US feeling diplomatic fallout of WikiLeaks

By Mike McCarthy Dec 8, 2010, 10:26 GMT

Washington - The United States has acknowledged the release of thousands of diplomatic cables has already affected its ability to interact with other governments, including at least one request barring notepads from a meeting.

The US State Department is also watching closely to see if any ambassadors or lower-ranking diplomats will have to be recalled over concerns the more embarrassing revelations undermine their ability to work with their host governments.

WikiLeaks on November 28 began publishing a cache of secret diplomatic cables dispatched from US embassies worldwide to the State Department. The cables cover a wide swath of issues, ranging from candid discussions of policy to unflatting personal assessments of various leaders and officials.

State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters Tuesday there are indications of meetings that would normally involve several diplomats being downsized to smaller numbers. In one case, it was requested that 'notebooks be left outside the room,' he said.

'We do understand that this is going to make the conduct of diplomacy more difficult for a period of time,' he said. 'And, again, the reaction will vary, country by country, government by government.'

From the outset, the State Department considered the documents stolen, demanding that WikiLeaks immediately halt publication and return the cables. Those demands were rejected and the publication continues.

Among other issues, the State Department is concerned the release of the classified material will marginalize the ability of diplomats to conduct business with officials from other governments, over fears those conversations could end up in the public domain. In come cases, it could mean the diplomats who penned the cables might have to be reassigned, Crowley acknowledged.

'We would hope there's no impact,' he said. 'Obviously, it will be something that we will be watching to see - if particular diplomats are frozen out in countries, depending on their pique over what has been revealed.'

US Senator John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, suggested on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that some governments might quietly ask for new ambassadors.

'I can't tell you, but it's possible that in some places people are going to say they can't work with them,' Kerry said. And they'll say that quietly and behind the scenes.'

There has been debate in Germany as to whether the US ambassador, Philip Murphy, should be removed. Cables with his signature concluded that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was 'risk averse and rarely creative.' Others suggested Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle had a shallow understanding of foreign policy.

Murphy has apologized for the leaking of the documents but not the content. He told a German newspaper Saturday, 'I'm not going anywhere.'

There were also embarrassing assessments of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the leaders of other countries.

Crowley has defended US diplomats, saying their job is to report candidly about their observations, and it was common practice among all nations.

'What our diplomats do is not unique,' he said. 'We expect that diplomats posted here in the United States provide the same kind of candid assessments of what's happening in the United States back to their governments.'