WikiLeaks: World Leaders Edition!

[Keystone Phil]

I haven't seen a thread about this yet. Odd.

The latest leak shows just how top diplomats in the Obama Administration feel about certain world leaders - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Leaked-cables-show-undiplomatic-US-take-on-leaders/articleshow/7007470.cms

Please remember how this Administration was going "restore our credibility and repair our image" in the world. Good job, guys.

[Franzl]

To be fair, no administration expects these things to be made public. And I doubt this really has much of an effect on international relations.

[afleitch]

I take it the Bush administration held positive views of them all prior to January 2009

[Keystone Phil]

And I doubt this really has much of an effect on international relations.

Well, they had Hillary make some phone calls to a number of leaders not too long ago to ease any damage that might be done...

I take it the Bush administration held positive views of them all prior to January 2009

What does that have to do with anything?

The Bush Administration wasn't going around talking about how badly we were perceived and how they were going to change that. Not expecting these comments to be publicized doesn't change the fact that this stuff was said and it doesn't help our image.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Please remember how this Administration was going "restore our credibility and repair our image" in the world. Good job, guys.

Not that anyone cares probably but in my country he succeeded. Despite decades of fervent anti-Americanism and a nihilistic view held by most leftist parties, the US is viewed much more positively that they were during W's term.
And Obama is personally the most popular American president since JFK.
 

[dead0man]

link no worky

[Keystone Phil]

link no worky

Works for me. 

[bgwah]

lol, I love how accurate the descriptions are.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It doesn't tell us anything we couldn't have worked out - or at least presumed or guessed - already. But it's nice to have such things confirmed, isn't it?

The bitchy comments about other governments anyway. Other stuff included in this new archive, well, we'll see.

[J. J.]

To be fair, no administration expects these things to be made public. And I doubt this really has much of an effect on international relations.

Tell it Richard Nixon.  Remember the Pentagon Papers?

[dead0man]

link no worky

Works for me. 

works for me now too...weird

[ag]

I haven't seen a thread about this yet. Odd.

The latest leak shows just how top diplomats in the Obama Administration feel about certain world leaders - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Leaked-cables-show-undiplomatic-US-take-on-leaders/articleshow/7007470.cms

Please remember how this Administration was going "restore our credibility and repair our image" in the world. Good job, guys.

I don't see how these particular quotes hurt US abroad. Everybody, but the politicians in question, is nodding in agreement.  

[ag]

Now, if you want a really great one, it's this:

http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/2006/08/06MOSCOW9533.html

Ambassador Burns should consider a literary carreer.

[You kip if you want to...]

It's not like those descriptions aren't true, so why pretend otherwise?

I wanna know what's been said about Brown and Cameron (and Clegg?) too. Events seem to have shown the Obama isn't a fan of either GB or DC.

The Cameron stuff best be worth it! Not just small time stuff like "Mr. Cameron, when asked what your favourite joke was, you replied 'Nick Clegg'."

Apparently there's something about “unnacceptable behaviour by a member of the royal family”. No doubt it'll be the Duke of Edinburgh and something racist.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I've always really supported Wikileaks up to this point but I don't really know what this sort of stuff accomplishes, unlike the other document releases.

[You kip if you want to...]

The next G20's gonna be awkward...

[The Mikado]

Berlusconi is "physically" weak?  It'd make sense, given his age and lifestyle.

Merkel gets off really lightly.  "Risk averse and rarely creative" isn't really scathing criticism.

[ag]

Guys, read the Daghestan cable by Burns that I've linked - it's precious. Minor editing job and it goes stragith into the next edition of Best American Short Stories ))

[Storebought]

I don't understand what this is meant to accomplish. If diplomacy is the politics of averting war, then what does averting diplomacy by revealing State Department assessments supposed to do?

I guess then its purpose is to broadcast to the rest of the world that, yes, the United States is as mendacious as everyone already believes it to be.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Guys, read the Daghestan cable by Burns that I've linked - it's precious. Minor editing job and it goes stragith into the next edition of Best American Short Stories ))

I agree.  Here are a few selected gems:

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[Middle-aged Europe]

Kind of boring, since those documents seem to contain what we already knew.

I'm mostly interested in finding out the identity of the American mole within the FDP who gave detailed reports on the state of the CDU/FDP coalition talks in late 2009. I suspect there's probably some entertainment value regarding this information.

[k-onmmunist]

Why are we still allied to the US?

[Oakvale]

Why are we still allied to the US?

lol

[k-onmmunist]

Eh, even though they mock Cameron and Osbourne, it would be nice if they stopped showing contempt for their allies.

[Platypus]

Why are we still allied to the US?

Presumably because despite its many flaws, it is a comparative force for good in the world, considering the alternatives?

This kind of thing (the wikileaking) is frustrating. The US has very limited power as far as stopping leaks goes compared to nations like China and Russia where they can and kill anyone who is even thinking about releasing info like this.

But after that frustrating thought comes comfort that Australia is backing the right horse. Thank goodness we're still allied to the US. Because America has given ignorant people both here and in the UK the ability to say kneejerk anti-American crap at will without any fear of ramification.