WEBVTT 00:00:02.430 --> 00:00:05.596 It was the scoop of the century. 00:00:05.596 --> 00:00:09.828 WikiLeaks lifts the curtain on the secret communications between Washington 00:00:09.828 --> 00:00:13.662 and the diplomats that we have stationed all over the globe. 00:00:13.662 --> 00:00:22.644 I'm not aware of any release of information in human history comparable to the amount that was released via WikiLeaks. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:22.644 --> 00:00:26.763 These were cables that show the superpower's secret thoughts. 00:00:26.763 --> 00:00:32.931 It was hard for me to look Secretary Clinton in the eye when she was like, "How did this happen?" NOTE Paragraph 00:00:32.931 --> 00:00:40.359 A quarter of a million US diplomatic messages apparently stolen by one of their own soldiers, 00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:47.460 turned into a global sensation by a whistle-blowing website and its controversial founder, Julian Assange. 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:49.960 I like crushing bastards. 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:58.378 I think every diplomat around the world would have one overriding thought, "Thank God it wasn't me," and "Thank God it's not us." 00:00:58.378 --> 00:01:01.810 In the first in-depth television analysis of the secret cables, 00:01:01.810 --> 00:01:09.310 we lift the lid on how the world's greatest superpower does business and how it gets what it wants. 00:01:09.310 --> 00:01:13.761 We reveal a superpower on a mission to change the world. 00:01:13.761 --> 00:01:18.577 But a superpower that sometimes fails to live up to its own ideals. 00:01:18.577 --> 00:01:19.743 It's a complete outrage -- 00:01:19.743 --> 00:01:28.743 Diplomats stepping in to attempt to obstruct the course of the criminal investigation. 00:01:28.743 --> 00:01:33.759 Over a year has passed since the leaking of the cables. 00:01:33.759 --> 00:01:35.590 [Protests] 00:01:35.590 --> 00:01:41.773 Now we assess what the impact of the leak has been in the US and beyond. 00:01:41.773 --> 00:01:46.489 And we ask, can American Diplomacy ever be the same again? 00:01:46.489 --> 00:01:48.075 They don't trust you anymore. 00:01:48.075 --> 00:01:53.592 Many of them don't, and it will take a long time, I think, to recover that trust. 00:01:57.614 --> 00:02:00.302 [WIKILEAKS: The Secret Life of A Superpower] 00:02:07.717 --> 00:02:11.774 It's late November 2010. 00:02:11.774 --> 00:02:16.325 Two journalists arrive at the US State Department in Washington DC -- 00:02:16.325 --> 00:02:22.774 The enormous ministry that controls America's relationship with the rest of the world. 00:02:22.774 --> 00:02:25.408 They're not here for a friendly chat. 00:02:25.408 --> 00:02:30.926 They're about to blow the lid on America's diplomatic secrets. 00:02:30.926 --> 00:02:34.408 They were maybe a dozen senior officials and, behind them, 00:02:34.408 --> 00:02:38.707 you know, at least a dozen more minions taking notes on laptops and so on. 00:02:38.707 --> 00:02:41.108 They represented not just the State Department 00:02:41.108 --> 00:02:45.442 but all of the intelligence agencies and the defense department. 00:02:45.442 --> 00:02:47.159 They did not look happy. 00:02:50.727 --> 00:02:54.974 The US State Department was facing a crisis unlike any other. 00:02:54.974 --> 00:03:02.127 A quarter of a million internal messages, or cables, between Washington and US embassies all over the world 00:03:02.127 --> 00:03:06.775 had found their way into the hands of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks 00:03:06.775 --> 00:03:10.977 and, from there, to five major newspapers. 00:03:10.977 --> 00:03:23.041 Their message at the opening of the meeting, in uncertain terms, was "You've been given stolen material -- classified material. 00:03:23.041 --> 00:03:26.969 There would be grave consequences if you publish any of it." 00:03:32.836 --> 00:03:39.505 At that meeting, one of the people leading the state department's response to the crisis was P.J. Crowley. 00:03:39.505 --> 00:03:43.487 These stories resulted from a crime. 00:03:43.487 --> 00:03:45.719 For us, this was still classified material. 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:49.269 It was our responsibility to, you know, continue to protect them. 00:03:52.553 --> 00:03:56.799 The State Department was right to be worried. 00:03:57.753 --> 00:04:02.887 The cables reveal what American diplomats say when they think the world will never know -- 00:04:02.887 --> 00:04:04.786 Who they trust and who they mock, 00:04:04.786 --> 00:04:06.995 what they want and how they get it. 00:04:10.478 --> 00:04:15.245 "Some inside the US government dismiss [Berlusconi] as feckless, vain, and ineffective as a modern European leader." 00:04:15.245 --> 00:04:17.478 "Merkel is risk averse and rarely creative." 00:04:17.478 --> 00:04:24.815 "Gaddafi relies heavily on his long-time Ukrainian nurse, who has been described as a 'voluptuous blonde.'" 00:04:24.815 --> 00:04:30.632 Detailed records from thousands of secret meetings and conversations involving US diplomats 00:04:30.632 --> 00:04:33.850 were about to become a media sensation. 00:04:33.850 --> 00:04:39.732 "Bank of England Governor Mervyn King expressed great concern about Conservative leaders' lack of experience." 00:04:39.732 --> 00:04:47.632 "It was related that King Abdullah remains a heavy smoker, regularly receives hormone injections, and uses Viagra excessively." 00:04:47.632 --> 00:04:55.683 Here were records of American diplomats' secret plans and strategies, their uncertainties and fears. 00:04:55.683 --> 00:04:59.116 "We should aim at influencing the narrow group of individuals that surround him." NOTE Paragraph 00:04:59.116 --> 00:05:03.217 "Saudi energy facilities remain highly vulnerable to external attack." 00:05:03.217 --> 00:05:10.619 "[The Secretary of Defense] pointedly warned that urgent action is required. Without progress in the next few months, we risk nuclear proliferation in the Middle East." 00:05:10.619 --> 00:05:16.790 All of this classified information was now in the hands of journalists. 00:05:20.344 --> 00:05:23.540 In Washington, there was panic. 00:05:23.540 --> 00:05:28.141 When the newspapers gave us access so that we could begin to get a sense of it, 00:05:28.141 --> 00:05:32.601 I think there was just a growing sense of horror. 00:05:33.816 --> 00:05:36.621 Can you remember Secretary Clinton's reaction? 00:05:36.621 --> 00:05:38.460 She wasn't thrilled. [laughs] 00:05:38.460 --> 00:05:48.469 I mean, Secretary Clinton knew probably better than anybody exactly just how delicate some of our relations were with different countries. 00:05:48.977 --> 00:05:52.990 The leak threatened the basics of US diplomacy. 00:05:53.530 --> 00:05:57.979 When you're confronted with 250,000 cables, in a way, it's overwhelming. 00:05:57.979 --> 00:06:01.018 You know, it involves everything. 00:06:02.280 --> 00:06:05.402 But there was little they could do. 00:06:05.864 --> 00:06:10.300 The five newspapers had already agreed on a publication date. 00:06:10.300 --> 00:06:13.141 Nothing was going to stop them. 00:06:13.141 --> 00:06:15.778 All the US government could do now was try to get ready. 00:06:15.778 --> 00:06:24.617 They knew that within a matter of weeks, the world would know their secrets, and the only question was how bad it would be. 00:06:24.617 --> 00:06:32.743 We knew that it was going to potentially do an enormous amount of damage to some of our key relationships. 00:06:32.743 --> 00:06:37.460 What was the atmosphere like in the State Department that these cables would be there for all to see? 00:06:37.460 --> 00:06:40.190 Battening down the hatches. 00:06:43.220 --> 00:06:47.450 On the 28th of November of 2010, it began. 00:06:47.450 --> 00:06:53.220 Huge trove of documents released just hours ago by the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. 00:06:53.220 --> 00:06:57.867 The whistle-blowing website released another pile of government documents Sunday, including... 00:06:57.867 --> 00:07:04.701 Whoever leaked all those State Department documents to the Wikileaks website is a traitor. 00:07:04.701 --> 00:07:10.140 Within 24 hours, the cables had become a global sensation. 00:07:10.140 --> 00:07:13.300 It's hard to think of a worse day for US diplomacy. 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:20.657 America's private opinions and conversations splashed across every front page in the world. 00:07:20.657 --> 00:07:26.057 [various news reports] 00:07:26.057 --> 00:07:32.816 So what's in there? Everything from global fears about Iran's nuclear programme to news that China may have sabotaged Google... 00:07:32.816 --> 00:07:41.781 Controversial and often embarrassing revelations include an American diplomat describing Prince Andrew as "rude and cocky." 00:07:41.781 --> 00:07:50.863 It was like that moment when an email gets sent to the wrong person, only went to the whole world. 00:07:50.863 --> 00:07:57.619 As the leaks poured out, foreign politicians looked on with horror. 00:07:57.619 --> 00:08:06.485 I think every diplomat around the world will have had one overriding thought: "Thank God it wasn't me," and "Thank God it's not us." 00:08:07.901 --> 00:08:18.662 There is nothing brave about sabotaging the peaceful relations between nations on which our common security depends. 00:08:18.662 --> 00:08:27.263 In the weeks after the leak, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, traveled the globe saying sorry. 00:08:27.263 --> 00:08:34.419 Clinton even joked about getting special "apology tour" jackets made. 00:08:34.419 --> 00:08:39.539 But in some parts of the world, the fallout from the leak would be unstoppable. 00:08:39.539 --> 00:08:47.221 We had to pull our ambassador out of Libya, for example, because thugs were making threatening gestures to him. 00:08:47.221 --> 00:08:55.199 We had an ambassador in Mexico, the Mexican government had just made clear, "we can no longer do business with this American ambassador," 00:08:55.199 --> 00:08:58.137 and he's now being replaced. 00:09:00.337 --> 00:09:04.829 In Washington, tough questions were being asked. 00:09:04.829 --> 00:09:12.865 President Obama's a pretty calm guy, even in tough times and stressful times. 00:09:12.865 --> 00:09:17.299 But he was clearly incredibly angry along with the rest of us, 00:09:17.299 --> 00:09:25.899 and the question, obviously, to me, and to others, was, "How in the world could this happen?" 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:28.987 The suspect had been identified. 00:09:28.987 --> 00:09:32.598 Online chat logs had given him away. 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:41.612 The suspected source was not a foreign government or a spy at the heart of the US machine. 00:09:41.612 --> 00:09:48.060 It was an American soldier sitting in a remote base in the deserts of Iraq. 00:09:48.060 --> 00:09:56.490 Bradley Manning was a lowly PFC, a Private First Class, but he had access to a world of secrets. 00:10:01.060 --> 00:10:11.196 We live in a world now when, you know, a 20-something PFC in the American army can cause diplomatic damage of biblical proportions. 00:10:11.196 --> 00:10:20.321 An enormous flaw in US military security that left American diplomats and the US State Department compromised. 00:10:21.275 --> 00:10:26.277 The State Department security was actually tighter than military security in this instance, 00:10:26.277 --> 00:10:32.175 so there was anger, disappointment, a feeling that this simply should not have happened. 00:10:34.745 --> 00:10:38.700 Is it embarrassing personally that it came out of your department? 00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:47.141 Well, of course, I mean, it was hard for me to look Secretary Clinton in the eye when she'd say, "How did this happen?" 00:10:47.141 --> 00:10:52.135 Because it did come out of the Department of Defense, it came out of a military installation. 00:10:53.365 --> 00:10:59.658 As the cables made headlines around the world, some in America were demanding a tough response. 00:10:59.658 --> 00:11:06.029 For them, the leak was the ultimate crime, and Bradley Manning a traitor. 00:11:06.029 --> 00:11:07.757 What do you think of Bradley Manning? 00:11:07.757 --> 00:11:12.145 I think he committed treason, I think he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 00:11:12.145 --> 00:11:13.381 What does that mean? 00:11:13.381 --> 00:11:22.141 Well, treason is the only crime defined by our Constitution. It says "treason shall consist only of levying war against [the United States], 00:11:22.141 --> 00:11:26.499 or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort." 00:11:26.499 --> 00:11:28.983 He gave our enemies a lot of aid and comfort. 00:11:28.983 --> 00:11:30.192 So what should happen to him? 00:11:30.192 --> 00:11:35.208 Well, he should be prosecuted, and if he's found guilty, he should be punished to the fullest extent possible. 00:11:35.208 --> 00:11:36.140 And what is that? 00:11:36.140 --> 00:11:38.226 Death. 00:11:38.226 --> 00:11:39.034 You think he should be killed? 00:11:39.034 --> 00:11:41.121 Yes. 00:11:43.614 --> 00:11:49.444 The leak had rocked America and created a global sensation. 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:55.466 The superpower had shown it wasn't in control of its secrets. 00:11:55.466 --> 00:11:59.137 It's now over a year since the first cables were released. 00:11:59.137 --> 00:12:03.700 So what has been the real impact of the leaking of these documents? 00:12:03.700 --> 00:12:09.381 And what have the cables really told us about how America does business in the world? 00:12:09.381 --> 00:12:14.663 The fallout from the secret cables was more than just damaged trust or lurid headlines. 00:12:14.663 --> 00:12:21.801 We found places where some believe that the cable release itself changed countries. 00:12:27.078 --> 00:12:38.860 In mid-October 2010, two Tunisian political activists, Sami Ben Gharbia and Malek Khadraoui, got hold of some of the secret US cables. 00:12:38.860 --> 00:12:45.106 At the time, Tunisia was ruled by a dictator, President Ben Ali. 00:12:45.106 --> 00:12:53.177 Someone got the cable and they gave me a bunch of Arab leaks, around 300 cables. 00:12:54.747 --> 00:13:01.668 Sami Ben Gharbia called and he told me that I had the bomb. So I opened the file and I start tweeting. 00:13:04.746 --> 00:13:11.628 Inside the cables were damning reports written by the American ambassador about the dictator Ben Ali. 00:13:11.628 --> 00:13:16.415 They showed the extent of his regime's corruption and excess. 00:13:18.708 --> 00:13:25.660 Corruption in Tunisia is getting worse, whether it's cash, services, land, property, or, yes, even your yacht. 00:13:25.660 --> 00:13:32.441 President Ben Ali's family is rumored to covet it and reportedly gets what it wants. 00:13:35.749 --> 00:13:43.271 This is Ben Ali's daughter, Nesrine, and her billionaire husband, Mohamed Sakhr El Materi. 00:13:44.302 --> 00:13:49.262 And this was one of their houses, a luxury villa on the Tunisian coast. 00:13:53.739 --> 00:13:56.778 This villa's obviously been smashed up by looters. 00:13:56.778 --> 00:14:02.740 This place inspired one of the most infamous cables to come out of Tunisia. 00:14:02.740 --> 00:14:11.997 The American ambassador was invited here for dinner, and what he found - the wealth, the opulence astounding. 00:14:17.628 --> 00:14:25.185 Ancient artifacts everywhere. Roman columns, frescoes, and even a lion's head from which water pours into the pool. 00:14:27.709 --> 00:14:39.580 The opulence with which El Materi and Nesrine live and their behavior make clear why they and other members of Ben Ali's family are disliked and even hated by some Tunisians. 00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:42.633 The excesses of the Ben Ali family are growing. 00:14:43.587 --> 00:14:46.740 This cage is very, very famous in Tunisia, and 00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:48.581 it's all because of the cables. 00:14:48.581 --> 00:14:53.479 This is where Ben Ali's son-in-law kept his pet tiger, 00:14:53.479 --> 00:15:00.420 and from the cables, we're told that at a time when there were people here in Tunisia who couldn't afford to eat, 00:15:00.420 --> 00:15:04.304 this animal was fed four chickens a day. 00:15:10.859 --> 00:15:17.399 At the time of the cable release, Tunisia was already suffering economic unrest. 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:22.441 Food prices were rising, youth unemployment was at crisis point. 00:15:24.626 --> 00:15:30.336 The cables showed the contrast between the lives of ordinary people and their rulers. 00:15:30.336 --> 00:15:36.394 For activists like Malek and Sami, the cable leak was an extraordinary opportunity. 00:15:36.394 --> 00:15:48.305 The Wikileaks cable was, for us, like a new tool or a new weapon to make this contest come down from the internet to the street. 00:15:49.982 --> 00:15:55.660 They published the Tunisian cables on the same day as the Wikileaks splash. 00:15:55.660 --> 00:15:58.059 It was a very huge reaction. First of all, 00:15:58.059 --> 00:16:04.316 on the social networks, Twitter, Facebook, and, you know, our community, 00:16:04.316 --> 00:16:06.675 it was like a bomb. 00:16:07.937 --> 00:16:15.644 Now, the secret American reports of the Ben Alis' excess were out there for ordinary Tunisians to read. 00:16:15.644 --> 00:16:18.301 It wasn't that Tunisia didn't know about the corruption. 00:16:18.301 --> 00:16:21.897 Most people here were well aware of how the elite lived. 00:16:21.897 --> 00:16:26.065 It was now that they could see that the Americans knew. 00:16:26.065 --> 00:16:31.588 Ben Ali was a president who made an awful lot of his relationship with the United States. 00:16:31.588 --> 00:16:36.340 But the cables show that the Americans knew him for what he was. 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:39.617 They were critical, and they were disparaging. 00:16:42.617 --> 00:16:44.730 When the people were in the street, 00:16:44.730 --> 00:16:46.341 they had in their mind 00:16:46.341 --> 00:16:54.156 that this regime is really corrupt, that this regime is not really supported by foreign forces, 00:16:54.156 --> 00:17:00.868 so that maybe people were saying, okay, maybe he's not too strong, 00:17:00.868 --> 00:17:04.079 maybe he's not too invincible. 00:17:07.587 --> 00:17:14.107 Then senior ministers in Ben Ali's regime saw the cables were having an impact. 00:17:14.107 --> 00:17:21.507 When the people of Tunisia saw US criticism of the president, 00:17:21.507 --> 00:17:25.537 of the surrounding circle, et cetera, 00:17:25.537 --> 00:17:29.484 of course maybe they were not expecting this from the Americans. 00:17:29.484 --> 00:17:31.420 So what difference did that make? 00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:35.780 It did encourage people to speak in a more open and louder way. 00:17:35.780 --> 00:17:37.906 And this is, in my opinion, 00:17:37.906 --> 00:17:40.053 there is no doubt. 00:17:40.915 --> 00:17:45.259 The regime tried to block the websites carrying the cables. 00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:47.180 They failed. 00:17:47.180 --> 00:17:51.698 The secret documents helped fuel a mood of change in Tunisia. 00:17:51.698 --> 00:17:56.577 We published them on November 28th, and the Revolution started on December 17th. 00:17:56.577 --> 00:17:59.065 It was two weeks. Two weeks. 00:17:59.065 --> 00:18:08.064 [rioting and protesting] 00:18:08.064 --> 00:18:11.982 The Revolution began when a young Tunisian, Mohamed Bouazizi, 00:18:11.982 --> 00:18:17.859 set himself on fire in protest at his mistreatment by the regime. 00:18:17.859 --> 00:18:24.065 His death provoked outrage and brought crowds to the streets. 00:18:24.065 --> 00:18:29.740 As they vented their anger, the cables inspired many of their chants. 00:18:29.740 --> 00:18:34.582 [shouting, gunshots] 00:18:34.582 --> 00:18:40.580 You see, during the Revolution, some slogans talk about the content of these cables, 00:18:40.580 --> 00:18:48.098 making reference to the very rich life that those people are living, and 00:18:48.098 --> 00:18:54.207 the role of the state, a lot of people were referring to these stories. 00:18:54.223 --> 00:18:58.194 [rioting and protesting] 00:18:58.210 --> 00:19:04.736 Those protests would bring down a dictatorship that had lasted 23 years. 00:19:05.660 --> 00:19:08.388 Ben Ali fled the country. 00:19:08.388 --> 00:19:14.937 The Tunisian Revolution spread and prompted a wave of uprisings that became known as the Arab Spring. 00:19:14.937 --> 00:19:18.876 The cable leak had played a part in history. 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:28.347 But what about America itself? 00:19:28.347 --> 00:19:32.180 What do the cables reveal about the superpower? 00:19:32.180 --> 00:19:35.507 We've spent months analyzing these documents. 00:19:35.507 --> 00:19:39.339 They show how America's diplomats try to get what they want, 00:19:39.339 --> 00:19:42.187 how they gather gossip and how they use it. 00:19:42.187 --> 00:19:45.866 How they deal with their enemies, and what they say about their friends, 00:19:45.866 --> 00:19:49.304 when they think no one's listening. 00:19:53.580 --> 00:19:59.264 So, what does America say about its closest friend of all - us? 00:20:01.341 --> 00:20:05.741 Two countries who fought alongside each other in Iraq and Afghanistan, 00:20:05.741 --> 00:20:11.306 but the cables reveal harsh US criticism of the British military. 00:20:12.660 --> 00:20:19.966 A secret document from December 2008 offered a bleak assessment of British capabilities. 00:20:21.781 --> 00:20:26.196 The British are not up to the task of securing Helmand. 00:20:27.827 --> 00:20:32.310 It forced Hillary Clinton to offer yet another apology. 00:20:32.618 --> 00:20:36.090 I personally want to convey to the government, 00:20:36.090 --> 00:20:38.862 and the people of the United Kingdom, 00:20:38.862 --> 00:20:42.094 both our deep respect and admiration, or 00:20:42.094 --> 00:20:45.088 the extraordinary efforts, and I regret 00:20:45.088 --> 00:20:50.593 if anything that was said by anyone suggests to the contrary. 00:20:51.655 --> 00:20:58.577 But the secret documents show the Americans were hearing concerns about our political leaders. 00:21:00.485 --> 00:21:05.364 In February 2010, the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, 00:21:05.364 --> 00:21:10.568 and the US ambassador in London discussed the then-Conservative opposition. 00:21:10.568 --> 00:21:13.595 This is the cable that followed: 00:21:15.288 --> 00:21:20.249 King expressed great concern about Conservative leaders' lack of experience. 00:21:20.249 --> 00:21:23.008 Cameron and Osborne have only a few advisors, 00:21:23.008 --> 00:21:27.308 and seemed resistant to reaching out beyond their small inner circle. 00:21:32.093 --> 00:21:37.978 It is the duty of a diplomat to report those conversations, 00:21:37.978 --> 00:21:40.563 so people can take that into account, 00:21:40.563 --> 00:21:43.249 so they know what's going on. 00:21:43.249 --> 00:21:48.899 And gossip is not gossip if it's conversations that are had. 00:21:48.899 --> 00:21:53.293 "Gossip" is speculation. There is no speculation. 00:21:56.524 --> 00:22:01.065 But some cables are not so easy to explain away. 00:22:02.927 --> 00:22:09.007 In 2009, Ivan Lewis was a foreign office minister in Tony Blair's government. 00:22:09.007 --> 00:22:12.004 He got to know the Americans during this time, 00:22:12.004 --> 00:22:14.650 and they tried to get to know him. 00:22:14.650 --> 00:22:18.275 No detail or rumor was too [unintelligible]. 00:22:19.568 --> 00:22:25.252 "Lewis reportedly remains a bit of a hound dog where women are concerned." 00:22:28.822 --> 00:22:33.259 "Contacts who know him well report he has manic-depressive tendencies." 00:22:34.290 --> 00:22:37.316 "He's very up one minute, very down the next. 00:22:37.316 --> 00:22:42.241 And at least one Foreign and Commonwealth Office colleague has described Lewis as a bully." 00:22:46.072 --> 00:22:50.564 US diplomats may claim to be simply reporting what they hear, 00:22:50.564 --> 00:22:55.327 but it seems from the cables that no detail is too trivial. 00:22:55.327 --> 00:22:59.404 Biographic data is something that is valuable. 00:22:59.404 --> 00:23:06.571 Building and understanding of the personalities, proclivities, 00:23:06.571 --> 00:23:09.567 what might be distracting to individuals, 00:23:09.567 --> 00:23:15.905 what might explain the behavior of third parties toward that individual. 00:23:16.536 --> 00:23:20.927 Finding out that somebody has a reputation, a bad reputation, 00:23:20.927 --> 00:23:25.236 with women, once might have been an advantage, 00:23:25.236 --> 00:23:28.225 but these days, generally isn't. 00:23:29.887 --> 00:23:38.217 So why, then, did Hillary Clinton send this to London one month after the cable about Lewis was written? 00:23:40.648 --> 00:23:47.207 "Washington analysts appreciate the excellent background and biographic reporting on Ivan Lewis. 00:23:48.007 --> 00:23:52.084 [Cable] regarding Lewis's bullying, possible depression, and scandals, 00:23:52.084 --> 00:23:54.654 as well as comments on the state of his marriage 00:23:54.654 --> 00:23:58.226 are particularly insightful and timely." 00:24:01.934 --> 00:24:06.013 We contacted Mr. Lewis, but he didn't want to comment. 00:24:07.167 --> 00:24:11.248 As for America's diplomats, well, the cable speaks for itself. 00:24:11.248 --> 00:24:17.276 Dirt and gossip even on America's closest friends goes down very well in Washington. 00:24:17.984 --> 00:24:21.008 Gossip can reveal information about people 00:24:21.008 --> 00:24:24.208 that shows their strengths and weaknesses, 00:24:24.208 --> 00:24:29.093 just like politicians use it, it doesn't mean that you believe everything, 00:24:29.093 --> 99:59:59.999 but information is information.