In the days of crisis following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, many experts criticized the failures of the U.S. intelligence community to share information regarding the threat posed by al Qaeda and its confederates. Since then, much work has been done to improve the flow of intelligence among U.S. governmental agencies as they work to disrupt terrorist organizations worldwide. Now, in a classic case of unintended consequences, we have discovered the enormous potential downside to aggregating large quantities of sensitive information in digital form. One low-ranking Army intelligence specialist with the proper clearance and sufficient guile has allegedly undermined this enhanced mode of coordinating classified information, inflicting serious harm to the conduct of American diplomacy.
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The ongoing release of more than a quarter-million State Department reporting cables by WikiLeaks highlights the risks involved in broadly sharing classified information. Transferred to the custody of the U.S. Defense Department under the Net Centric Diplomacy program, the cables leaked to WikiLeaks and passed on to El País, Le Monde, Stern, the Guardian, and the New York Times provide a wide sample of the contemporary diplomatic communications of the United States. Their release will negatively affect the business of diplomacy conducted by America's foreign-affairs professionals, inhibiting the candor, frank assessments, and policy recommendations that its decision-makers need. An ambassador in the field who is involved in providing the secretary of state and the president with sensitive insights in the course of delicate peace negotiations must have the confidence and trust in the system that what he is reporting in a cable will not be disclosed publicly. And embassies must be able to report candidly on the internal political situation in a given country without fear of unauthorized disclosure harming official state-to-state relations. Self-censorship by U.S. diplomats and intelligence personnel will diminish the country's capacity to engage in foreign affairs immeasurably.
The leaked cables constitute a serious breach in the system to protect the sensitive communications of American diplomats. And for what? To learn that U.S. allies in the Middle East are seriously concerned by Iran's nuclear ambitions? To find out that there is contingency planning in case North Korea collapses or that North Korea is a matter of serious concern to China? To gawk at the personality quirks of foreign leaders? As the Times itself admits, "to read through them is to become a global voyeur." The Times also states that the cables illuminate "the inner workings, and sharp elbows, of diplomacy."
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