united states
It’s the latest attempt at cultural diplomacy for two long-estranged neighbors with similar tastes in arts and entertainment. For two consecutive nights, Cubans packed Havana’s Karl Marx Theater to watch more than 50 American dancers leap, twirl and float across the stage.
So we have another WikiLeaks release, and this time it's secret diplomatic cables. So far the interesting material is on Arab states' and America's relationships with Iran. It seems all those fervid background-only reports of Arab states urging America to bomb Iran, which I mistrusted at the time, were true.
The secret diplomatic cables revealed by WikiLeaks have the potential to annoy governments around the world, and to inform (and even titillate) the rest of us. But are such leaks useful to the public, and do they bring real freedom of information any closer?
The whistleblower’s latest document dump exposes Saudi Arabia’s plot against Iran, a corrupt Afghan’s $52 million payday, Putin and Berlusconi’s “bromance,” and more. See nine of the most startling details.
Except, I have yet to see anything in the reporting on these documents that show's the U.S. government engaged in any behavior that would upset the great mass of the American public. In a statement to the press today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made this same point, rather directly.
It was more than a half-century ago when Hungarian freedom fighters dared to take to the streets and do battle with the Soviet Union. Expecting help – apparently promised but never delivered – from the United States, the Hungarians were quickly outmatched and paid a terrible price at the hands of the Soviet military.
BUDAPEST --- Here and there in downtown Budapest, the bullet holes remain. It was more than a half-century ago when Hungarian freedom fighters dared to take to the streets and do battle with the Soviet Union. Expecting help – apparently promised but never delivered – from the United States, the Hungarians were quickly outmatched and paid a terrible price at the hands of the Soviet military.
Do they threaten US national security or are they simply a US national embarrassment? One test is to see if the cables show a secret diplomacy that is at serious odds with the public.