, and CNET and BBC report on the US administration's latest threats to WikiLeaks. The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde and El País cover new topics from the embassy cable release, including Guantanamo, North Korea, the French judiciary's cooperation with the US, the US assessment of the new Argentine president and collaboration against Evo Morales.
• 2020-11-29: Ecuador offers WikiLeaks founder residency
  In the wake of threats from the US and Australian government, the deputy foreign minister of Ecuador says the country is ready to offer Julian Assange residency "with no conditions."
• 2010-11-29: ABC: Julian Assange Says Document Dump Targets 'Lying, Corrupt and Murderous Leadership'
  In an email interview with ABC News, Julian Assange spoke about upcoming embassy cable releases and responded to accusations from the US administration.
• 2010-11-30: Journalists in defence of WikiLeaks, part 2
  More WikiLeaks support from The Economist, The Nation's John Nichols, The Guardian's Heather Brooke, Normal Solomon for Common Dreams, Israel Shamir for Counterpunch and Jeff Sparrow for ABC (Australia).
• 2010-11-30: Cablegate: Official reactions: Truth is terrorism, part 2
  US Attorney General Holder on DoJ/Pentagon investigation into WikiLeaks; further reactions from Gibbs and Crowley; Huckabee, Palin, Santorum say WikiLeaks should be pursued as a terrorist organization; Australian government investigation starts.
• 2010-11-30: Cablegate: Journalists in defence of WikiLeaks, part 3
  Jack Shafer at Slate, Glenn Greenwald at Salon, Arianna Huffington, Digby, Matthew Rothschild at The Progressive in support of WikiLeaks.
• 2010-11-30: Cablegate: Noam Chomsky and David Leigh on Democracy Now!; Daniel Ellsberg on BBC
  Chomsky and Ellsberg speak up in support of WikiLeaks disclosures; Leigh on upcoming coverage by The Guardian.
• 2010-11-30: TIME interviews Julian Assange
  Julian Assange on US espionage, WikiLeaks' document review, law and legality.
• 2010-11-30: ACLU issues statement on WikiLeaks, Cablegate
  "Democracy, after all, depends on transparency. The American public has a right to know what the government is doing in its name."
• 2010-11-30: Cablegate: Glenn Greenwald on CBC
  Greenwald on WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, the US government and media reactions to Cablegate, and calls to prosecute Assange.
• 2010-11-30: WikiLeaks in today's media: Cablegate coverage, continued
  Coverage of new embassy cable issues from The Independent, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, El Pais, Ha'aretz and The New York Times. Among the topics: UK government promises to defend "US interests" at Iraq inquiry, Pakistan and nuclear proliferation, Blackwater, Cuba, Venezuela, Qatar.
• 2010-12-01: Greg Barns: Australian complicity in stifling Assange
  The director of the Australian Lawyers Alliance says Australian government is "posturing" and Assange did nothing wrong.
• 2010-12-01: Mark Stephens on BBC
  Mark Stephens on the latest "WikiLeaks has blood on its hands" accusations, and why those allegations are repeated despite evidence to the contrary.
• 2010-12-01: Opinions on Cablegate: Carne Ross, Max Frankel, Robert Scheer, Amy Goodman
  On the Cablegate impact on governments and diplomacy, public interest versus secrecy, where the real outrage lies, and why WikiLeaks provides a public service.
• 2010-12-01: Steven Aftergood: Assange prosecution would be "extremely dangerous"
  DoJ legal theory used to prosecute Assange would set a "horrible precedent," Aftergood explains.
• 2010-12-01: WikiLeaks in today's media: Further Cablegate revelations
  The Guardian, El Pais, Channel 4 and Amnesty International on the US attempt to shut down the Spanish investigation into Guantanamo, US activities in Pakistan, drone attacks in Yemen, war crimes in Sri Lanka, the Russian "mafia state" and the US getting around the UK cluster bomb ban.
• 2010-12-01: Censorship in the US
  Amazon bows to political pressure from Sen.Lieberman and pulls WikiLeaks off its hosting infrastructure.
• 2010-12-01: Cablegate: Journalists in defence of WikiLeaks, part 4
  The New Yorker's Amy Davidson, Roy Greenslade for The London Evening Standard, Seumas Milne for The Guardian, Charlie Stross and The Economist's "Democracy in America" blog in support of WikiLeaks.

4. Data resources

Browse, search and download the embassy cables released so far:

• WikiLeaks: http://cablegate.wikileaks.org
• OWNI: http://statelogs.owni.fr
• Full-text search: http://rpgp.org/cable/

5. Major coverage from release partners

Please see the links below for coverage details from The Guardian, Le Monde, El País, Der Spiegel and The New York Times. Each of these media organizations has full sections dedicated to the WikiLeaks embassy cable revelations, with new articles being posted daily.