"The illegal we do immediately; the unconstitutional takes a little longer." — Henry A. Kissinger, US Secretary of State, March 10, 1975.
Julian Assange today announced the launch of the Public Library of US Diplomacy, or PLUSD, the publication of more than 1.7 million US diplomatic and intelligence documents from the 1970s. PLUSD includes diplomatic cables, intel reports, congressional correspondence, and other formerly restricted material, now all online in searchable text form.
The project was apparently orchestrated by Assange from his place of refuge, within the Ecuadorean embassy in London. He says the records highlighted the "vast range and scope" of the United States' global influence. He has been encamped in the Latin American country's embassy mission for nine months, seeking to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he denies.
From the Wikileaks PLUSD launch statement today:
The Kissinger Cables are part of today's launch of the WikiLeaks Public Library of US Diplomacy (PlusD), which holds the world's largest searchable collection of United States confidential, or formerly confidential, diplomatic communications. As of its launch on April 8, 2013 it holds 2 million records comprising approximately 1 billion words. WikiLeaks' publisher Julian Assange stated: "The collection covers US involvements in, and diplomatic or intelligence reporting on, every country on Earth. It is the single most significant body of geopolitical material ever published."
The records released today date from early 1973 to late 1976, and were not leaked but were available through the US national archives. They include communiqués sent to or from then US secretary of state Henry Kissinger. From News.com.au:
Many of the documents, which WikiLeaks has called the Public Library of US Diplomacy (PlusD), are marked NODIS (no distribution) or Eyes Only, while others were originally marked as secret. Assange said WikiLeaks had undertaken a detailed analysis of the communications, adding that the information eclipsed Cablegate, a set of more than 250,000 US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks from November 2010 and over the following year.
(HT: Renata Avila)
