Some Handy Guides To WikiLeaks’ Diplomatic Cables Release

Is another U.S. v. New York Times on its way down the pipeline? Wikileaks:  “Publishing improves transparency, and this transparency creates a better society for all people. Better scrutiny leads to reduced corruption and stronger democracies in all society’s institutions, including government, corporations and other organisations. A healthy, vibrant and inquisitive journalistic media plays a vital role in achieving these goals. We are part of that media. Scrutiny requires information. Historically, information has been costly in terms of human life, human rights and economics. As a result of technical advances particularly the internet and cryptography – the risks of conveying important information can be lowered. In its landmark ruling on the Pentagon Papers, the US Supreme Court ruled that ‘only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.’  We agree. We believe that it is not only the people of one country that keep their own government honest, but also the people of other countries who are watching that government through the media. In the years leading up to the founding of WikiLeaks, we observed the world’s publishing media becoming less independent and far less willing to ask the hard questions of government, corporations and other institutions. We believed this needed to change.”

                         

1.  Sources and classifications of US documents

Source: Guardian.co.uk

2.  Browse the database

1.  All cables with tags (see Glossary, below)

2.  Glossary of keywords and tags

  

                                

1.  An interactive guide to the diplomatic cables

2.  How to decipher the codes used on the US dispatches:

 

For more background, see this Spiegel Online FAQ.