I am reading various diplomatic cables released recently. Naturally, I tried to read about what I know at least something, so I picked cables from the Moscow embassy.
- I am surprised that these cables were classified norofn and confidential, instead of secret.
- Most cables are lively, well thought out, some are outright funny (like the Caucasus wedding cable).
- In my own eyes, they do not damage the reputation of the United States and do not create an impression of the US being an evil back room manipulator. The most damaging impression for me is lack of any deep and original insights, I was hoping to see something truly new.
- A clear impression is that the US is specifically not able to pull the strings in Russia (which is an allegation of Russian conspiracy theorists).
- The allegedly sensational accusations, like that Putin stole billions of dollars through Gunvor and other companies, are likely true, but not groundbreaking.
Like the authors of the cables, I also think of the Russian government on all levels as a mafia of somewhat patriotically minded thieves. I am personally VERY happy at being able to live in the United States and make a decent living by relatively honest means.
Perhaps the Russian government officials are simply annoyed at the known accusations being given credence by the US embassy. The accusations are well known.
- I see the theft of hundreds of thousands of confidential cables, as an IT and computer security disaster of shocking magnitude. Even if I buy an argument that the documents were means for interdepartmental sharing, and such, it is unbelievable to not have an alarm about someone downloading everything. Many IT and administrative heads specifically need to roll for this disaster.