Part way through our afternoons reading in the latest document dump from Wikileaks the thought occurred to us that maybe Julian Assange is an American agent. We dont have anything to suggest such a thing, other than the thought that when one digs through all the chaff here theres not much that makes America look bad. There are, however, number of things that seem destined, when they start percolating into the diplomatic dialogue, to work to our advantage.

For starters, feature the disclosure that the Arabs want an attack on Irans nuclear program. Heretofore this point has been getting only vague focus. Via Wikileaks, however, this is put into sharp relief, with the disclosure of what the Jerusalem Post called a secret diplomatic cable from the American embassy at Riyadh about a meeting in 2008 between the Saudi king, Abdullah, and the American ambassador, Ryan Crocker, and General Petraeus.

According to the Post, the cable quotes a former Saudi envoy in the U.S., Abdel al-Jubeir, as recalling the Kings frequent exhortations to the US to attack Iran and so put an end to its nuclear weapons program. Quoth the king, according to Wikileaks document dump: Cut off the head of the snake. Ordinarily it would be awkward for America to get this kind of diplomatic cable traffic out in public. Now we have Mr. Assange to the rescue.

Or take the disclosures about the United Nations. The U.N., after all, is a body that has taken American money for years  and in incredible abundance  but has become a runaway institution. How could Americans get it through to the cynics in Turtle Bay just how low is the disrepute in which they are held by even a left-of-center American administration? Why not have old Julian Assange leak a trove of documents?

One of the documents in the dump of diplomatic traffic Sunday, according to the New York Times, was a cable signed by Secretary Clinton listing information-gathering priorities to American staff members at the United Nations headquarters in New York, including biographic and biometric information on ranking North Korean diplomats. The Times suggests that international treaties prohibit spying at the United Nations. So how could the United Nations be put on notice save for an actor like Mr. Assange?

Then there is the matter of Italy under Prime Minister Berlusconi. How in the devil could the Americans get a message through to billionaire premier in respect of just how inappropriate his behavior as been? How about having someone like Julian Assange leak a lot of cable traffic about the prime ministers penchant for such sex parties as would make a President Clinton or a JFK blush? Or sending, via such cables, a message that we are onto his questionable deals with the Russians?

Finally  for the moment  theres the pesky British. It has been obvious since almost the day Mr. Obama acceded to the presidency that he has little use for what used to be called the special relationship. The British havent been getting the message. Now, however, comes the disclosure of cable traffic that a gleeful London Guardian says will be particularly dismaying in Britain.

It includes such nuggets as disparaging private remarks about the prime minister, David Cameron, by the governor of the Bank of England and what the Guardian calls a scornful analysis of British paranoia over what the Guardian calls the so-called special relationship. Not to mention the disclosure of American shock at what the Guardian calls the rude behaviour of Prince Andrew when abroad, the [s]ecret US military missions flown from a UK base, which Britain alleged could involve torture, and a plan to deceive the British parliament over the use of banned US weapons. Special relationship, indeed.

No doubt it is ridiculous to imagine that Mr. Assange is an American agent; a month ago there was brief speculation along these lines in the Iranian press. But if one were trying to put into the field someone to pose as an enemy of America, who would more clearly fit the part than the earnest Australian? The key question is that old poser of forensics, Who benefits? The tip-off is that everyone from President Obama to Secretary of State Clinton to Defense Secretary Gates has denounced what Mr. Assange has been doing. But neither Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton, nor Mr. Gates has done anything about it.