Cleaning Up After Leaks WASHINGTON – Bristling over the unauthorized release of more than a quarter million classified State Department documents, the Obama White House on Monday ordered a government-wide review of how agencies safeguard sensitive information. The weekend release of documents reflecting, in some cases, unflattering assessments of world leaders has caused embarrassment to the administration. The director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, Jacob Lew, said in ordering the agency-wide assessment Monday that the disclosures are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The U.S. cables contained raw comments normally muffled by diplomatic politesse: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah pressing the U.S. to “cut off the head of the snake” by taking action against Iran's nuclear program. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi described as “feckless” and “vain.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed as “risk averse and rarely creative.” Publication of the secret memos and documents made public by the online whistle-blower Wikileaks Sunday amplified widespread global alarm about Iran's nuclear ambitions. It also unveiled occasional U.S. pressure tactics aimed at hot spots in Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Korea. The leaks disclosed bluntly candid impressions from both diplomats and other world leaders about America's allies and foes. It was, said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, the “Sept. 11 of world diplomacy.” In the wake of the massive document dump by online whistleblower WikiLeaks and numerous media reports detailing their contents, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was expected to address the diplomatic repercussions later Monday. Clinton may have to confront the fallout first hand after she leaves Washington on a four-nation tour of Central Asia and the Middle East — a region that figures prominently in the leaked documents. Most of the disclosures focused on familiar diplomatic issues that have long stymied U.S. officials and their foreign counterparts — the nuclear ambitions of Iran, North Korea and Pakistan, China's growth as a superpower, the frustrations of combating terrorism. -continued – – – LINK- – – http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101129/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/wikileaks Graphic http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dSyIizN3UI4/TFNGefE2WGI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/g7_M6iyCDvo/s1600/… added by: remanns
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