WikiLeaks impact on foreign policy 'fairly modest'

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said descriptions of the potential harm from secret diplomatic cables posted online by WikiLeaks.org are "significantly overwrought," and the disclosures will have a "fairly modest" impact on foreign policy.

"The fact is governments deal with the United States because it's in their interest - not because they like us, not because they trust us, and not because they believe we can keep secrets," Gates said at a Pentagon news conference yesterday. "Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest."

As WikiLeaks makes the cables public, the State Department has limited access to classified information through a network that connects its database with the Pentagon, according to spokesman Philip J. Crowley.

"We have made some adjustments, and that has narrowed for the time being those who have access to State Department cables across the government," Crowley told reporters yesterday. "We want to make sure that our documents are adequately protected and that we have the ability to detect if anything like this occurs in the future."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her deputies have spent the past week doing damage control with foreign counterparts since before WikiLeaks over the weekend began posting more than 250,000 cables from U.S. embassies on its website. The leaked cables, which featured commentary on foreign leaders and confidential conversations with allies, threaten to complicate U.S. efforts to shape international relations.

The Pentagon and the State Department have taken steps to tighten control over information since WikiLeaks began posting field reports from the war in Afghanistan in July and released another batch from Iraq in October.