Wikileaks is once again in the news as it has started to release 250,000 US diplomatic cables, causing a lot of embarrassment in Washington and a number of capitals, especially in the Middle East.

This follows its publication earlier this year of thousands of confidential military files about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which exposed a number of alleged wrong-doings by the US military but which also threatened US national security and put people’s lives in danger.

These latest leaks do not seem to threaten US national security, nor do they expose any misconduct or bad or illegal behaviour, at least up until now. However, Wikileaks’ latest disclosure is a nightmare for US diplomacy, as world leaders do not expect to have their private conversations with US officials leaked on the internet or in the media. Neither do they expect to have the blunt assessments of their governments by US diplomats made public.

These leaks will make it more difficult for US diplomats to do their jobs properly, as representatives of foreign governments will now think twice before engaging in frank and honest discussions with them. Furthermore, some governments, such as those in Pakistan, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, could now become more reluctant to cooperate with the US on certain issues.

The leaked cables make fascinating reading but a lot of the released information is unsurprising. Most, but not all, of the leaks reveal things that were common knowledge among international analysts and observers.

For example, some of the leaks disclose the following: the US is concerned about Pakistani nuclear material falling into the hands of terrorists; many US diplomats also act as spies; corruption and organised crime is rife in Russia; Israel wants to maintain its nuclear monopoly in the Middle East; Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is more powerful than President Dmitry Medvedev; corruption is rampant in Afghanistan; North Korea and Iran have long shared weapons technology; the Americans are secretly targeting Al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen; and US special forces are operating inside Pakistani territory. There is nothing particularly surprising in any of these revelations.

There are a number of disclosures, however, which are very newsworthy and quite astonishing. One is that Saudi King Abdullah has repeatedly urged the US to bomb Iran and destroy its nuclear programme. The Saudi King was recorded as having “frequently exhorted the United States to attack Iran to put an end to its nuclear weapons programme,” according to one cable.

“He told you (Americans) to cut off the head of the snake,” said Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Ambassador to Washington, according to a report on King Abdullah’s meeting with US General David Petreus in April 2008.

The leaked US cables also reveal that officials in Jordan and Bahrain have openly called for Iran’s nuclear programme to be stopped by any means, including military. Jordan’s then president of the Senate, Zeid Rifai, told a US official: “Bomb Iran, or live with an Iranian bomb. Sanctions, carrots, incentives won’t matter.” Furthermore, leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt referred to Iran as “evil”, an “existential threat” and a power that “is going to take us to war”.

One leaked document reveals that in a meeting with Italy’s Foreign Minister earlier this year US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said time was running out in dealing with Iran and if Teheran was allowed to develop nuclear weapons, the US and its allies would face a “different world” in four to five years with a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Gates said that King Abdullah had warned the US that if Iran produced nuclear weapons “everyone in the region would do the same, including Saudi Arabia”.

The attitude of Saudi Arabia as well as other Gulf and Arab states towards Iran’s nuclear programme is indeed intriguing. Although there is nothing particularly new in Sunni Arab hostility towards and fear of Shia Iran – Saudi King Abdullah reportedly told the Iranian Interior Minister that as Persians they had no right to interfere in Arab affairs – the fact that a number of Arab countries have been secretly urging the US to bomb Teheran just shows how isolated Iran is.

Ironically, although the US is not pleased with these leaks, the disclosures about Arab opinions on Iran will strengthen Washington’s position internationally should it decide on a military option. In such a scenario Arab countries would hardly be able to criticise America’s actions.

Another very newsworthy leak, according to documents released by Wikileaks, is the fact that China is increasingly becoming impatient with its Communist ally North Korea and would accept a future Korean peninsula unified under South Korean rule.

China “would be comfortable with a reunified Korea controlled by Seoul and anchored to the US in a ‘benign alliance’ as long as Korea was not hostile towards China,” then South Korean deputy foreign minister, Chun Yung-woo, is quoted as telling US ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens in February.

Furthermore, the then Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei is quoted as telling a US official in April 2009 that Pyongyang was acting like a “spoiled child” by staging a missile test in an attempt to achieve its demand of bilateral talks with Washington.

Such disclosures about China’s attitude towards North Korea, besides being very welcome, are in marked contrast to their official statements and policy and should cause great concern in Pyongyang which is apparently losing the support of its only remaining ally.

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