WikiLeaks: What Do These Cables Mean?

WikiLeaks (http://wikileaks.ch) is a website that accepts submissions which are restricted or censored material of political, ethical, diplomatic or historical significance. It is an International non-profit organisation, started in 2006 and owned by the ‘Sunshine Press’. It is owned and managed by chief editor, Julian Assange. The organisation, which runs on donations, received €635,772.73 in PayPal donations, less €30,000 in PayPal fees, and €695,925.46 in bank transfers. Last year, there was controversy about the organisation’s ethics and Paypal had frozen its assets. Later that year, the account was made active and website was up and running.

The website is open to public access and hosts secretive, confidential information (called ‘Cables’) consisting of Government files, documents, Afghan war diaries, US Intelligence and more. Some of the popular Cables are listed below and related documents can be downloaded from their website:

• 573,000 intercepted pager messages sent during the 9/11 attacks in the United States:
• http://www.wikileaks.ch/wiki/Website_Wikileaks_publishes_%279/11_messages%27
• Afghan War Diary, 2004-2010 : http://www.wikileaks.ch/wiki/Afghan_War_Diary,_2004-2010
• CRS: Pakistan’s Capital Crisis: Implications for U.S. Policy, November 21, 2008
• http://www.wikileaks.ch/wiki/CRS:_Pakistan27s_Capital_Crisis:_Implications_for_U.S._Policy,_November_21,_2008CRS
• Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai, India, and Implications for U.S. Interests, December 19, 2009
• http://www.wikileaks.ch/wiki/CRS:_Terrorist_Attacks_in_Mumbai,_India,_and_Implications_for_U.S._Interests,_December_19,_2009

Recently, NDTV, an Indian news channel have accessed a few cables in WikiLeaks and published following statements:

“In the summer of 2009, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, newly victorious in the Lok Sabha elections, was quoted as telling US Under Secretary William Burns that “he did not sleep well at night” knowing that intelligence information “demonstrated that the threat of terror attacks after Mumbai was far from over.”

“Other WikiLeaks cables accessed by NDTV show that in the same month that Manmohan Singh met Burns, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had warned Pakistan about intelligence inputs indicating advanced Lashkar e Taiba plans to launch more terror attacks in India.“

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/wikileaks-pak-terror-threats-gave-pm-manmohan-singh-sleepless-nights-107245?cp

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Tags: wikileaks, zardari

Category: General