According to the Associated Press, 30 July 2010, “A criminal investigation into the leak of tens of thousands of secret Afghanistan war logs could go beyond the military, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday, and he did not rule out that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could be a target.”
Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called the release of the documents that WikiLeaks calls its “Afghan War Diary” deeply damaging and potentially life-threatening for Afghan informants or others who have taken risks to help the U.S. and NATO war effort in Afghanistan.
The most damaging report from the leaks is certainly the naming of Afghans who help the U.S. and NATO forces and are now in danger for their lives.
It has been reported that Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said that they (the Taliban) were studying and investigating the report: “If they are US spies, then we know how to punish them.”
Admiral Mike Mullen said that Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, may already have blood on his hands with the deaths of Afghans who have supported the U.S.
It has been reported that Assange told the Australian Broadcasting Corp that WikiLeaks had contacted the White House — via The New York Times acting as intermediary — and offered to let government officials go through the documents to make sure no innocent people were identified. Assange said that the White House did not respond to the approach.
Why haven’t we heard about this in the U.S. press?
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I’m sure that is the reason that Gates turned it over to the FBI, even that may be an exercise in futility. It will be interesting to see what happens when the report reaches Holder’s desk, however, the history of the acts and actions will remain.
Agree,
thx, tom