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Wikileaks: Small Revelations That May Cause a Big Idea to Take Hold
Arianna Huffington
Let's start with what the U.S. embassy cables released by WikiLeaks are not.
They are not, as
And they do not amount to what the Italian foreign minister, in one of the sorrier moments in the history of hyperbole (or is it hysteria?), deemed the "
They are also not "top secret," since between 2 and 3 million government employees are cleared to see this level of "secret" document, and some 500,000 people have access to the Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRnet), where the cables were stored. Maybe they should think about changing the name to the Not-All-That Secret Internet Protocol Network (NATSIPRnet).
What's more, the revelations are not particularly revelatory. As
But here is what makes the leaked cables so important: they provide another opportunity to turn the spotlight on the war in
They don't deliver the punch in the gut or the chill down the spine that the
But the funny thing about tipping points is that you never know what fact, image or story will bring things to a critical mass -- what small moment will cause a big idea to finally take hold.
Picture a very complicated combination lock, one that requires dialing up eight different numbers to open. And you have seven of the numbers -- but the lock still won't open until you hit upon that final number. 1/8th may not seem as "big" as 7/8ths, but without the final click of the combination, the tumblers won't fall into place.
"We need to prepare ourselves," wrote
So maybe the tipping point will be the cables' reminder that we have placed our faith in the future of
Or maybe it will be the bracing honesty of
If any of these revelations tip the scales, reminding people why bringing our troops home quickly needs to be more -- much more -- than "aspirational" (as the Pentagon recently termed the goal of being out by 2014), then this round of WikiLeaks will have been a very good thing, indeed.
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Wikileaks: Small Revelations That May Cause a Big Idea to Take Hold
(c) 2010 Arianna Huffington