The US government has issued an angry public condemnation of the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks, urging it not to go ahead with what would be the largest leak in history.

But, as Steve Clemons, a political strategist and director of the American Strategy Programme tells Al Jazeera, the damage for the US is going to be overwhelmingly diplomatic.

Much of the content of the three million secret documents is believed to be gossip and innuendo about foreign leaders, ranging from Tony Blair to Nelson Mandela.