Cable News
What is WikiLeaks really trying to tell us? We asked eminent historians and scholars to take the long view on these startling documents.
How does one make sense of the vast amounts of information found in the WikiLeaks cables? With so much to read and so few easy ways to understand the huge data dump, we looked to the experts: scholars, diplomats, and professional readers of all stripes who gave us their iconoclastic takes on what these documents are actually saying, from scholar Marjorie Garber's analysis of the leaks-as-lit to historian Maya Jasanoff's look at how our diplomatic empire compares to empires of the past to Ambassador Peter Galbraith's step-by-step how-to guide to cable-writing. Think of it as our guided tour through the labyrinth of cables.
Margaret MacMillan, A Short History of Secrecy Maya Jasanoff, Revenge of the Quiet American Peter Galbraith, How to Write a Cable Fouad Ajami, Nothing to See Here Marjorie Garber, Anatomy of a Honey Trap
How does one make sense of the vast amounts of information found in the WikiLeaks cables? With so much to read and so few easy ways to understand the huge data dump, we looked to the experts: scholars, diplomats, and professional readers of all stripes who gave us their iconoclastic takes on what these documents are actually saying, from scholar Marjorie Garber’s analysis of the leaks-as-lit to historian Maya Jasanoff’s look at how our diplomatic empire compares to empires of the past to Ambassador Peter Galbraith’s step-by-step how-to guide to cable-writing. Think of it as our guided tour through the labyrinth of cables.
- Margaret MacMillan, A Short History of Secrecy
- Maya Jasanoff, Revenge of the Quiet American
- Peter Galbraith, How to Write a Cable
- Fouad Ajami, Nothing to See Here
- Marjorie Garber, Anatomy of a Honey Trap
More from Foreign Policy


Lessons for the Next War
Twelve experts weigh in on how to prevent, deter, and—if necessary—fight the next conflict.


It’s High Time to Prepare for Russia’s Collapse
Not planning for the possibility of disintegration betrays a dangerous lack of imagination.


Turkey Is Sending Cold War-Era Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
The artillery-fired cluster munitions could be lethal to Russian troops—and Ukrainian civilians.


Congrats, You’re a Member of Congress. Now Listen Up.
Some brief foreign-policy advice for the newest members of the U.S. legislature.