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  • 2012-03-21T21:00:00Z
  • 1h
  • 2h (2 episodes)
  • United Kingdom
  • Documentary
It was the biggest information leak in US diplomatic history – over 250,000 US diplomatic messages or “cables” between the US State Department and US embassies all over the world – turned into a global sensation by the website WikiLeaks. The cables dominated newspaper headlines and front pages, but what does this vast trove of documents really tell us about American diplomacy, and what impact has the leaking of the cables had? In the first in-depth television analysis of the secret documents, Richard Bilton lifts the lid on a superpower’s secret thoughts and aspirations, plans and strategies, struggles and fears. In this two-part series, he speaks to people at the top of the US Government about their experiences of the leaking of the cables. He finds out first-hand what the impact of the leak has been for US diplomats. And he travels to the place where the leaking of the cables helped fuel revolution. He unpicks what the cables really tell us about the world’s greatest superpower, the stories America did not want you to hear – the difference between what the US says in public and what it says in private.

3 episodes

Series Premiere

2012-03-21T21:00:00Z

1x01 Episode 1

Series Premiere

1x01 Episode 1

  • 2012-03-21T21:00:00Z1h

Richard Bilton uncovers a struggle at the heart of US diplomacy between the ideals of freedom and spreading democracy, and the ruthless demands of American security and narrow self-interest. He examines what the cables reveal about America’s conflicted dealings with Egypt’s deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak, and shows how US diplomats in Cairo missed warning signs that revolution in Egypt was coming. And he details the moral tension in US diplomacy brought about by America’s controversial War on Terror. Using the cables, Richard uncovers the moral compromises made by America’s diplomats over the repatriation of Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and he shows the secret US efforts to block investigations into alleged CIA rendition and abuse.

2012-03-28T20:00:00Z

1x02 Episode 2

1x02 Episode 2

  • 2012-03-28T20:00:00Z1h

In the second of two programmes about American diplomacy and the leaked US embassy cables, Richard Bilton examines what the cables reveal about how America handles its enemies and rivals.

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