With the recent leak of United States Embassy Cables that date back to 1966, there has been a lot of concern over the published information and its effect on foreign relations. According to WikiLeaks, this is the largest set of confidential documents ever released on a public domain, containing cables from 274 embassies. These documents contain information on spying tactics of the United States, deals with various countries, and details of weapons sought by other countries.
Many of the cables contain information detailing the concern of several countries and their desire for advanced military capabilities for protection against any weaponry Iran possesses. According to CNN, the cables show that UAVs developed by the United States are highly sought after. The “sale of the armed MQ-9/Reaper UAVs” was released as being requested by Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates were reported to have requested American Predators to “protect themselves against Iran”.
Israel was shown to be concerned over the sale of F-15’s to Saudi Arabia, due to the possibility these aircraft could be placed at an airfield near the Israeli border. Additionally, Israel was displeased over the sale of air-to-air missiles to Jordan that could be a hazard to Israeli military aircraft in the area.
Some cables included information signifying that there is a high demand for U.S. helicopters. One country in particular, Yemen, requested 12 armed helicopters through Gen. David Petraeus. Cables also indicated that Turkey would like to purchase as well as build U.S.-designed military helicopters. One design in particular is an international version of the Blackhawk helicopter. One cable details that the company constructing these aircraft “guarantees that it would build in Turkey – for sale outside of Turkey – one Blackhawk for each one the Government of Turkey builds and buys for itself” to serve as a boost for the Turkish economy.
For more information on the leaks and this topic, please read the full article by Larry Shaughnessy, the CNN Pentagon Producer.