Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMercenary
I see "honestly and openly" as differing categories of diplomatic national policy. You can deal with nations honestly but you don't need to share every single bit of information with them to do it. There is a lot of information that people just don't need to know IMHO.
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Meanwhile, the US would "openly and honestly" share information with all East European nations after each meeting with the USSR. The Russians never bothered to tell their 'allies' what happened. After all, those East European nations did not need to know. Your same logic.
Therefore the US built major trust with every East European nation. It even made ending the cold war so much easier. And why relations between those nations and the US are stronger today.
Wikileaks has simply changed the dynamics. For all that damage, it has also created new honest and open relationships. No more decisions based upon second guessing. As for things they do not need to know, even Wikileaks redacted that stuff. Wikileaks is not the disaster some would promote. They did not leak the sensitive stuff.
BTW, some Americans have become popular with their foreign governments. How those cables were written has also entertained their foreign peers. Created a new respect.