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Diplomatic cable

society Maturity 11-13 Next article →

A diplomatic cable is a very special kind of secret message.

Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram

It is a text message sent between two important places. One place is a diplomatic mission. This could be an embassy or a consulate. These missions act as homes for a country in a foreign land. The other place is a foreign ministry. This is a group that helps a country talk to other lands. These messages are often called a DipTel or an embassy cable.

Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram

These cables work like a private way to share news.

Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram

They are a type of dispatch. A dispatch is a formal report sent from one place to another. Some dispatches are sent as physical documents in a diplomatic bag. Today, most cables are digital in their format. They move through computers instead of paper. This helps the news travel quickly between countries. The messages stay private so only the right people can read them.

Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram

In the past, the way people sent these notes was different.

Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram

The word cable comes from the old way of sending news. People used telegraphs to send messages. These telegraphs traveled along cables under the sea. These are called international submarine communications cables. Sometimes people call these messages cablegrams. Even though the tools have changed, the name has stayed.

Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram

One famous message is the Zimmermann telegram.

Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram

This was a coded cable sent on 16 January 1917. Arthur Zimmermann sent the message. He was the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire. He sent it to Heinrich von Eckardt. Eckardt was the German ambassador in Mexico. This message was a very important piece of history.

Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram

Because these messages are so sensitive, they need strong security.

Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram

Countries use elaborate precautions to keep them safe. They want to stop the public from reading them. They also want to stop other governments from seeing them. Most cables are encrypted to keep them secret. They often use a one time pad cipher. This is a type of code that is very hard to break. Diplomatic couriers help by carrying the key material to the right people.

Zimmermann Telegram
Zimmermann Telegram
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