If the WikiLeaks saga has shown us anything, it’s that things are seldom what they seem, and allies in truth are almost indistinguishable from adversaries. That’s because what a nation says and what a nation does is often two different things. And what a diplomat says, there is one discourse for public consumption – what they say in confidential government cables are another matter.
For example, the U.S. has spent tens of billions to stabilize Afghanistan, and for almost a decade, presidents and diplomats have spoken glowingly of Afghan President Hamid Karzai as a force for democracy in the region. Presidents have embraced him and lauded him as a valued ally—in public that is. Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks and some newspapers tell an entirely different tale. They describe Karzai as a man of deep seated insecurities and a man unable to grasp the basics of statecraft. Other cables described naked corruption and the power of the heroin cartels in the country. One cable quotes Karzai saying, “I wish I had the Taliban as my soldiers.” This cable was sent two years ago.
WikiLeaks did what the corporate press couldn’t or wouldn’t do: they gave the people a true view into state relations, especially in a nation where the U.S. has spent tens of billions of dollars and thousands of lives, not to mention thousands of Afghan lives, in defense of one of the most corrupt governments on Earth. Wikileaks has performed a powerful public service. From death row, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
