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Here's the thing about these WikiLeaks document releases: they make juicy stories for the media. But they rarely reveal anything much of the world didn't already know, or suspect. I think much about this release is also being exaggerated, although it has the potential to be more damaging than previous ones. The gossip, and US diplomats "insutling" leaders from various countries isn't that big a deal. That kind of talk probably goes on in diplomatic circles all the time, and I find it very hard to believe many international diplomats didn't privately insult Bush, Rice, and other US leaders in the past as well as Obama and Clinton now. That might cause some mild embarrassment and could even strain some personal relationships among diplomats temporarily, but these other leaders can hardly ruffle their feathers when they likely do the same thing.
What might be most damaging about the releases are information about US activities in the Middle East, and US resistance to pressure from various Arab governments to attack Iran. It's always been known that the moderate governments of the MIddle East prefer the status quo, but the fact they consider Iran to be a greater threat than Israel certainly goes against what they've been saying publicly to their people. In the case of Yemen, giving the US a green light to carry out drone attacks against suspected al Qaeda targets could cause serious problems there, not to mention the fact that US military aid is being used to quash the government's political opponents, rather than fight al Qaeda. Middle East governments stand to lose big by all this revealed information, and it may even strain Iran's relationship with some of its neighbours.
Overall, the image I get from what little I've read so far is that American diplomats are very worried about some of the trends they see in the world, such as in Pakistan, Turkey, and parts of Europe. The documents reveal that the US has been trying to exert influence on the world through any means it can, even hatching schemes to get personal info from UN officials. Anybody who is really surprised by any of this hasn't been paying attention to world affairs. Most of the leaks, long term, are not that big a deal. But some could be serious.
In my opinion... Wikileaks is a ruse. Real leaks happen all of the time... but never to the fanfare that wikileaks receives. Aside from the Pentagon Papers that Fletcher Prouty debunked as disinformation psy-ops from his vantage point being a CIA liaison... the media tends to withhold sensitive info. The media is reticent to release any whistleblowing... evident as recently as The New York Time's refusal to release the climategate intercepts. I agree... there is not very much new info here. Nothing the underground media hasn't been reporting... except for the suspect documents concerning Iran. Seems like a bait and switch. Gain credibility by revealing some relatively minor peccadilloes that are old-hat to anyone paying attention thereby conferring the newfound credibility to suspect intelligence on Iran... which has been part of the war agenda for some time. The CIA should hunt down Julian Assange and kiss his ass for this favorable infodump. Of course if the CIA wanted him as badly as they claim... they could have simply attended his public lecture at London's Center for Investigative Journalism this past July. For someone supposedly on the lam... Assange is no stranger to the spotlight. These details scream PSY-OP!
I read through some of the most "damaging". you are right, nothing that other World Leaders probably dont already suspect, and the games are played on all sides, the US has just had one of its hands exposed. And, ya, Iran is way more dangerous than israel. That is no myth.
Well I do not think there will be any impact to the US government.
There's nothing damaging about the truth. Wikileaks is a hero.
