0:00:02 > 0:00:06It was the scoop of the century.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09WikiLeaks lifts the curtain on the secret communications
0:00:09 > 0:00:12between Washington and the diplomats that we have
0:00:12 > 0:00:13stationed all over the globe.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18I'm not aware of any release of information in human history
0:00:18 > 0:00:23comparable to the amount that was released via WikiLeaks.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26These were cables that showed a superpower's secret thoughts.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30It was hard for me to look Secretary Clinton in the eye
0:00:30 > 0:00:32when she'd say, "How did this happen?"
0:00:33 > 0:00:36A quarter of a million US diplomatic messages,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39apparently stolen by one of their own soldiers.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45Turned into a global sensation by a whistle-blowing website
0:00:45 > 0:00:48and its controversial founder - Julian Assagne.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50I like crushing bastards.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52I think every diplomat around the world
0:00:52 > 0:00:55will have had one overriding thought -
0:00:55 > 0:00:58"Thank god it wasn't me, and thank god it's not us."
0:00:58 > 0:01:02In the first in-depth television analysis of the secret cables,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06we lift the lid on how the world's greatest superpower does business,
0:01:06 > 0:01:08and how it gets what it wants.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13We reveal a superpower on a mission to change the world,
0:01:13 > 0:01:18but a superpower that sometimes fails to live up to its own ideals.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24It's a complete outrage. Diplomats stepping in to attempt
0:01:24 > 0:01:28to obstruct the course of the criminal investigation.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Over a year has passed since the leaking of the cables.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Now we assess what the impact of the leak has been
0:01:38 > 0:01:41in the US and beyond.
0:01:41 > 0:01:47And we ask - can American diplomacy ever be the same again?
0:01:47 > 0:01:49They don't trust you any more?
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Many of them don't, and it will take a long time,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54I think, to recover that trust.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11It's late November, 2010.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17Two journalists arrive at the US State Department in Washington DC.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20The enormous ministry that controls America's relationship
0:02:20 > 0:02:22with the rest of the world.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26They're not here for a friendly chat.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28They're about to blow the lid on America's diplomatic secrets.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34There was maybe a dozen senior officials and behind them, you know,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38at least a dozen more minions taking notes on laptops, and so on.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41And they represented not just the State Department
0:02:41 > 0:02:46but all of the intelligence agencies and the Defense Department.
0:02:46 > 0:02:47And they did not look happy.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56The US State Department was facing a crisis unlike any other.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59A quarter of a million internal messages, or cables,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03between Washington and US embassies all over the world
0:03:03 > 0:03:06had found their way into the hands of the whistle-blowing website
0:03:06 > 0:03:09WikiLeaks, and from there to five major newspapers.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16Their message at the opening of the meeting, in no uncertain terms was,
0:03:16 > 0:03:22you've been given stolen material.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Classified material. There would be grave consequences
0:03:26 > 0:03:27if you published any of it.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37At that meeting, one of the people leading the State Department's
0:03:37 > 0:03:39response to the crisis was PJ Crowley.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44These stories resulted from a crime.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46For us this was still classified material
0:03:47 > 0:03:50and it was our responsibility to, you know, to continue to protect it.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56The State Department was right to be worried.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01The cables reveal what American diplomats say
0:04:01 > 0:04:04when they think the world will never know.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Who they trust, and who they mock. What they want, and how they get it.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13"Some inside the US government dismiss Berlusconi
0:04:13 > 0:04:16"as feckless, vain, and ineffective as a modern European leader.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18"Merkel is risk averse and rarely creative.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20"Gaddafi relies heavily on his long-time
0:04:20 > 0:04:25"Ukrainian nurse, who has been described as a 'voluptuous blonde'."
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Detailed records from thousands of secret meetings and conversations
0:04:29 > 0:04:34involving US diplomats were about to become a media sensation.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38"Bank of England Governor Mervyn King expressed great concern
0:04:38 > 0:04:41"about Conservative leaders' lack of experience.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44"It was related that King Abdullah remains a heavy smoker,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47"regularly receives hormone injections and uses Viagra excessively."
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Here were records of American diplomats'
0:04:50 > 0:04:55secret plans and strategies, their uncertainties and fears.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00"We should aim at influencing the group of individuals around him.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03"Saudi energy facilities remain highly vulnerable to external attack.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06"..Pointedly warned that urgent action is required.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08"Without progress in the next few months,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11"we risk nuclear proliferation in the Middle East."
0:05:11 > 0:05:16All of this classified information was now in the hands of journalists.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22In Washington, there was panic.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26When the newspapers gave us access,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28so that we could begin to get a sense of it,
0:05:28 > 0:05:32I think there was a just growing sense of horror.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Can you remember Secretary Clinton's reaction?
0:05:37 > 0:05:38She wasn't thrilled.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42I think Secretary Clinton knew probably better than anybody
0:05:42 > 0:05:46exactly just how delicate some of our relations were
0:05:46 > 0:05:48with different countries.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52The leak threatened the basics of US diplomacy.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57When you're confronted with 250,000 cables,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01in a way its overwhelming. You know, it involves everything.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05But there was little they could do.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10The five newspapers had already agreed on a publication date.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Nothing was going to stop them.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16All the us government could do now was try to get ready.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18They knew that within a matter of weeks
0:06:18 > 0:06:20the world would know their secrets.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23And the only question was how bad would it be?
0:06:26 > 0:06:29We knew that it was going to potentially do an enormous
0:06:29 > 0:06:33amount of damage to some of our key relationships.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38What was the atmosphere in the State Department that these cables would be there for all to see?
0:06:38 > 0:06:39Battening down the hatches.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48On 28th November, 2010, it began.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Huge trove of documents released just hours ago
0:06:50 > 0:06:52by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks...
0:06:52 > 0:06:57The whistle-blowing website released another pile of government documents Sunday, including...
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Whoever leaked all those State Department documents
0:07:01 > 0:07:04to the WikiLeaks website is a traitor...
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Within 24 hours, the cables had become a global sensation.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14It's hard to think of a worse day for US diplomacy.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17America's private opinions and conversations
0:07:17 > 0:07:20splashed across every front page in the world.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30So what's in there? Everything from global fears about Iran's nuclear programme
0:07:30 > 0:07:33to news that China may have sabotaged Google.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Controversial and often embarrassing revelations include
0:07:36 > 0:07:40an American diplomat describing Prince Andrew as "rude and cocky."
0:07:42 > 0:07:46It was like that moment when an email gets sent to the wrong person.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Only it went to the whole world.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55As the leaks poured out, foreign politicians looked on with horror.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59I think every diplomat around the world
0:07:59 > 0:08:02will have had one overriding thought -
0:08:02 > 0:08:05"Thank god it wasn't me, and thank god it's not us."
0:08:08 > 0:08:13There is nothing brave about sabotaging the peaceful relations
0:08:13 > 0:08:18between nations on which our common security depends.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23In the weeks after the leak, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton
0:08:23 > 0:08:25travelled the globe saying sorry.
0:08:26 > 0:08:32Clinton even joked about getting special "Apology Tour" jackets made.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36But in some parts of the world,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39the fallout from the leak would be unstoppable.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42We had to pull our ambassador out of Libya, for example,
0:08:42 > 0:08:47because thugs were making threatening gestures to him.
0:08:47 > 0:08:52We had an ambassador in Mexico, the Mexican government just made clear
0:08:52 > 0:08:57"we can no longer do business with this American ambassador,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59and he's now being replaced.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03In Washington, tough questions were being asked.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08President Obama is a pretty calm guy,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12even in tough times and stressful times,
0:09:12 > 0:09:17but he was clearly incredibly angry along with the rest of us,
0:09:17 > 0:09:22and the question obviously, to me and to others,
0:09:22 > 0:09:23was how in the world could this happen?
0:09:26 > 0:09:32A suspect had been identified. Online chat logs had given him away.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38The suspected source was not a foreign government,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42or a spy at the heart of the US machine.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44It was an American soldier
0:09:44 > 0:09:47sitting in a remote base in the deserts of Iraq.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Bradley Manning was a lowly PFC, a Private First Class,
0:09:52 > 0:09:56but he had access to a world of secrets.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04We live in a world now when, you know, a twenty something PFC
0:10:04 > 0:10:07in the American army can cause
0:10:07 > 0:10:08diplomatic damage
0:10:08 > 0:10:10of biblical proportions.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14An enormous flaw in US military security
0:10:14 > 0:10:19had left American diplomats and the US State Department compromised.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24The State Department security was actually tighter than
0:10:24 > 0:10:27military security in this instance. So there was anger,
0:10:27 > 0:10:32disappointment, a feeling that this simply should not have happened.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Is it embarrassing to you personally?
0:10:36 > 0:10:38- That it came out of your department? - Well, of course!
0:10:38 > 0:10:43And it was hard for me to look Secretary Clinton in the eye
0:10:43 > 0:10:46when she'd say, "How did this happen?"
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Because it did come out of the Department of Defense,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52it came of a military installation.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56As the cables made headlines around the world,
0:10:56 > 0:11:01some in America were demanding a tough response.
0:11:01 > 0:11:02For them, the leak was the ultimate crime,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04and Bradley Manning a traitor.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- What do you think of Bradley Manning? - I think he committed treason,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12I think he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13What does that mean?
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Well, treason is the only crime defined by our constitution
0:11:17 > 0:11:20and it says treason shall consist only of
0:11:20 > 0:11:22levying war against the United States
0:11:22 > 0:11:27or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29And he gave our enemies a lot of aid and comfort.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31So what should happen to him?
0:11:31 > 0:11:33He should be prosecuted, and if he's found guilty
0:11:33 > 0:11:35he should be punished to the fullest extent possible.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38- And what is that?- Death.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40- You think he should be killed?- Yes.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48The leak had rocked America and created a global sensation.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54The superpower had shown it wasn't in control of its secrets.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59It's now over a year since the first cables were released.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04So, what has been the real impact of the leaking of these documents?
0:12:04 > 0:12:06And what have the cables really told us
0:12:06 > 0:12:10about how America does business in the world?
0:12:10 > 0:12:11The fallout from the secret cables
0:12:11 > 0:12:15was more than just damaged trust or lurid headlines.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17We've found places where some believe
0:12:17 > 0:12:21that the cable release itself changed countries.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30In mid-October 2010,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32two Tunisian political activists,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Sami Ben Gharbia and Malek Khadhraoui,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38got hold of some of the secret US cables.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43At the time, Tunisia was ruled by a dictator, President Ben Ali.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Someone got the cable and they gave me
0:12:47 > 0:12:53a bunch of Arab leaks, around three hundred cables.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Sami Ben Gharbia called, and he told me that, "I have a bomb."
0:12:58 > 0:13:00So, I opened the file and I start reading.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Inside the cables were damning reports,
0:13:07 > 0:13:11written by the American ambassador about the dictator Ben Ali.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15They showed the extent of his regime's corruption and excess.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21"Corruption in Tunisia is getting worse.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25"Whether it's cash, services, land, property, or yes, even your yacht,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29"President Ben Ali's family is rumoured to covet it
0:13:29 > 0:13:31"and reportedly gets what it wants."
0:13:36 > 0:13:38This is Ben Ali's daughter,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Nesrine, and her billionaire husband, Mohammad Sakher El Materi.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48And this was one of their houses, a luxury villa on the Tunisian coast.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57This villa's obviously been smashed up by looters,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00but this place inspired one of the most infamous cables
0:14:00 > 0:14:03to come out of Tunisia.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06The American ambassador was invited here for dinner,
0:14:06 > 0:14:12and what he found, the wealth and the opulence, astounded him.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21"Ancient artefacts everywhere, Roman columns, frescoes,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25"and even a lion's head from which water pours into the pool."
0:14:28 > 0:14:31"The opulence with which El Materi and Nesrine live,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34"and their behaviour make clear why they and other members
0:14:34 > 0:14:39"of Ben Ali's family are disliked and even hated by some Tunisians.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43"The excesses of the Ben Ali family are growing."
0:14:44 > 0:14:47So, this cage is very, very famous in Tunisia,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50and it's all because of the cables.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54This is where Ben Ali's son-in-law kept his pet tiger.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57And from the cables, we're told that at a time
0:14:57 > 0:15:01when there were people here in Tunisia
0:15:01 > 0:15:04who couldn't afford to eat, this animal was fed four chickens a day.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13At the time of the cable release,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Tunisia was already suffering economic unrest.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Food prices were rising. Youth unemployment was at crisis point.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27The cables showed the contrast between
0:15:27 > 0:15:30the lives of ordinary people and their rulers.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32For activists like Malek and Sami,
0:15:32 > 0:15:37the cable leak was an extraordinary opportunity.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40The WikiLeaks cable was, for us, like a new a new tool,
0:15:40 > 0:15:45or a new weapon to make this contest
0:15:45 > 0:15:48come down from the internet to the street.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52They published the Tunisian cables
0:15:52 > 0:15:55on the same day as the WikiLeaks splash.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00It was a very huge reaction, first of all on the social networks,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Twitter, Facebook, and you know, our community,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06it was like a bomb.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Now, the secret American reports of the Ben Alis' excess
0:16:12 > 0:16:16were out there for ordinary Tunisians to read.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18It wasn't that Tunisia didn't know about the corruption,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22most people here were well aware of how the elite lived,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26it was now that they could see that the Americans knew.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30Ben Ali was a president who made an awful lot of his relationship
0:16:30 > 0:16:31with the United States,
0:16:31 > 0:16:37but the cables show that the Americans knew him for what he was.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40They were critical and they were disparaging.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46When the people was in the street, they have in their mind
0:16:46 > 0:16:49that this regime is really corrupt,
0:16:49 > 0:16:54that this regime is not really supported by foreign forces,
0:16:54 > 0:17:00so that maybe people was saying, "OK, maybe it's not too strong,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03"maybe he's not too invincible."
0:17:07 > 0:17:11And senior ministers in Ben Ali's regime
0:17:11 > 0:17:14saw the cables were having an impact.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19When the people of Tunisia saw that there is this criticism
0:17:19 > 0:17:25of the president, of the surrounding circle, etc,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29of course, maybe they were not expecting this from the Americans.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31So what difference did that make?
0:17:31 > 0:17:33I think it did, it did encourage people to speak
0:17:33 > 0:17:37in a more open and louder way.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39This is, in my opinion, there is no doubt.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45The regime tried to block the websites carrying the cables.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47They failed.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51The secret documents helped fuel a mood of change in Tunisia.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54We publish them on, on November 28th,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57and the revolution started on December 17th,
0:17:57 > 0:17:58its two weeks, two weeks.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02SHOUTING
0:18:05 > 0:18:07MAN CRIES OUT
0:18:07 > 0:18:12The revolution began when a young Tunisian, Mohamed Bouazizi,
0:18:12 > 0:18:17set himself on fire in protest at his mistreatment by the regime.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22His death provoked outrage and brought crowds to the streets.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27And as they vented their anger,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30the cables inspired many of their chants.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32GUNFIRE
0:18:35 > 0:18:38We see, during the revolution, some slogans talking about
0:18:38 > 0:18:43the content of this cables, making reference to
0:18:43 > 0:18:48the very rich life that those people are living,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50and the role of the state.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54A lot of people was referring to this stories.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57CROWN CHANTS
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Those protests would bring down a dictatorship
0:19:02 > 0:19:04that had lasted 23 years.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Ben Ali fled the country.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12The Tunisian revolution spread, and prompted a wave of uprisings
0:19:12 > 0:19:14that became known as the Arab spring.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18The cable leak had played a part in history.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28But what about America itself?
0:19:28 > 0:19:31What do the cables reveal about the superpower?
0:19:32 > 0:19:36We've spent months analysing these documents.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38They show how America's diplomats try to get what they want.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42How they gather gossip, and how they use it.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43How they deal with their enemies,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45and what they say about their friends
0:19:45 > 0:19:48when they think no-one's listening.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58So what does America say about it's closest friend of all us?
0:20:01 > 0:20:04The two countries have fought alongside each other
0:20:04 > 0:20:06in Iraq and Afghanistan,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10but the cables reveal harsh US criticism of the British military.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15A secret document from December 2008
0:20:15 > 0:20:19offered a bleak assessment of British capabilities.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26"The British are not up to the task of securing Helmand."
0:20:27 > 0:20:31It forced Hillary Clinton to offer yet another apology.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36I personally want to convey to the government
0:20:36 > 0:20:40and the people of the United Kingdom both our deep respect
0:20:40 > 0:20:45and admiration for the extraordinary efforts and our regret
0:20:45 > 0:20:50that if anything that was said by anyone suggests to the contrary.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55And the secret documents show the Americans were hearing
0:20:55 > 0:20:58concerns about our political leaders.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06In February 2010, the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10and the US ambassador in London discussed the then Conservative opposition.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12This is the cable that followed.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18"King expressed great concern about Conservative leaders'
0:21:18 > 0:21:23"lack of experience. Cameron and Osborne have only a few advisors,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27"and seemed resistant to reaching out beyond their small inner circle."
0:21:33 > 0:21:35It is the duty of a diplomat
0:21:35 > 0:21:41to report those conversations so people can take that into account
0:21:41 > 0:21:46so they know what's going on, and gossip is not gossip
0:21:46 > 0:21:49if it's conversations that are had.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Gossip is speculation and there is no speculation.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00But some cables are not so easy to explain away.
0:22:03 > 0:22:09In 2009, Ivan Lewis was a Foreign Office Minister in Tony Blair's government.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12He got to know the Americans during this time.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15And they tried to get to know him.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17No detail, or rumour, was too grubby.
0:22:20 > 0:22:25"Lewis reportedly remains a bit of a hound dog where women are concerned."
0:22:29 > 0:22:33"Contacts who know him well report he has manic depressive tendencies
0:22:33 > 0:22:36" 'he's very up one minute, very down the next,'
0:22:36 > 0:22:42"and at least one FCO colleague has described Lewis as a 'bully'."
0:22:46 > 0:22:51US diplomats may claim to be simply reporting what they hear,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54but it seems from the cables that no detail is too trivial.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00Biographic data is something that is valuable...
0:23:00 > 0:23:07building an understanding of the personalities, the proclivities,
0:23:07 > 0:23:12what might be distracting to individuals, what might explain
0:23:12 > 0:23:16the behaviour of third parties toward that individual.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Finding out that somebody has a reputation,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22a bad reputation with women,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25once might have been an advantage,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27but these days generally isn't.
0:23:30 > 0:23:35So why, then, did Hillary Clinton send this to London one month
0:23:35 > 0:23:37after the cable about Lewis was written?
0:23:41 > 0:23:44"Washington analysts appreciate the excellent background
0:23:44 > 0:23:46"and biographic reporting on Ivan Lewis.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51"Cable regarding Lewis' bullying, possible depression
0:23:51 > 0:23:55"and scandals, as well as comments on the state of his marriage
0:23:55 > 0:23:57"are particularly insightful and timely."
0:24:03 > 0:24:05We contacted Mr Lewis but he didn't want to comment.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11As for America's diplomats, the cable speaks for itself.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15Dirt and gossip, even on America's closest friends,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18goes down very well in Washington.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Gossip can reveal information about people that
0:24:21 > 0:24:24shows their strengths and weaknesses.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Just like politicians use it.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29It doesn't mean that you believe everything
0:24:29 > 0:24:31but information is information.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42And there is no limit to America's desire for information on its friends.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46It's about much more than just gossip.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50What we've seen is the Americans want any piece information,
0:24:50 > 0:24:51no matter how trivial.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56And no one, it seems, is off-limits.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00America's most important Arab ally in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05They're close militarily and the US relies on Saudi for oil.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11But when it comes to information, everything's up for grabs,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14including the King's secret medical file.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20"Upon arrival, the Royal Clinic accidentally provided this
0:25:20 > 0:25:22"physician with the King's medical file.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25"It was related that King Abdullah is 92 years old,
0:25:25 > 0:25:26"he remains a heavy smoker,
0:25:26 > 0:25:31"regularly receives hormone injections and 'uses Viagra excessively'."
0:25:37 > 0:25:40It looks like US diplomats
0:25:40 > 0:25:44behaving like tabloid hacks - anything to get the story.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47But this has a serious side.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50There have been cases in which elderly rulers
0:25:50 > 0:25:54members of ruling families quite literally in the case of Viagra,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57have died from a stroke, from an overdose of Viagra,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59so it's, you know, we laugh about it
0:25:59 > 0:26:02but in fact as a medical question, it's serious.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05The cables seem to bear this out.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12"The Saudi Arabian government has always kept close-hold any personal
0:26:12 > 0:26:14"information on Royal family members.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18"This medical information provides some detail into the King's health
0:26:18 > 0:26:22"and longevity, and is provided to Washington for additional analysis."
0:26:27 > 0:26:32The cables are a snapshot of America's vast information-gathering machine.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35But again what's most revealing is the sort of behaviour
0:26:35 > 0:26:40that is officially demanded - even of US diplomats at the United Nations.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Diplomats are not spies,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48which is why the US didn't want the world to see these secret requests.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54"Reporting officers should include as much of the following
0:26:54 > 0:27:01"information as possible - credit card account numbers, frequent flyer account numbers, work schedules,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04"and other relevant biographical information."
0:27:06 > 0:27:08This seems pretty clear.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13The Secretary of State requesting US diplomats to do their best
0:27:13 > 0:27:17to collect personal and private information on foreign diplomats at the UN.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25Even the Secretary General and members of the Security Council were targeted.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31"Plans and intentions of the UN Secretary General.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35"Biometric information on UN Security Council Permanent Representatives."
0:27:39 > 0:27:41But those on the inside of the State Department
0:27:41 > 0:27:43deny the obvious conclusion.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Should we view diplomats as effectively spies as well?
0:27:47 > 0:27:49- No.- Why?- They're not!
0:27:49 > 0:27:52They're asked to spy in the cable.
0:27:52 > 0:27:53That doesn't mean they do.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01But for those outside of the US Government,
0:28:01 > 0:28:03that secret cable was disturbing.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11What I think is troubling is here were American diplomats,
0:28:11 > 0:28:15in a sense, asked to do the spade work of spying and collect this kind
0:28:15 > 0:28:20of data on their counterparts and I suspect that's been very damaging
0:28:20 > 0:28:24to the relationships of trust and confidence and friendship
0:28:24 > 0:28:26that they would have been trying to develop
0:28:26 > 0:28:28with people from other countries.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42The cables reveal aspects of US diplomacy
0:28:42 > 0:28:45that America did not want us to see.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48But the real story of the cables is more complicated.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55These secret documents show US diplomats apparently trying to do good.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00In country after country, even behind closed doors,
0:29:00 > 0:29:04they're raising issues like freedom, democracy and human rights.
0:29:04 > 0:29:09"The Assistant Secretary stressed the importance of human rights to the US Government and public."
0:29:09 > 0:29:12"The Deputy Secretary of State stressed US Government concerns
0:29:12 > 0:29:15"about the deteriorating human rights situation in Vietnam."
0:29:15 > 0:29:22"We should take every opportunity to promote sustained, democratic change in Burma."
0:29:22 > 0:29:26And yet, the cables show a real tension in American diplomacy.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31The US wants to spread its ideals across the world
0:29:31 > 0:29:35but struggles to reconcile this with its other interests,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38like protecting some of its unsavoury alliances.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43September 11th brought this tension to the fore.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47We're really talking about what happened after 9/11.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51You have this attack. The question that then arises is
0:29:51 > 0:29:53what happened, why, what produces this?
0:29:53 > 0:29:56And the answer that President Bush,
0:29:56 > 0:29:58came to in his own mind, um,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01was, um, repression produces this,
0:30:01 > 0:30:03the embitterment of young people who
0:30:03 > 0:30:07have no place to go, politically in their own countries,
0:30:07 > 0:30:09which are very oppressive dictatorships,
0:30:09 > 0:30:12and the antidote therefore is
0:30:12 > 0:30:16what he called the Freedom Agenda, the expansion of democracy.
0:30:26 > 0:30:31One of the places where that Freedom Agenda was applied was Egypt.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36For over two decades it had been ruled by Hosni Mubarak -
0:30:36 > 0:30:39a pro-American dictator.
0:30:39 > 0:30:45The Americans were giving him 1.3 billion in military assistance every year,
0:30:45 > 0:30:49but the cables show US diplomats were also pushing for reform.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53"We do not have a silver bullet,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56"but we can press reforms that will lead, inexorably,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00"to the 'death by 1,000 cuts' of Egypt's authoritarian system."
0:31:04 > 0:31:10The cables show that the US push for greater freedom in Egypt reached into Mubarak's home,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13targeting his son, Gamal, and his wife, Suzanne.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21"We should aim at influencing the narrow group of individuals
0:31:21 > 0:31:26"that surround him, including Gamal and Suzanne Mubarak."
0:31:28 > 0:31:34One man came to symbolise America's drive for change - Ayman Nour.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39Nour had challenged Mubarak for the Egyptian presidency in 2005.
0:31:39 > 0:31:45Four months later, he was convicted and imprisoned on what the US believed to be trumped-up charges.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53"The Embassy has raised strong concerns about the arrest
0:31:53 > 0:31:57"and detention of Ayman Nour, with a variety of Government of Egypt
0:31:57 > 0:31:59"contacts at both senior and working levels."
0:32:31 > 0:32:35The cables show that America repeatedly raised Nour's case
0:32:35 > 0:32:37with the Mubarak regime.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41And they reveal the dictator's angry response.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48"Mubarak takes this issue personally, and it makes him seethe when we raise it."
0:32:53 > 0:32:58Nabil Fahmy was Egypt's ambassador in Washington during the Bush years.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02The Ayman Nour issue was impacting on Mubarak's dealings with the US.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08References to specific cases annoyed him quite a bit.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13Now again, and you could see this in how he reacted towards the US and the administration generally.
0:33:13 > 0:33:18He did not come back to the US in Bush's second term, not once.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22America's push for reform - pursued privately and publicly -
0:33:22 > 0:33:24was poisoning relations.
0:33:25 > 0:33:31When the Americans linked the war against terrorism to democracy promotion,
0:33:31 > 0:33:35it really complicated things and it made, and it personalised the,
0:33:35 > 0:33:39the tensions between the two presidents, in particular President Bush,
0:33:39 > 0:33:42George W Bush, and President Mubarak.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49"Mubarak resents and ridicules the US reform agenda."
0:33:51 > 0:33:55The cables show US diplomats warning this pressure for reform
0:33:55 > 0:34:00had pushed the relationship between America and Egypt to a new low.
0:34:03 > 0:34:08"US and Egyptian differences over the pace and direction of political reform
0:34:08 > 0:34:11"have drained the warmth from the relationship on both sides."
0:34:14 > 0:34:16But the Americans needed Mubarak.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22US security interests depended on the alliance.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26The Suez Canal was an artery for American military operations around the world
0:34:26 > 0:34:31and Egypt's peace deal with Israel had helped to preserve a kind of stability in the Middle East.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34This was a dilemma at the heart of American diplomacy,
0:34:34 > 0:34:35and it's captured in a cable.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44"An ongoing challenge remains balancing our security interests
0:34:44 > 0:34:47"with our democracy promotion efforts."
0:34:49 > 0:34:53A long friendship, a partnership with Egypt against terrorism,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56an Egypt under Mubarak, who by any measure
0:34:56 > 0:35:00would be more forward-leaning with regard to Middle East peace
0:35:00 > 0:35:03than an Egyptian government that was more reflective
0:35:03 > 0:35:05of the Egyptian street.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10And then over here you just had the raw demands of democracy and representative government.
0:35:10 > 0:35:11These are hard choices.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17The Americans weren't the only ones facing hard choices.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21British Ministers also had conflicting feelings about Mubarak.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27President Mubarak was President of Egypt. We all dealt with him.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29That didn't mean that we supported
0:35:29 > 0:35:31what he did either on the economy, with his family
0:35:31 > 0:35:32or on the human rights.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37But he was clearly seen as a critical ally
0:35:37 > 0:35:39both by Israel and the Palestinians,
0:35:39 > 0:35:42on the issue of Middle East stability and peace.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46Therefore, he was a very important player for us as well.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55In 2009, a new American administration chose a new approach.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59President Obama decided it was in America's interests
0:35:59 > 0:36:03to warm relations up with the Egyptian dictator.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07The Bush administration had gotten to a point where relations
0:36:07 > 0:36:12with Egypt were very, very uh, frosty.
0:36:12 > 0:36:17And we concluded that we needed to engage the Egyptian government
0:36:17 > 0:36:21much more broadly to be able to advance any of the values
0:36:21 > 0:36:25that we held, and that the Bush administration held.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28I really consider President and Mrs Mubarak
0:36:28 > 0:36:33to be friends of my family and so I hope to see him
0:36:33 > 0:36:35often here in Egypt and in the United States.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39The cables reflect this new stance.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47"President Mubarak understands that the Administration wants to
0:36:47 > 0:36:50"restore the sense of warmth that has traditionally characterised
0:36:50 > 0:36:52"the US-Egyptian partnership."
0:36:58 > 0:37:01President Obama's strategy may have been influenced
0:37:01 > 0:37:04by a massive miscalculation by US diplomats in Cairo.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07A mistake we only know about because of the cables.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15"There will be no 'Orange Revolution on the Nile'
0:37:15 > 0:37:16"on Mubarak's watch."
0:37:19 > 0:37:24For years, the thrust of advice coming from America's diplomats in Cairo
0:37:24 > 0:37:27was that there was no chance the Mubarak regime would be toppled.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32If you look at the Arab world, nothing it seemed ever changed,
0:37:32 > 0:37:37there was no regime change except when the Americans invaded, as in Iraq.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Kings were not overthrown. Fake presidents were not overthrown.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44It looked as if things were, uh, had been stable for decades
0:37:44 > 0:37:46and were going to remain, uh, stable.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53But we can see in the cables that the Americans were warned
0:37:53 > 0:37:56that Mubarak's regime was under threat.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00A prominent opposition activist, Ahmed Salah,
0:38:00 > 0:38:05told them of plans to make 2011 the year of change.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07He met with US embassy officials
0:38:07 > 0:38:10and the details were wired back to Washington.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16"Salah claimed that several opposition forces have agreed
0:38:16 > 0:38:21"to support an unwritten plan for a transition to a parliamentary democracy,
0:38:21 > 0:38:26"involving a weakened presidency before the scheduled 2011 presidential elections."
0:38:28 > 0:38:29I was telling them
0:38:29 > 0:38:32that we are trying, we are planning
0:38:32 > 0:38:37and we are going to do a revolution
0:38:37 > 0:38:39and if non-violence fails
0:38:39 > 0:38:43there is only one alternative left, which is violence.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47You were flagging up to the Americans that change was coming.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Of course. I wasn't sure that Mubarak was going to go
0:38:50 > 0:38:53but I was sure that we will try, we will launch...
0:38:53 > 0:38:57we will be attempting to launch a revolution in 2011.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03In fact, the cables show the Americans were out of touch
0:39:03 > 0:39:04here in Egypt.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07The information gathering process - that was working.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10What was failing was the interpretation.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12After the meeting with Salah,
0:39:12 > 0:39:17this is what the US ambassador in Cairo cabled to Washington.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22"The stated goal of replacing the current regime with a parliamentary democracy
0:39:22 > 0:39:26"prior to the 2011 presidential elections is highly unrealistic."
0:39:31 > 0:39:34The events that happened here in Tahrir Square,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37the Americans just didn't see coming.
0:39:37 > 0:39:43They couldn't imagine that the Egyptian people could rise up against the dictator.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47But rise up they did.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49This is a bad regime!
0:40:06 > 0:40:11Inspired by the example of Tunisia, in January and February 2011,
0:40:11 > 0:40:17protests fled across Egypt against the Mubarak dictatorship.
0:40:18 > 0:40:19On the day the protest began,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22this is what Hillary Clinton had to say,
0:40:22 > 0:40:25still seeing Mubarak as the future.
0:40:26 > 0:40:27Our assessment is that
0:40:27 > 0:40:31the Egyptian government is stable
0:40:31 > 0:40:35and is looking for ways to respond
0:40:35 > 0:40:40to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45But within a month, Mubarak was gone.
0:40:45 > 0:40:51Congratulations for all my people. Congratulations!
0:40:59 > 0:41:02When Hillary Clinton visited Tahrir Square,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06some of the democracy activists refused to meet her.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Whatever America's ambitions for bringing democracy to Egypt,
0:41:32 > 0:41:37the US has thrown its lot in with a dictator.
0:41:37 > 0:41:38When he was thrown out,
0:41:38 > 0:41:44for many in Egypt, America had put itself on the wrong side of history.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55Failed efforts to spread democracy
0:41:55 > 0:41:59and cosy alliances with dictators are recurring themes in the cables.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07There are times though when the US position approaches hypocrisy.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12Competing pressures make them say one thing but do another.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18We can see this tension in the place where the cable leak
0:42:18 > 0:42:22helped cause revolution - Tunisia.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27The cables show that for years before the revolution,
0:42:27 > 0:42:32US diplomats were telling the regime in Tunis it needed to change.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36The cables make it quite clear.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38American diplomats here in Tunisia
0:42:38 > 0:42:43were not only interested in the corruption of the Ben Ali regime.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47They were also actively raising the issue of reform.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51"Our message to Ben Ali should be that
0:42:51 > 0:42:53"while we do not seek regime change,
0:42:53 > 0:42:56"we expect real transition to democracy."
0:43:04 > 0:43:08And yet in spite of these efforts, many in Tunisia are not
0:43:08 > 0:43:13convinced that the Americans paid any more than lip service to reform.
0:43:35 > 0:43:40In fact, the cables reveal a kind of moral ambivalence in US diplomacy.
0:43:42 > 0:43:47America wanted reform in Tunisia, but it also wanted other things too.
0:43:47 > 0:43:53Back in 2006, its diplomats were preaching freedom in Tunisia,
0:43:53 > 0:43:57but privately US ideals coming under strain.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01This is Guantanamo Bay,
0:44:01 > 0:44:04a symbol of America's controversial war on terror.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09For years, America had been seizing
0:44:09 > 0:44:13hundreds of foreign terror suspects and transferring them here.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18But in 2006, President Bush announced
0:44:18 > 0:44:21he wanted to close Guantanamo.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25The problem now for the US was what to do with the detainees.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31Their solution was to try and send them back to their home countries.
0:44:31 > 0:44:36Our goal was to close Guantanamo so as to reduce the size of the problem.
0:44:36 > 0:44:37So there was a policy
0:44:37 > 0:44:40of trying to repatriate these detainees
0:44:40 > 0:44:44where there wasn't some kind of judicial or other action
0:44:44 > 0:44:49we could take against them and where we thought that we weren't running
0:44:49 > 0:44:52an undue risk by sending them back.
0:44:53 > 0:45:00Of 355 detainees in Guantanamo Bay, 12 were Tunisian.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03But the cables show US diplomats in Tunis had concerns
0:45:03 > 0:45:06about sending them back to Tunisia.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14"The embassy believes there is a significant likelihood
0:45:14 > 0:45:17"i.e. more likely than not, that the detainees would be mistreated
0:45:17 > 0:45:20"during the period they are in Ministry Of Interior custody."
0:45:23 > 0:45:26We had both the concern about how to deal with detainees
0:45:26 > 0:45:31and where they would end up, you know, where they would be sent
0:45:31 > 0:45:34and the issue of how they would be treated and their human rights.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Concerns about human rights had meant some detainees
0:45:41 > 0:45:44were not repatriated to their home countries.
0:45:45 > 0:45:47So what about Tunisia?
0:45:49 > 0:45:53The cables show that US diplomats obtained limited assurances
0:45:53 > 0:45:59from the Tunisian government about how the detainees would be treated.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01But US diplomats still had serious concerns.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07"We cannot exclude the possibility,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10"given the track record of the Ministry Of Interior,
0:46:10 > 0:46:13"that the detainees would be tortured upon their return to Tunisia."
0:46:18 > 0:46:21The cables suggest that the assurances the US wanted
0:46:21 > 0:46:25never arrived and yet in June 2007,
0:46:25 > 0:46:29two detainees were handed over to the Tunisian authorities.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35It's claimed as soon as the two detainees arrived in Tunisia
0:46:35 > 0:46:37they were mistreated.
0:46:37 > 0:46:42Abdallah Hajji is interrogated, he's threatened, he's slapped around,
0:46:42 > 0:46:44they threaten to rape his wife.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47They make him sign a statement he's not allowed to read and that's it.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Then he's transferred to prison and held in solitary confinement.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55The concerns expressed in the cables had materialised.
0:46:57 > 0:47:02Slapping around, threats of torture or threats to rape your wife
0:47:02 > 0:47:04constitute torture under the international definition.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08Sleep deprivation, certainly the accumulation of all these things
0:47:08 > 0:47:11used against one person amount to torture,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14or inhumane treatment at the very least.
0:47:19 > 0:47:24We asked the State Department about the case. They refused to comment.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26But the conclusion seems clear.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30America's strategic interests had collided with its ideals
0:47:30 > 0:47:33and it was the ideals that gave way.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37On the one hand they wanted the regime in Tunisia
0:47:37 > 0:47:40to make more progress on human rights,
0:47:40 > 0:47:43to be more presentable as an ally.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47On the other hand, they wanted security cooperation and in this case
0:47:47 > 0:47:53the security angle trumped the human rights angle clearly.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01This may be the real story of the cables.
0:48:01 > 0:48:06A superpower on a global mission to spread democracy and freedom,
0:48:06 > 0:48:09but struggling to live up to its own ideals.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Guantanamo Bay highlighted this tension
0:48:14 > 0:48:16but, for US diplomats,
0:48:16 > 0:48:20America's controversial war on terror brought yet other challenges.
0:48:22 > 0:48:24The cables reveal how they deal
0:48:24 > 0:48:28with the worst allegations against their government.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31The cables shed new light on some of the darkest secrets
0:48:31 > 0:48:34of US foreign policy and not just in Tunisia.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41After 9/11, the Americans were using tough new measures.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45They were seizing terror suspects off the street and shifting them
0:48:45 > 0:48:49to interrogation centres in secret, foreign locations.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51It was called rendition.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53We live in the real world.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56We had certain tools that were offered to us by our government
0:48:56 > 0:48:58that the Attorney General said was lawful
0:48:58 > 0:49:00and it was our responsibility -
0:49:00 > 0:49:04the American Intelligence Service, the American Armed Forces -
0:49:04 > 0:49:07to carry out these directions to the best of our ability.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20This is Khaled El-Masri, he's a German national.
0:49:22 > 0:49:23He says he was seized in Macedonia
0:49:23 > 0:49:27and flown to a secret prison in Afghanistan.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32He claims his captors were the CIA.
0:49:46 > 0:49:51He says he was beaten and held for four months before being released.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58When we approached them, neither the CIA nor the State Department
0:49:58 > 0:49:59would talk about the case.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03But buried in the cables are the secret reports
0:50:03 > 0:50:06of what the Americans were telling the Germans in private.
0:50:10 > 0:50:12"It was a mistake to take Al Masri."
0:50:17 > 0:50:23In 2007, German prosecutors identified 13 suspected CIA operatives
0:50:23 > 0:50:27understood to be involved in El-Masri's abduction.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31They wanted to issue international arrest warrants,
0:50:31 > 0:50:34which is when US diplomats stepped in.
0:50:37 > 0:50:41"Global affairs counsellor underscored the serious negative implications
0:50:41 > 0:50:44"of a German decision to issue international arrest warrants
0:50:44 > 0:50:45"in the al-Masri case."
0:50:49 > 0:50:52"The Deputy Chief of Mission emphasised that
0:50:52 > 0:50:55"issuance of international arrest warrants would have a negative impact
0:50:55 > 0:50:57"on our bilateral relationship."
0:51:01 > 0:51:03The message was clear -
0:51:03 > 0:51:06whatever crimes the CIA might have committed,
0:51:06 > 0:51:08the Germans should back off.
0:51:08 > 0:51:13If they didn't, relations between the two countries would be harmed.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16This is the dark side of diplomacy.
0:51:16 > 0:51:20Shocking to us perhaps but not for those who move in this world.
0:51:21 > 0:51:27John Negroponte was number two at the State Department from 2007-2009.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31We put the El-Masri cables to him.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34He says American diplomats did nothing wrong.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38It's a political statement. Governments undertake certain obligations
0:51:38 > 0:51:41to protect their own employees.
0:51:41 > 0:51:47And so, to me, I think of it as an example of us standing by our people,
0:51:47 > 0:51:49rather than threatening another country.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54But what does the man who signed the cable think?
0:51:54 > 0:51:57We tracked him down and he agreed to talk to us.
0:51:57 > 0:51:58We didn't put pressure,
0:51:58 > 0:52:02we communicated the feelings of the US government
0:52:02 > 0:52:04and that's normal.
0:52:05 > 0:52:11The job of the United States government is to represent American citizens.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15I believe that the appropriate steps and actions were taken
0:52:15 > 0:52:21and I believe that it would have been ill-advised for Germans
0:52:21 > 0:52:24to prosecute the Americans.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28But outside of the American government,
0:52:28 > 0:52:30things looked very different.
0:52:30 > 0:52:35For many, the El-Masri cables reveal a dark truth about US diplomacy.
0:52:35 > 0:52:41When key American interests are at stake, justice counts for little.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45It's a complete outrage.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49It is dangerously close to what would be called
0:52:49 > 0:52:52obstruction of justice in the United States.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55You are talking about a pending criminal proceeding
0:52:55 > 0:53:00and you are seeing US diplomats stepping in to attempt
0:53:00 > 0:53:07to obstruct the course of the criminal investigation through political means.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11And this was not an isolated case.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18We had an instant like that in Italy, allegedly involved
0:53:18 > 0:53:23some American intelligence people, and we went to considerable lengths
0:53:23 > 0:53:27to try to discourage legal action against those people.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30That was an understatement.
0:53:30 > 0:53:35The cables reveal the aggression of US messages even to allies.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41"The ambassador explained to the Italian undersecretary that
0:53:41 > 0:53:44"nothing the damage relations faster or more seriously
0:53:44 > 0:53:47"than a decision by the government of Italy to forward warrants
0:53:47 > 0:53:50"for arrests of the alleged CIA agents
0:53:50 > 0:53:52"named in connection with the Abu Omar case."
0:53:56 > 0:54:00We have a government running around saying the rule of law
0:54:00 > 0:54:03is our banner and that is what we seek to promote in the world.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07In fact, we're seeing some of the same diplomats who run around
0:54:07 > 0:54:10with that message working overtime
0:54:10 > 0:54:14and working very aggressively to try and suppress the rule of law.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22So what are we to conclude about the world's greatest superpower from the cables?
0:54:22 > 0:54:25For America's most senior officials,
0:54:25 > 0:54:30the real revelation of the cables is America's integrity.
0:54:30 > 0:54:35I think if there's a big surprise out of all of the WikiLeaks documents,
0:54:35 > 0:54:40it is how few inconsistencies there are between what we were doing
0:54:40 > 0:54:44and saying privately and what we were doing and saying publicly.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49Many of my friends, particularly in Europe, have the view
0:54:49 > 0:54:51that the United States never means what it says
0:54:51 > 0:54:56and in that context, a lot of these cables show that diplomats
0:54:56 > 0:55:00really are working behind the scenes to push governments
0:55:00 > 0:55:03either on behalf of individual political prisoners,
0:55:03 > 0:55:06or pushing them towards socio-political reform,
0:55:06 > 0:55:11or simply being very honest back home in a way that maybe they don't expect.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14But as we have seen,
0:55:14 > 0:55:18the real story of the cables is much more complicated.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22America may want to make the world a better place, but this sits
0:55:22 > 0:55:26uneasily with America's unsavoury alliances and narrow self-interest.
0:55:27 > 0:55:31The cables show that when it comes down to it, all too often,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33it's the ideals that give way.
0:55:34 > 0:55:38We see a struggle between the world of the CIA
0:55:38 > 0:55:41and this counterterrorism effort
0:55:41 > 0:55:44versus the sort of general diplomatic mission,
0:55:44 > 0:55:47the mission of promoting democracy and the rule of law
0:55:47 > 0:55:51and what we see is there is no reconciling these two things.
0:55:51 > 0:55:52They're starkly at odds.
0:55:52 > 0:55:57Now over a year has passed since the cables were released.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00Bradley Manning, the man accused of stealing the files,
0:56:00 > 0:56:01is facing a court martial.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06Julian Assange, the man behind the WikiLeaks website,
0:56:06 > 0:56:08is fighting efforts to get him
0:56:08 > 0:56:10to face sexual assaults allegations in Sweden.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20But what effect has the leaking of the cables had on US diplomacy?
0:56:20 > 0:56:24Has it changed the way US diplomats do business?
0:56:24 > 0:56:29Those on the inside say the damage is real.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34I found in my travels, for example, in the Middle East,
0:56:34 > 0:56:38whenever there was a big meeting and note takers,
0:56:38 > 0:56:42the other side would just speak in platitudes.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44The only time I could get real candour,
0:56:44 > 0:56:46have a real conversation,
0:56:46 > 0:56:51was when I was meeting with a foreign leader privately, one on one.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54- This is a direct consequence? - Absolutely.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56They do not trust you any more?
0:56:56 > 0:56:58It will... Many of them don't
0:56:58 > 0:57:03and it will take a long time to recover that trust.
0:57:08 > 0:57:13There is going to be a reduction in the willingness of people to talk to American diplomats
0:57:13 > 0:57:16because again we've proven that we don't have the ability
0:57:16 > 0:57:20to protect the confidentiality of the communication.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25And in the world of intelligence, they foresee other changes.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28If information and trust are lost,
0:57:28 > 0:57:31espionage and spies will have to fill the gap.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36Everybody who has used this information
0:57:36 > 0:57:40will have less to work with.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44That will mean the need for greater reliance
0:57:44 > 0:57:48on some of these things on clandestine collection.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52The US government claims it's tightened up the way it shares
0:57:52 > 0:57:54its confidential information,
0:57:54 > 0:57:58but can the secrets of the superpower ever really be safe again?
0:57:59 > 0:58:02Trust and faith in the confidentiality
0:58:02 > 0:58:07of American diplomacy has been severely dented.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11It has reinforced for everybody who was already cautious
0:58:11 > 0:58:16about America's ability to keep secrets and for those
0:58:16 > 0:58:20who had not been burnt before, they've sure been burnt now.
0:58:26 > 0:58:28As American diplomats continue to deal with
0:58:28 > 0:58:32the impact of the cables, other political challenges loom.
0:58:35 > 0:58:38In a century that could see the decline of American power,
0:58:38 > 0:58:41her enemies and rivals are becoming more defiant.
0:58:46 > 0:58:50Next week, we look at US fears, what the cables tell us about
0:58:50 > 0:58:54a new Cold War, a rogue Chinese army
0:58:54 > 0:58:56and how to stop the Iranian bomb.
0:59:19 > 0:59:22Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd