More than 250 Wikileaks cables came from Bern
About 255 of the estimated 250,000 classified State Department documents published by online whistleblower WikiLeaks came from the United States embassy in Bern.
An additional 432 came from the US mission in Geneva. It was unknown what was contained in the cables – date, sender and key words were all that was published.
The most popular key words were “external political relations”, “military nuclear use” “terrorist and terrorism” and “human rights”.
Most of the cables emanating from Bern were sent between the end of 2005 and February 2010 – more than half from 2009 (89) and 2008 (66).
The Swiss cabinet was not yet aware of the content of these cables and therefore would not issue a statement, a government spokesman said on Monday.
The release on Sunday of more than 250,000 classified documents has forced the Obama administration into damage control, trying to contain fallout from unflattering assessments of world leaders and revelations about backstage US diplomacy.
The publication of the confidential cables amplified widespread global alarm about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and unveiled occasional US pressure tactics aimed at hot spots in Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Korea. The leaks also disclosed bluntly candid impressions from both diplomats and other world leaders about America’s allies and foes.
The documents published by The New York Times, France’s Le Monde, The Guardian in Britain, German magazine Der Spiegel and others laid out the behind-the-scenes conduct of Washington’s international relations, shrouded in public by platitudes, smiles and handshakes at photo sessions among senior officials.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.