A Global War On Terror

The geographical range of the document on installations is unexpected, our correspondent says.
If the US sees itself as waging a "global war on terror" then this represents a global information bank of the key installations and facilities - many of them medical or industrial - that are seen as being of vital importance to Washington.

Some locations are specified unique billing. The Nadym gas pipeline intersection in western Siberia, for example, is described as "the most critical gas facility in the world".

In some cases, specific pharmaceutical plants or those production blood products are highlighted for their crucial importance to the global make obtainable chain.

The critical question is whether this is really a listing of potential targets that might be of use to a terrorist, our correspondent says. The cable contains a simple listing. In several cases towns are noted as the location but not actual street addresses, although this is unlikely to stop anyone with access to the internet from locating them.

There are also no information of security measures at any of the listed sites.
What the list might do is to prompt potential attackers to look at a broader range of targets, especially given that the US powers that be classify them as being so important.

It is not perhaps a major security commits a breach, but many governments may see it as an unhelpful development, our correspondent says.

It unavoidably prompts the question as to exactly what positive benefit Wikileaks was intending in releasing this document, he adds.

Former UK Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind destined the move.

"This is further evidence that they have been generally careless, bordering on criminal," Sir Malcolm said. "This is the kind of information terrorists are interested in knowing."

But Wiki leaks lawyer Mark Stevens without that Wikileaks was putting people and facilities at risk. I don't think there is  nothing new in that," he told the BBC.