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Today's Wikileaks revelations are just the start

Submitted by Guest on Fri, 12/03/2010 - 15:27
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Verdant looks at the issues the Wikileaks scandal has thrown up

The Wikileaks story is surely going to be as painful as the MP’s expenses scandal with a drip feed of information as the journalists analyse and read material.
 
Most of it will be inconsequential, though some emerging revelations are proving very important. Clearly, some of the content should not have been released and some, such as the information about Nelson Mandela wanting to meet Margaret Thatcher, is already old enough to have a historical feel to it. What is most striking, however, is the very personal criticism of many world leaders.
 
US Diplomats should surely know better than to commit some of the criticisms to “paper”, or in this case, cable. These are things you can imagine being said at a cocktail party, not factually important briefings which add to the US knowledge-base of the people they are dealing with. This I think is a reflection of the fact that much of the material is from diplomats who are not the most senior. Given that organisational traits and behaviour is normally driven top down, though, it is a fair assumption that the personal comments are shared by those at the top. 
 
The US Diplomacy service needs to have a really good look at how and what is communicated as showing a lack of respect for those people it needs to have good relationships with is not going to help anyone. Getting their response right is essential and they would do well to look at some of the tips in Verdant's previous blog on BP and it's oil spill.
 
The Guardian’s video on Wikileaks is fascinating and well worth a watch as it raises more questions than it answers. The next few weeks are going to see the scandal run and run...