by Andrew Walden

A search of the Wikileaks “Cablegate” database http://cablesearch.org/ brings up three mentions of Hawaii in the approximately 250,000 files allegedly leaked by gay atheist Private Bradley Manning and published online by Wikileaks.

The first is a report on a British Government proposal to create a marine sanctuary park around the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.  It gives some insight into the interrelationship between the environmental movement and US and UK military and intelligence services:

09LONDON1156: HMG FLOATS PROPOSAL FOR MARINE RESERVE COVERING

¶3. (C/NF) Roberts iterated strong UK “political support” for a marine park; “Ministers like the idea,” he said. He stressed that HMG’s “timeline” for establishing the park was before the next general elections, which under British law must occur no later than May 2010. He suggested that the exact terms of the proposals could be defined and presented at the U.S.-UK annual political-military consultations held in late summer/early fall 2009 (exact date TBD). If the USG would like to discuss the issue prior to those talks, HMG would be open for discussion through other channels -- in any case, the FCO would keep Embassy London informed of development of the idea and next steps. The UK would like to “move forward discussion with key international stakeholders” by the end of 2009. He said that HMG had noted the success of U.S. marine sanctuaries in HAWAII and the Marianas Trench. (Note: Roberts was referring to the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument and Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. End Note.) He asserted that the Pew Charitable Trust, which has proposed a BIOT marine reserve, is funding a public relations campaign in support of the idea. He noted that the trust had backed the HAWAIIAN reserve and is well-regarded within British governmental circles and the larger British environmental community.

Another is a report on a February, 2010 meeting between US Defense Secretary Gates and French Minister of Defense Herve Morin on the deployment of anti-missile systems in Europe.  The deployment of THAAD to Hawaii is described as “a measure against North Korean threat”:

10PARIS170: SECDEF GATES'S MEETING WITH FRENCH MINISTER OF DEFENSE HERVE

¶1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (SecDef) was hosted by French Minister of Defense Herve Morin for a working lunch during an official bilateral visit to Paris on February 8, 2010. SecDef and Morin agreed on the basic themes to be included in NATO's revised Strategic Concept. On Missile Defense, SecDef refuted Morin's contention that a European Missile Defense system is both unwise and unnecessary but pledged to give France and other Allies better information on the costs and command and control structure of the U.S. proposal. Both Morin and Gates agreed that Iran's rejection of an engagement track meant that the time for pressure had arrived, but both noted concern over China's opposition to a new UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR). On Afghanistan, SecDef praised French contributions and highlighted ongoing trainer shortfalls. SecDef raised U.S. concerns over the sale of a Mistral-class helicopter carrier to Russia as sending a mixed signal to both Russia and our Central and East European Allies. Morin refuted this idea, arguing that the sale was a way to send a message of partnership to Russia at a critical time. Morin requested that the upcoming U.S. Air Force Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new in-flight refueling tanker aircraft be unbiased. SecDef told Morin that he had full confidence that the RFP would be as fair as possible. END SUMMARY. …

¶9. (S/NF) Responding to SecDef's discussion of MD, Morin asked why there was a need to shift from theater to population defense. SecDef said the systems the U.S. was deploying have broader applications. For
example the THAAD system, which the U.S. had deployed to HAWAII as a measure against North Korean threat, protects both the theater and the population. Gates offered the Aegis ship-borne SM-3, which was used to shoot down a defunct satellite, as a second example of a system that could also have broader applications and deter Iran from holding us hostage by threatening missile launches.

The final mention of Hawaii in the 250,000 leaked cables refers to an Afghan government minister who graduated from UH:

09KABUL4070: THE NEW CABINET: BETTER BUT NOT BEST

--Public Works - Engineer Mirza Hussain Abdullahi. He obtained his PhD in Engineering at the University of HAWAII. He is beholden to Khalili, and supported by current Office of Administrative Affairs (OAA) Director Mudaber. According to Daudzai, he was “channeled through Mohaqqeq,” and was not one of Mohaqqeq’s original choices. His choices were ruled out because they were not qualified.

A search for “Honolulu” brings up numerous cables, most of which are included because they were circulated to military intelligence officers stationed in Honolulu.

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