WikiLeaks Warning: State Department to Students "Link to Documents and You'll Never Work for Us"

UPDATE 1400 GMT: State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson comments:

To talk about current events is one thing. Would talking about it make you ineligible for a job at the State Department? No. But to go into detail, and propagate information that was illegally obtained—I don't think that's a good move for anyone. Not Julian Assange, not Wikileaks, and not any U.S. citizen.

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For those thinking of a career in the US State Department, the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University is one of the premier locations for training and contacts.

On Tuesday, the School offered a valuable case of diplomacy in action, as it sent this e-mail to its students:

From: "Office of Career Services" <sipa_ocs@columbia.edu>

Date: November 30, 2010 15:26:53 ESTTo: 

Hi students,

We received a call today from a SIPA alumnus who is working at the State Department.  He asked us to pass along the following information to anyone who will be applying for jobs in the federal government, since all would require a background investigation and in some instances a security clearance.

The documents released during the past few months through Wikileaks are still considered classified documents. He recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter. Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government.

Regards,
Office of Career Services

(hat tip to The Arabist)