General

Wikileaks reveals thousands of state secrets

Leaked diplomatic cables show Saudi Arabia pressured U.S. to attack Iran

On Sunday, the website Wikileaks released the first 200 of the more than 250,000 classified diplomatic documents that it plans to release over the next few months. The documents include a American state state secrets, including the fact that Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah urged the U.S. to attack Iran over its nuclear program and suggested that other Middle Eastern states may seek nuclear weapons, too. Another controversial document appears to be an order from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telling American diplomats to spy on foreign diplomats by gathering frequent flyer card numbers, credit card numbers, signatures and biometric data like fingerprints. The U.S. State Department has denied the accusations. According to CBC News, very few of the original cables released Sunday include any mention of Canada. However, more than 2,600 classified U.S. dispatches are beleived to involve relations with Canada. Lawrence Cannon, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, condemned the leak as “deplorable” and said it “may threaten our national security.” France’s government described the leaks as an attack on democracy. The U.S. launched a massive security review on Monday. The documents date from 1966 to Feb. 2010.

CNN

The Guardian

CTV News

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
FILED UNDER: