The first Arab revolution was in Tunisia. Shortly before that there was a Wikileaks release about the corruption of the Tunisian dictator and his family. The success of the Tunisian revolution inspired the other Arab countries to revolt.
I believe this argument to be totally overblown. The release of the cables did nothing IMHO to inform the Tunisian people about the corruption of the Ben Ali and his family. I visit Tunisia regularly and have family there. The corruption was widely known throughout the country and spoken about behind closed doors. Ben Ali himself was tolerated but his wife and her family were despised.
You are absolutely correct. Wikileaks published a cable that said (paraphrasing) that the US was unsatisfied with Ben Ali and wouldn't mind if he went. This only helped the Tunisians understand their own government, and what was possible politically.
Are you kidding? The guy who set himself on fire did so because his fruit cart was taken. He wasn't some high minded HN/Reddit addict who dropped his monocle when he read about some corruption issue. Tunisians dont need wikileaks to tell them their government is corrupt.
Its sad that the netizen class is going to give wikileaks credit for everything good that happens from now on. What self-congratulatory armchair revolutionary nonsense.
