Secret messages from US Embassies leaked, 1,700 from US Embassy in Manila

Dubbed as #cablegate on twitter, Wikileaks began releasing into the public domain 251,287 leaked United States embassy cables.

The cable communications contain confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Washington DC.

The cables cover a period from 1966 up until the end of February this year.

Around 1,700 of the leaked cable messages come from the US Embassy in Manila.

According to the article on Wikileaks:

The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in "client states"; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them.

This document release reveals the contradictions between the US’s public persona and what it says behind closed doors – and shows that if citizens in a democracy want their governments to reflect their wishes, they should ask to see what’s going on behind the scenes.

Every American schoolchild is taught that George Washington – the country’s first President – could not tell a lie. If the administrations of his successors lived up to the same principle, today’s document flood would be a mere embarrassment. Instead, the US Government has been warning governments -- even the most corrupt -- around the world about the coming leaks and is bracing itself for the exposures.