The release of secret diplomatic memos by Wikileaks caused incalculable damage for the USA. Notwithstanding some nice lip services from embarrassed politicians, the overall consensus in the European media is that the revelations are a disaster for America, hugely damaging and a political meltdown for US foreign policy, and that they expose the superpower’s weaknesses and create a crisis for German-American relations with unpredictable consequences. One German paper wrote that Americas reserve of trust is empty and those documents are like a weapon of mass destruction on the last traces of trust. Why is all of this happening? The answer, even though VERY clear, might surprise you.