大戲剛剛拉開序幕-稜鏡事件將引發人類之春。

大戲剛剛拉開序幕。維基解密引發了阿拉伯之春，稜鏡事件將引發人類之春。

《新聞周刊》2011年中總結——Wikileaks and the Arab Spring
Carl Court / AFP-Getty

朱利安·阿桑奇認為他的維基解密網站引發了突尼西亞騷亂，從而促成了「阿拉伯之春」。他可能是對的。

去年，維基解密公布了大量美國國務院的機密電報，這一事件的真正影響力不是發現了新的醜聞，而是這些電報證實了許多人一直懷疑但未敢哼聲的一些事情。突尼西亞人已經知道政府貪污腐敗，殘酷壓迫百姓，而這些電報讓他們看到了實實在在的事例。外交函件用黑手黨一樣來形容突尼西亞總統扎因·阿比丁·本·阿里的政權，稱之為「總統家族」並披露其裙帶關係商業交易，厚顏無恥地聚斂財富，還使用酷刑。「這次解密給了突尼西亞一面鏡子，」 美國外交關係委員會中東和非洲研究所高級研究員羅伯特·達寧說，「解密還讓人們意識到，國際社會都知道了這些貪污腐敗。」在外交界，維基解密的影響掀起了層層漣漪，達寧說。有些外國的外交官仍在猶豫，要不要直白地跟美國官方溝通，而美國方面，外交官們在寫外交照會時也必需稍微隱諱一些。

Julian Assange credits his WikiLeaks website with sparking the Tunisian uprisings, and in turn, the Arab Spring. He may be right.

The real power of WikiLeaks' massive dump of secret U.S. State Department cables last year wasn't that new scandals were unearthed. Rather, the cables confirmed what so many had suspected but hadn't vocalized. The Tunisian people already knew their government was corrupt and repressive, but the cables furnished them with concrete examples. Diplomatic correspondence described President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali's administration in Mafia-like terms, referring to it as "the Family" and revealing nepotistic business dealings, the amassing of brazen wealth, and the use of torture. "The leaks held a mirror up to Tunisia," says Robert Danin, a senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. "They also gave a sense that even the international community is aware of this corruption." In the diplomatic community, the effect of the WikiLeaks dump continues to have ripple effects, Danin says. Some foreign diplomats are still hesitant to speak candidly with U.S. officials, and on the American side, diplomats have to be a little less conspicuous about their note taking.

《新聞周刊》2011年中總結——維基解密和阿拉伯之春
Carl Court / AFP-Getty Images卡爾·蔻特/法新社-getty