Wikileaks Cablegate 2010: 250,000+ Secret US Diplomatic Cables Leaked Online

Cablegate has begun! Wikileaks began publishing hundreds of thousands secret diplomatic cables Sunday, and will continue until all quarter-million of them. According to the Cablegate web site established by Wikileaks here, there are a total of 251,287 leaked cables and documents.

These cables, which contain sensitive diplomatic messages intended for select US government eyes only, date back as far as 1966 in some cases. Check the newly leaked Wikileaks cables out here!

Cablegate: Wikileaks Diplomatic Cables Release 'Largest' Ever?

Wikileaks has dubbed Cablegate the "largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain." Whether it's a matter of foreign policy, or merely what a US diplomat or spy thinks of the foreign leaders he may encounter, it's all there for the taking on Wikileaks.　

Wikileaks says, " The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in "client states"; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them."

Read Just-Leaked Cables on Wikileaks Here!

The site goes on to explain, "This document release reveals the contradictions between the US's public persona and what it says behind closed doors - and shows that if citizens in a democracy want their governments to reflect their wishes, they should ask to see what's going on behind the scenes."

Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange: Terrorist or Freedom Fighter?

The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in "client states"; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them."

Some big wigs, like Rep. Peter King (incoming Chairman of House of Homeland Security Committee), are calling what Wikileaks does criminal 'terrorism': divulging military secrets, giving up the goods, airing way more than dirty laundry. In fact, according to CBS News Monday, Rep. King apparently feels Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is right on par with Al Qaeda (you know, the organization we attempt to bomb and dismantle daily, as we have for the past nine years or so.)

Should Wikileaks and those who assist Wikileaks in putting out sensitive and confidential information be prosecuted? Should they be taken offline for good?

We want to know what you think. Tell us how you feel about Wikileaks and Cablegate in the comments below! Your responses may be used in upcoming articles.

Sources:

http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/
CBS News