Wikileaks: Effects on world diplomacy

Julian Assange( founder of wiki-leaks) courtsey ABC news.

Interpol notice against Julian Assange (courtsey www.wired.com)

The world currently is fascinated with the wiki-leaks. Every day it makes head lines in national newspapers and Julian Assange , the founder of wiki-leaks, has become a short of celebrity. The common people and some small nations are praising him as a hero ( some are doing so privately) whereas the big wigs diplomats of the big nations are crucifying him. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (aka FBI) incidentally has started a  investigation to see if he has broken any espionage laws. Already there is a Interpol notice against him and he is currently in hiding.This has made him sort of a cult figure.


But lets see the wiki-leaks in some perspective light. What is has achieved or rather what it has changed? What is effect on world diplomacy?


The wiki-leaks published some 391832 documents of Iraq war and 91,731 afghan war documents. Now it has threatened to release 250,000 diplomatic cables.


The question one must ask is whether any thing new has come up through this documents or anything has changed in respect to diplomacy.


The Iraq and Afghan war documents has changed nothing or told us anything new. President Obama has went ahead with his troop withdrawal from Iraq. And for any careful watcher it is very obvious that the NATO troops in Afghanistan are not wining the war. It is also clear to anybody with little bit of strategic sense that since their defeat in 2001 in hands of Americans the Taliban has re-consolidated their position in Afghanistan.


The release of diplomatic cables is the new episode in the wiki-leaks saga. Unsurprisingly nothing ground breaking have come up. Moreover, will somebody really believe that a country's intelligence agencies had no prior access to these? These cables are actually intercepted by intelligence agencies on a regular basis. That's how government make foreign policies. The cables are actually nothing but memos, officials write down to show something for their work. Not much different from a software industry lol. The real discussions only take place in closed door meetings.


So what has wiki-leaks achieved? In one word NOTHING . Probably the only thing it has done is to give the common man a glimpse of diplomatic procedures or practices (both good and bad) that happens in the murky world of world politics. The other things which have come out are name given to the world leaders of various countries by diplomat like calling Putin a Alpha Dog. Dog really??



My point here is that wiki-leaks have not changed anything in world politics and in future also it is not going to change anything.

Wiki-Leaks and India


As far as Afghan and Iraq war documents are concerned, India was not mentioned as much. The diplomatic cables saga do have mention of India on few occasions. They are mainly in relation with Pakistan . 

But what I would like to point out here that is the proper and very mature way the GOI has handled the issue. There has been no rehotic or unwanted false bravado sentences from GOI or the opposition parties. This I think is because that the south block has finally understood that India has arrived on world stage that empty rehotic does nothing for one's country. India's interest can not be altered by any cables diplomats send to their governments. India can easily achieve its goals in world stage if they do bargnaing at the negotitations table.


An example of how nothing has been affected in relation to India's world ambitions could be gauged from India's UNSC aspirations . The American secretary of state of Hiliary Clinton jeered India as self appointed front runner for UNSC seat. Months latter the President of the United sates, Barack Obama, stands on Indian soil and endorses India's bid for UNSC seat. Nothing can be a better proof of India's prowess at the world stage.


Personally I think that wiki-leaks is not going to harm India's image or its ambitions on world stage, even if something startling comes out form the rest of the cables.


In case of India also the wiki-leaks again has achieved nothing. 


The whole point of my article is that the wiki-leaks has caused no damages or big scale changes in diplomatic relations. Nothing new has come up and all the things that everybody knew secretly or rather privately has cone out in open. 


The only thing wiki-leaks has caused are few embrassements which I am sure will be forgotten in some time. For me wiki-leaks doesn't deserve the front pages of any national news paper.