Much has been reported about the details of the cables that were sent from US embassies around the world to the state department in Washington - the content ranging from the highly informative to what some ex-diplomats describe as little more than political gossip.
But embarrassing as some of the revelations might be, the most politically damaging document did not come into state department - it was sent out.
Most of the traffic originating from the embassies consists largely of reported facts or offering personal opinion and interpretation, but what originate from state department are instructions, commands and policy.
The secretary of state herself has made this point inadvertently. In her first public response, Hillary Clinton argued strongly that no matter how sensitive the information from diplomats, it did not reflect the views of the US government.
![[QODLink]](http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2012/2/12/2012212114913931580_16.jpg "The miracle generation")
