Call it 8216;Cablegate8217;,says WikiLeaks

Even the website,where it posted all documents had cablegate in its browser address 8212; http://cablegate.wikileaks. org.

8220;For twitter or other social networking services please use 8216;cablegate8217;,8221; it said on its home page.

The cables,which date from 1966 up until the end of February this year,contain confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Washington.

8220;15,652 of the cables are classified secret,8221; it said.

WikiLeaks said the embassy cables will be released in stages over the next few months.

8220;The subject matter of these cables is of such importance,and the geographical spread so broad,that to do otherwise would not do this material justice,8221; it said.

Today,WikiLeaks,said it would seek applications from media outlets as to how to access its embargoed stuff.

So far it has provided access to a few media outlets including 8216;The New York Times8217;.

8220;The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in 8220;client states8221;; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them,8221; WikiLeaks said.

8220;This document release reveals the contradictions between the US8217;s public persona and what it says behind closed doors,and shows that if citizens in a democracy want their governments to reflect their wishes,they should ask to see what8217;s going on behind the scenes,8221; it said.

8220;Every American schoolchild is taught that George Washington 8212; the country8217;s first President 8212; could not tell a lie. If the administrations of his successors lived up to the same principle,today8217;s document flood would be a mere embarrassment. Instead,the US government has been warning governments 8212; even the most corrupt 8212; around the world about the coming leaks and is bracing itself for the exposures,8221; said the whistleblower website.

8220;The full set consists of 251,287 documents,comprising 261,276,536 words seven times the size of 8216;The Iraq War Logs8217;,the world8217;s previously largest classified information release.

The cables cover from December 28,1966 to February 28,2010 and originate from 274 embassies,consulates and diplomatic missions,8221; it said.

According to the US State Department8217;s labeling system,the most frequent subjects discussed are External Political Relations 145,451,Internal government Affairs 122,896,Human rights 55,211,Economic Conditions 49,044,Terrorists and Terrorism 28,801 and UN Security Council 6,532,it said.

Of the cables obtained by it,WikiLeaks said 15,652 are secret,101,748 confidential,133,887 unclassified; Iraq most discussed country cables coming from Iraq 6,677,Ankara,Turkey had most cables coming from it 8212; 7,918 while those from the Secretary of State office are 8,017.