Created from the WikiLeaks torrent of the Cablegate HTML files. A script was used to remove as much non-cable text and HTML as possible before converting the documents to PDF. Content remains otherwise unchanged and no additional redactions have been made.

Papers transmitted between embassies and Washington D.C., these diplomatic papers are not normal cables or electronic telegrams.

This division has custody of the Central Foreign Policy files on AAD that you requested. You may view a description of the files through NARA’s online catalog via this link: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/654098. The Central Foreign Policy files on AAD currently include the Electronic Telegrams, Electronic Telegrams Withdrawal Cards, P-Reel Document Index Entries and P-Reel Document Index Entries Withdrawal Cards for the years 1973 – 1978. Please note that we are in the process of preparing the 1979 files for AAD as well as replacements for the 1976 P-Reel Document Index Entries and Withdrawal Cards.

The Central Foreign Policy files on AAD consists of approximately 272 monthly files, some of which are public use files. The 1979 files consist of approximately 48 monthly files. All of the files are in XML. There are also 22 document type definition (DTD) files that contain the schema for the XML. We can only provide exact copies of these files. The records we provide to researchers are identical to the raw records we have loaded into AAD but without the AAD application. In this case, the AAD application renders the records as PDFs. However, the records are not preserved as individual PDFs; the records are in the monthly files that are in XML format.

You may obtain a copy of the files on removable media for a cost-recovery fee. Details on ordering electronic records, including available media and technical specifications, are at http://www.archives.gov/research/order/electronic-records.html. The cost-recovery reproduction fee for electronic records is a $17 fee per file when the order contains 10 or fewer files or a $14 fee per file when the order contains 11 or more files. If you ordered all of the files currently on AAD and the DTD files, the cost would be approximately $4,116. If you ordered the 1979 files once they are available, the cost would be approximately $672.

Since the files are raw data, they will not have the code meanings. Therefore, to interpret these records, you need the relevant technical documentation, which contains the code lists. The technical documentation for the files varies for each year and is available online via the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) resource on the same pages where you can search the records. You also have the option of ordering copies of the documentation at the cost of $0.80 per page.