Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Wikileaks – it means nothing to us though it does to the US

I guess people with not much to do are having a field day discussing the revelations of the above. It is called entertainment. So while I have a lot to do, I guess I will also surrender and add my two cents to the discussion, in the half hour I am waiting to go to an event this evening at RIZE. I think it is great to have this info come out, so students of diplomacy understand the types of information sent in the diplomatic ‘cables’ to their bosses. It is so normal as to be unsurprising. I am sure our learned and not so learned diplomats have super Sinhala words to describe the antics of the people in their postings, and would dearly love to get our take on the same, as I would fall of my chair in fits of laughter about such things like the antics of a Queen’s Garden party at Buckingham Palace, both on the ignorance of our diplomats of the strange customs of the West and their descriptions thereon.

Sinhala is such a flowery language for these descriptions, that I hope someone takes a few of the dispatches and translates them into Sinhala for some our readers to keep them enlightened and entertained as to common practice the world over.

I think it is so obvious that every country big or small, rich or poor pass on information in a similar vein, as all these diplomats meet locals at these cocktail parties, where some get themselves blind drunk, as I have occasion to note our high ups sometimes do and make an ass of themselves, the ruling and opposition I put into this category, as alcohol inebriation crosses party lines!

I am therefore curious what kind of reports get publicized in the case of dispatches from Colombo. I hope we get a good dose of fun out of them. Remember it is an opinion only of a diplomat who writes his or her understanding, which may or may not be accurate. It is therefore important not to take umbrage or place too much I told you sos as a particularly biased politician is keen on emphasizing for whose gain I don’t know. It shows his ignorance of the matter, as if he is any better.

It is a source of news for media who seem starved of stories, and so are playing all the air time for what it is worth. The cynics of this world will say this is actually a CIA plot to expose this, as they have their reasons and blame it on Wikileaks to take all the flack. Sit back, relax and let your mind wander the possibilities and rationale, without just reading the actual texts and putting any weight on it.

In summary, I think it is nothing more than wonderful entertainment and any more serious implication is just for personal agendas. Just look at how the Israelis are loving the leaks, as it puts them in good light vis a vis our great friend Iran, as they seem to be more a ‘pariah’ to the Arabs, and so is this a Mossad plot!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

still very curious to know what the 3600+ cables coming out of Colombo say. Who will be most embarrassed? Sender or the subject!

Anonymous said...

I am sure the late great Mr. Milinda Morogoda will be mentioned often as a source in the cables. I wonder how he embarrassed himself in his discussions trying to curry favor with the U.S. diplomats.