WikiLeaks cables prompt US to move diplomatic sources

The Guardian

The US state department has relocated a handful of foreign diplomatic sources identified in secret embassy cables released via WikiLeaks, and warned hundreds of others about their safety, American officials say.

It is not aware of anyone who has been detained or assaulted as a result of the 2,700 cables released so far through several newspapers, including the Guardian. But the state department has set up a 30-strong team to warn foreign officials, businesspeople and human right activists identified in the main cache of more than 250,000 cables.

According to the New York Times – also involved in the publication of cables along with Le Monde, El País and Der Spiegel – a few sources have been moved within their own country, and several others moved overseas. US officials declined to go into detail, the paper said.

Newspapers have been at pains to remove sections of the cables that could compromise or identify sources, but the state department was concerned about what might happen with the remaining bulk of the cables yet to be published, the Times said. US officials had been through most of these and sent many to relevant embassies for diplomats to check, it added.

Michael Posner, the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour, who is in charge of the process, told the paper: "We feel responsible for doing everything possible to protect these people. We're taking it extremely seriously."

The repercussions for US diplomats, some of whom have written colourful descriptions of their host countries and leaders, have so far been relatively minor.

The US ambassador to Libya, Gene Cretz, was recalled to Washington last month after the publication of cables in which he described the domestic life of the country's leader, Muammar Gaddafi. His future has yet to be decided but Cretz is unlikely to return to Libya, the Times said.

The ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle, who was heavily critical of the country's president turned prime minister, Vladimir Putin, looked likely to remain in place, the paper reported.

It said officials believed the disclosure of the cables had affected contacts in some countries between US diplomats and human rights activists, who were now wary lest their names and views emerge in the future.