U.S. Prepares Allies for Embarrassing Wikileaks

The U.S. Department of State has been working overtime to warn its allies that Wikileaks could be releasing this weekend highly sensitive details about the inner workings of government and diplomatic relations.

U.S. Embassy officials in Canada, Australia, Britain, Turkey and Israel, among others, have all warned their counterparts about the impending release.

Previously, Wikileaks said the release would be "seven times" as large as the Iraq and Afghanistan war documents released in October.

State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday that Wikileaks is in possession of "classified cables," although he did not elaborate on their content.

"These revelations... are going to create tensions on our relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world," Crowley told Agence France Presse.

Several news reports cite The British daily Al-Hayat as saying that the release will reveal U.S. support for the PKK, a Turkish separatist rebel group officially listed by the State Department as a terrorist organization. Additionally, the release may show that Turkey has given support to al Qaeda in Iraq.

CBS News reported previously that the documents may reveal the kinds of pressure the Obama administration has put on various countries to accept the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees who have been cleared for release but are unwelcome in their home countries.

State Department officials said privately there was concern, too, that details about certain sensitive programs could be exposed. These might include details about surveillance at U.S. diplomatic compounds abroad or revelations about highly secret intelligence sources or practices.

A Pentagon spokesman, Marine Col. David Lapan, said the Pentagon also has notified congressional committees of an expected WikiLeaks release. He said the files are believed to be State Department documents, but they could contain information about military tactics or reveal the identities of sources.