As far as the State Department is concerned, WikiLeaks’ release of 250,000 of the agency’s secret cables never happened. That’s why if any American requests copies of the exposed documents, the State Department refuses—insisting the information is still confidential.

 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asked for 23 State Department’s cables regarding Guantánamo, rendition and other matters, knowing it could just get them off the WikiLeaks website. But the ACLU wanted to go through the State Department to make a point. “In part the request was to expose the absurdity of the U.S. secrecy regime,” Ben Wizner, litigation director for the ACLU’s national security project, told The New York Times.

 

The State Department rejected release of the 12 of cables and blanked out portions of the other 12. In several cases, the State Department censored the paragraphs that included criticisms of U.S. policy by foreign governments or parties.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

To State Dept., WikiLeaks or Not, Secrets Are Secrets (by Scott Shane, New York Times)