Inside Story

The world of WikiLeaks

How will the release of millions of classified US documents impact international relations?

WikiLeaks is the name of probably the world’s most famous whistleblowing website. But such is the size and force of what it is doing these days, that it is becoming much more than that.
 
It has triggered a huge debate over what we should and should not know, how that information should be handled, and whether a so-called classified document actually means anything any more.
 
Wikileaks is about to rock the US government again, as well as potentially governments across the world, with three million new leaked US files. And for the first time it is classified diplomatic material: less-than flattering comments about governments abroad that were meant to remain off-the-record.
 
Not surprisingly, the US has got some big concerns, because the consequences for American interests could be severe.

As the US braces itself for another wiki-leak, what will come from the release of millions more classified US documents? Will it really endanger lives as the US claims, and how will it impact international relations?

Joining the programme are Matthew Duss, a national security analyst at the Centre for American Progress, Jason Johnson, a political editor for the Source Magazine and a professor of political science at Hiram College, and Charlie Wolf, a political commentator and radio host.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Sunday, November 28, 2010.