U.S.
embassies around the world are warning allies that WikiLeaks might be poised to
release classified cables that could harm relations by revealing sensitive
assessments and exposing U.S. sources.
The
State Department has prepared for the possible release – which WikiLeaks has
said would be seven times larger than the more than 400,000 Iraq files released
last month – by reviewing thousands of diplomatic cables and “assessing
the potential consequences of the public release of these documents,”
spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
Crowley
said State does not know “exactly what WikiLeaks has or what they plan to
do,” but the consequences to American interests could be severe. The
cables, for instance, could reveal that senior government officials in other
countries are the sources of embarrassing information about the inner workings
of those governments, thus making it more difficult for the State Department to
obtain such intelligence in the future.
The
cables could also show that allies sometimes take private actions that directly
contradict publicly declared policies. The London-based daily al-Hayat reported
that WikiLeaks is planning to release files that show Turkey has helped
al-Qaeda in Iraq – and that the United States has helped the PKK, a Kurdish
rebel organization.
The
documents reportedly suggest that the United States has supported the PKK,
which has been waging a separatist war against Turkey since 1984 and has been
classified by the State Department as a terrorist organization since 1979.
News
reports from around the globe indicate that foreign governments are bracing for
the impact of the revelations.
U.S.
ambassador to Canada David Jacobson has already phoned Minister of Foreign
Affairs Lawrence Cannon to inform him of the matter, the Foreign Affairs department
told the Canadian Press. Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Melissa Lantsman said the
Canadian Embassy in Washington is “currently engaging” with the State
Department on the matter.
In
Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and other agencies in Canberra,
including the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, met to discuss the
leaks, which a senior Australian government official said had prompted a
“strong measure of concern,” according to the Australian newspaper.
“The whole thing is pretty big,” the official said.
“We
condemn what WikiLeaks is doing,” Crowley said. “Its actions are
gratuitous, harm relations among countries and erode the trust that enables governments
to cooperate and collaborate and work together to resolve regional and global
challenges. Little good will come from what WikiLeaks has indicated it plans to
do.”
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