Latest Round of WikiLeaks Shows Contempt for Many World Leaders

The latest round of WikiLeaks shows how much contempt the United States has for many of the other world leaders. From the Royal family to allies to enemies, a long list of dirty laundry has been exposed about how government officials feel about other government officials around the world. The question is how much will it hurt the United States reputation around the world, or is this really any surprise to anyone? I think the latter, and the latest round of leaks wasn't really worth the build up. Of course, I may still be wrong since there are thousands and thousands that will be analyzed in the coming days.

Of course, we know what much of the world thought of George W. Bush while he was in office, so anyone who thinks the United States is the only country that thinks this way is sadly mistaken.

Here are some of the basics from the leaks:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy: ‘has a thin-skinned and authoritarian personal style’ and is an ‘emperor with no clothes’

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi: ‘feckless, vain and ineffective as a modern European leader’. He is a ‘physically and politically weak’ leader whose ‘frequent late nights and penchant for partying hard mean he does not get sufficient rest’

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev: ‘plays Robin to Putin’s Batman’ and is ‘pale and hesitant’

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin: an ‘alpha dog’

Chancellor Angela Merkel: ‘avoids risks and is rarely creative’

Iranian President Mahmoud Amhadinejad: like ‘Hitler’

Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi: is ‘strange’ and ‘accompanied by voluptuous blonde Ukranian “nurse”’

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan: governs with ‘a cabal of incompetent advisors’

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il: ‘flabby old chap’ who suffers from ‘physical and psychological trauma’

Afghan president, Hamid Karzai: ‘driven by paranoia’ and ‘an extremely weak man who did not listen to facts but was instead easily swayed by anyone who came to report even the most bizarre stories or plots against him’

Zimbabwean tyrant, Robert Mugabe: ‘the crazy old man’