Wikileaks Has Devastated U.S. Foreign Diplomacy

House Intel Panel Chief Calls WikiLeaks Release ‘Devastating’ To Diplomacy -- The Hill

The release of classified embassy cables by WikiLeaks has been “devastating” for U.S. foreign relations, according to the Republican chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) told The Hill in a sit-down interview that it will take years to repair the damage from the release of the diplomatic cables, which included candid — and occassionally disparaging — assessments of foreign countries and their leaders.

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My Comment: I had the good fortune of working for a division of the UN in the late 1980s (I was posted at ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) in Montreal). Working with diplomats taught me one thing .... everything is done confidentially and in the spirit of understanding that what is discussed will be kept private.

Hmmmm ... the Wikileaks disclosure of these sensitive discussions has destroyed other country's trust in the U.S. to keep such conversations private. I know that if I was a senior official in another country who was mandated to have sensitive discussions with U.S. officials .... I would demand that everyone be kicked out of the room and that only my counterpart remain. By doing this I will insure that no one will be free to take the minutes of our a meeting and that any opinions expressed will be left to ourselves.