Thurs May 27, 2015 02:30am GMT
WikiLeaks releases more than half a million US diplomatic cables from 1978
By Julian AssangeToday WikiLeaks has released more than half a million US State
Department cables from 1978. The cables cover US interactions with, and
observations of, every country.
1978 was an unusually important year in geopolitics. The year saw the
start of a great many political conflicts and alliances which continue
to define the present world order, as well as the rise of
still-important personalities and political dynasties.
The cables document the start of the Iranian Revolution, leading to
the stand-off between Iran and the West (1979 – present); the Second Oil
Crisis; the Afghan conflict (1978 – present); the Lebanon–Israel
conflict (1978 – present); the Camp David Accords; the Sandinista
Revolution in Nicaragua and the subsequent conflict with US proxies
(1978 – 1990); the 1978 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia; the Ethopian
invasion of Eritrea; Carter's critical decision on the neutron bomb; the
break-up of the USSR's nuclear-powered satellite over Canada, which
changed space policy; the US "playing the China card" against Russia;
Brzezinski's visit to China, which led to the subsequent normalisation
of relations and a proxy war in Cambodia; with the US, UK, China and
Cambodia on one side and Vietnam and the USSR on the other.
Through 1978, Zbigniew "Zbig" Brzezinski was US National Security
Advisor. He would become the architect of the destabilisation of Soviet
backed Afghanistan through the use of Islamic militants, elements of
which would later become known as al-Qaeda. Brzezinski continues to
affect US policy as an advisor to Obama. He has been especially visible
in the recent conflict between Russia and the Ukraine.
WikiLeaks' Carter Cables II comprise 500,577 US diplomatic cables and
other diplomatic communications from and to US embassies and missions
in nearly every country. It follows on from the Carter Cables (368,174
documents from 1977), which WikiLeaks published in April 2014.
The Carter Cables II bring WikiLeaks total published US diplomatic cable collection to 2.7 million documents.
What follows are some example areas.
