The same briefing gave warning that development of cruise and ballistic missiles in the Middle East and Asia could enable rogue states to fire weapons of mass destruction into neighbouring regions.
The leaked documents also disclose alarming details of the chemical and biological weapons programmes being pursued by rogue states such as Syria and North Korea.
Syria - which backs the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah – is believed to be developing chemical weapons using the lethal nerve agents sarin and VX, which shut down the nervous system in under a minute if inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
In December 2008, a company connected to the Syrian WMD programme attempted to buy a shipment of glass-lined reactors, heat exchangers and pumps used in weapons manufacturing from two Indian firms, prompting an intervention by the US.
Condoleezza Rice, then US Secretary of State, sent a strongly-worded cable classified "secret" to the US embassy in New Delhi instructing diplomats to order the Indian government to block the sale.
Threatening sanctions against the firms if they did not comply, Miss Rice urged embassy officials to remind the Indian government of its obligation "to never, under any circumstances, assist anyone in the development of chemical weapons".
The US has made similar interventions to block the sale of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons materials to North Korea.
In March 2008, US diplomats in Beijing urged the government to investigate a Chinese company which had agreed to sell a deadly chemical to North Korea.
The US has also been advised to make flattering overtures to North Korea to prevent the regime from feeling the need to flex its muscles by advancing its nuclear capabilities.
South Korean politicians told US diplomats last year that the North had made a show of testing nuclear missiles in the early months of Barack Obama's presidency because it was "feeling ignored and lonely" and was "trying to draw America's attention".
