The ever-growing number of US diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks has meant serious trouble for an increasing number of politicians and government officials around the world.

The WikiLeaks revelations have been front-page news in the Netherlands since last week; two senior Dutch officials are now in hot water for their conversations with the US embassy. One of them, Pieter de Gooijer, asked the embassy to put pressure on then deputy prime minister and Labour Party leader Wouter Bos to give up his opposition to an extension of the Dutch military mission in Afghanistan. The other recommended the US put a price on the head of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony.

Netherlands
The Labour Party was furious and demanded an explanation. Did De Gooijer act on his own initiative or on the instructions of his minister? And can the civil servant, who has since been appointed senior Dutch representative at the European Union, stay on in Brussels?

Current Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal said the cables were simply the interpretations of the US embassy, for which its diplomats bore sole responsibility. And Minister Rosenthal denied that the other civil servant had suggested killing a Ugandan rebel leader.

Switzerland & China
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, Rudolf Elmer, a former bank employee, had to appear in court on charges of passing secret banking information to WikiLeaks. The public prosecutor there is seeking an eight-month jail sentence and a 1,450-euro fine.

And in China, officials must have been less than thrilled about the report that they have effectively given up on North Korea. According to one of the cables, Chinese deputy minister He Yafei said North Korea had lately been acting like a "spoiled child" to attract the attention of the United States.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, & Zimbabwe
It’s no secret that the Pakistani army cannot be trusted when it comes to secretly supporting insurgents like the Taliban, but it's not something a diplomat would ever say out loud. So when diplomatic cables saying just that are then published on the internet, it doesn't exactly facilitate bilateral relations.

Cables also reveal King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia repeatedly urging the US to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities - embarrassing, as Abdullah and other Arab leaders like to pretend they are getting along just fine with the Iranians.

Meanwhile, former Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai reportedly asked the US to maintain sanctions against President Robert Mugabe, even after he had joined the government. Mr Tsvangirai may now face treason charges.

Harm around the world
And that is only a random selection of the victims of WikiLeaks. It is clear that Wikileaks’ leader Julian Assange’s assurances that his revelations would not harm anyone cannot be taken at face value.