WikiLeaks: CIA Drew up Intel "Wishlist" for State Dept.

A man walks across the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency at the lobby of the Original Headquarters Building at CIA headquarters Feb. 19, 2009, in McLean, Va.

/ Getty Images

Updated at 5:36 p.m. ET

The CIA was the agency behind the State Department's instructions to gather information on the United Nations secretary-general and members of his senior staff, the Guardian newspaper of London reported on its website Thursday afternoon.

The revelation that the State Department requested U.S. diplomats to collect such information as credit card numbers, frequent flyer account numbers and a "compendia of contact information" on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moom was disclosed in a massive leak of secret memos this week from the organization WikiLeaks.

Special Report: WikiLeaks

What wasn't known until the Guardian article was which agency asked the State Department to do the gathering.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley has hinted to reporters that the cables came from another agency even while at the same time saying Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was responsible for them.

"By tradition, any document that leaves the Department of State has the secretary of state's name on it," Crowley said about the cables during a press briefing Tuesday. "She is responsible, but she was not the author of that particular document, and the contents of that came from outside the Department of State."

According to the Guardian, the national manager of human intelligence, a post created during the Bush administration after 9/11, writes a wishlist once a year. The State Department then translates the list into diplomatic cables tailored for each American embassy, such as the U.S. mission at the U.N., the Guardian reported.

The government has emphasized that American diplomats have not been conducting espionage abroad.

"It shouldn't surprise anyone that U.S. officials at the United Nations seek information on how other nations view topics of mutual concern," a senior U.S. intelligence official said told the Guardian. "If you look at the list of topics of interest in this routine cable, the priorities represent not only what Americans view as critical issues but our allies as well."

The cables WikiLeaks released to a number of news outlets Thursday reveal that American diplomats in the capital of Paraguay had to acquire information about other countries' diplomats, the Guardian reported.

That information included dates, times and telephone number of calls that diplomats from Bolivia, China, Cuba, Iran and Venezuela received and made in Paraguay, the Guardian reported.

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[cbsnewscnet]

Regarding the below post about he domain contact info for wikileaks - this was on the Wikipedia November 2007. I copied it because I had a feeling it would disappear, which it did. I don't see an option here to modify comments.

[cbsnewscnet]

There have been many allegations that Wikileaks is a CIA front (f.e. by cryptome[17]), although there is no direct evidence; arguments have centered around the location of Wikileaks-related matters and the source of its funding. A Wikileaks spokesperson has denied allegations but added "If we were CIA, we couldn't tell you."[18] The contact number on Wikileaks.org, has a D.C. area code and is a Verizon cell phone number registered in Adelphi, Maryland. Intellus.com, a Web tracking service, connected the number to a "Va Reston." Twenty miles down the road from Adelphi is Reston, Virginia, home to iDefense labs, whose Web site says it is "a comprehensive provider of security intelligence to governments."[19]
The DC telephone number is also on the same telephone exchange as the newly created (2006) Iraq Study Group[20] and the Afghanistan embassy of Washington[21]

[nopatriot]

I believe channeling by Stanley A Fulham rather than wikileak.
the name of book is " Challenge of changes"

Period.
We should respect what old USA former army member has thought now.

Go green , other wise gray gonna eat you.

[nopatriot]

I can not change my user name " Nonpatriot " to " Nocitizen" whatever on CBS news.
Is this one of operation IN USA?
With many reasons , even we suspect so many thins why and what USA 's authorities do to us now and future.

Google robs our author ship without any notice and tries not to give us back,
CBS does not allow to delete account or change name.

USA is pretty much strange with kind of activities.

[ur_shadow]

Julian Assange is a hero for exposing the corruption of all the world's political leaders. He truly shows that "Power Corrupts, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely."

[YrWrongAgain]

Some of you asked for a job. Like the news item said, it's a wish list.

[rheola-2009]

Julian Assange should be congratulated for showing the devious methods our so called leaders will stoop to, when it come to protecting their backsides.
Let them all face some responsibility for their actions

Please look at this rationally, do not shoot the messenger, the world needs people like Assange.

Hopefully his actions will encourage others to come forward with similar revelations.

I agree his earlier release of material regarding informers was not in the best interests, and should not have happened.

[Gamesman001]

Unfortunately most people don't really want to know what their government does. So shooting the messenger is their first thought. How dare he make them pull their heads out of that warm dark place.

[lucifersshadow]

ToolMangler1 is quick to say he is not doing it for altruistic reasons . . I guess he cannot imagine a person doing such a thing, perhaps most of all himself. Our government has no problem with reading OUR emails, monitoring our phone conversations and mail, but when the shoe goes on the other foot they go ballistic. * the government, they are a sorry excuse for human beings. They complain about terrorism, but they were the CAUSE of terrorism. They stick their noses in other countries business, try to control other countries and leaders, and it is no wonder America has so many enemies now. We have no business in any of those countries in the Middle East, we send soldiers, dollars, hardware, and what changes? If our governemt officials were graded on results, they would make a chimp look smart.