Update August 7th: The Pentagon has raised its voice on Thursday against Wikileaks by requiring that the website returns immediately the 15,000 secret military documents on Afghanistan not yet published and remove those already released.
Update August 7th: Le Pentagone a haussé le ton jeudi contre WikiLeaks en exigeant que le site Internet d'information rende immédiatement les 15 000 documents militaires confidentiels sur l'Afghanistan qu'il n'a pas encore publiés et qu'il retire de la toile ceux déjà diffusés.
Tens of thousands of secret American military documents have been leaked disclosing how Nato forces have killed scores of civilians in unreported incidents in Afghanistan. The classified memos also reveal the secret efforts of coalition forces to hunt down and “kill or capture” senior Taliban and al-Qaeda figures. And they document growing evidence that Iran and Pakistan is supporting the insurgency. Although many of the claims in the documents, of which there are more than 90,000, have been aired previously, the leak to the website Wikileaks is highly embarrassing. It was condemned by the White House last night, which said the information could threaten the safety of coalition operations.
"In Disclosing Secret Documents, WikiLeaks Seeks Transparency." The NYT writes: "WikiLeaks.org, the online organization that posted tens of thousands of classified military field reports about the Afghan war on Sunday, says its goal in disclosing secret documents is to reveal “unethical behavior” by governments and corporations."
The Guardian
"The documents revealed a greater amount of violence in Afghanistan than had previously been reported by the military or the media, Julian Assange, Wikileaks organization's co-founder"
The Guardian, one of three news organizations with an advanced look at the documents, summarizes:
A huge cache of secret US military files today provides a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, Taliban attacks have soared and Nato commanders fear neighbouring Pakistan and Iran are fuelling the insurgency. The disclosures come from more than 90,000 records of incidents and intelligence reports about the conflict obtained by the whistleblowers' website Wikileaks in one of the biggest leaks in US military history. The files, which were made available to the Guardian, the New York Times and the German weekly Der Spiegel, give a blow-by-blow account of the fighting over the last six years, which has so far cost the lives of more than 320 British and over 1,000 US troops.
The group gave the documents in advance to the New York Times, Germany's Der Spiegel, and the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper, which independently confirmed their authenticity. The Guardian called the disclosure a "devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan," saying it reveals how the U.S.-led coalition has killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, Taliban attacks have risen, and NATO commanders worry that neighboring Pakistan and Iran are aiding the insurgency.
About 76,900 of the files, which the group calls the "Afghan War Diary", appeared on Wikileaks.org at around 4 p.m. July 25 2010. Wikileaks says it has delayed the release of an additional 15,000 files to allow names and other sensitive information to be removed.
The New York Times
"It shows not only the severe incidents but the general squalor of war, from the death of individual children to major operations that kill hundreds," Julian Assange.
In a statement, White House national security adviser James Jones criticized the release of the documents, saying the disclosure could put American lives and national security at risk: The United States strongly condemns the disclosure of classified information by individuals and organizations which could put the lives of Americans and our partners at risk, and threaten our national security. Wikileaks made no effort to contact us about these documents--the United States government learned from news organizations that these documents would be posted. These irresponsible leaks will not impact our ongoing commitment to deepen our partnerships with Afghanistan and Pakistan; to defeat our common enemies; and to support the aspirations of the Afghan and Pakistani people.
A video leaked earlier this year, which Wikileaks titled "Collateral Murder," shows a U.S. military helicopter in Iraq destroying a vehicle that was preparing to rush a wounded journalist to a hospital. The Apache pilots appeared to mistake a news crew, who were holding cameras, for armed insurgents. Army intelligence specialist Bradley Manning, the serviceman who allegedly provided the videos to Wikileaks, has been charged with unlawfully divulging classified information and could face a significant prison sentence.
What is behind the disclosure of military documents on Afghan war by Wikileaks, Guardian, New York Times, Der Spiegel?
"The articles published today are based on thousands of United States military incident and intelligence reports — records of engagements, mishaps, intelligence on enemy activity and other events from the war in Afghanistan — that were made public on Sunday on the Internet. The New York Times, The Guardian newspaper in London, and the German magazine Der Spiegel were given access to the material several weeks ago. These reports are used by desk officers in the Pentagon and troops in the field when they make operational plans and prepare briefings on the situation in the war zone. Most of the reports are routine, even mundane, but many add insights, texture and context to a war that has been waged for nearly nine years." The New York Times writes.
Quotes Guardian:
A huge cache of secret US military files today provides a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, Taliban attacks have soared and Nato commanders fear neighbouring Pakistan and Iran are fuelling the insurgency.
The disclosures come from more than 90,000 records of incidents and intelligence reports about the conflict obtained by the whistleblowers' website Wikileaks in one of the biggest leaks in US military history. The files, which were made available to the Guardian, the New York Times and the German weekly Der Spiegel, give a blow-by-blow account of the fighting over the last six years, which has so far cost the lives of more than 320 British and more than 1,000 US troops.
Their publication comes amid mounting concern that Barack Obama's "surge" strategy is failing and as coalition troops hunt for two US naval personnel captured by the Taliban south of Kabul on Friday.
The war logs also detail:
How a secret "black" unit of special forces hunts down Taliban leaders for "kill or capture" without trial.
How the US covered up evidence that the Taliban have acquired deadly surface-to-air missiles.
How the coalition is increasingly using deadly Reaper drones to hunt and kill Taliban targets by remote control from a base in Nevada.
How the Taliban have caused growing carnage with a massive escalation of their roadside bombing campaign, which has killed more than 2,000 civilians to date.
In a statement, the White House said the chaotic picture painted by the logs was the result of "under-resourcing" under Obama's predecessor, saying: "It is important to note that the time period reflected in the documents is January 2004 to December 2009."
The White House also criticised the publication of the files by Wikileaks: "We strongly condemn the disclosure of classified information by individuals and organisations, which puts the lives of the US and partner service members at risk and threatens our national security. Wikileaks made no effort to contact the US government about these documents, which may contain information that endanger the lives of Americans, our partners, and local populations who co-operate with us."
The logs detail, in sometimes harrowing vignettes, the toll on civilians exacted by coalition forces: events termed "blue on white" in military jargon. The logs reveal 144 such incidents.
Quotes of Der Spiegel: In an unprecedented development, close to 92,000 classified documents pertaining to the war in Afghanistan have been leaked. SPIEGEL, the New York Times and the Guardian have analyzed the raft of mostly classified documents. The war logs expose the true scale of the Western military deployment -- and the problems beleaguering Germany's Bundeswehr in the Hindu Kush.""
End of Quotes
Sources: Wikileaks, New York Times, Der Spiegel, the Guardian, Telegraph, Cnet, BBC.
Comments:
✍✍✍ Tens of thousands of secret American military documents have been leaked disclosing how Nato forces have killed scores of civilians in unreported incidents in Afghanistan. At least a real work by media, so much waited for and expected while most of nations see no pictures of the war.
✍✍✍ Is it a leakage, therefore a default within the US authorities? Is it going to cost further damages?
✍✍✍ The only hot spot on the planet is the standoff between the Pentagon and Wikileaks. I expect the worst, ie a man to death. This is a news to follow.
Eng: 𝌐 Asian Gazette : Thank you for your opinions. We believe here that the confidentiality of certain documents must be respected. Laws exist to protect the privacy of individuals, similarly, there are laws to protect top secret documents and confidential defense documents. It is a very serious issue and should be encouraged by the media under the same principle as the Latin proverb: "Primum Non Nocere" : "First do not harm!"
Fr: 𝌐 Asian Gazette: Merci pour vos avis. Nous pensons ici que le caractère confidentiel de certains documents doit être respecté. Des lois existent pour protéger la vie privée des individus, de même, il existe des lois pour protéger les documents top-secret et confidentiel-défense. C'est une affaire très grave. et qui devrait être respectée par les médias selon le même principe : «Primum non nocere»: «D'abord ne pas nuire!"
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