US condemns disclosure of Afghan documents on WikiLeaks

File photo of US National Security Advisor General James Jones.

The United States has strongly condemned the disclosure of classifed information on the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, which has released close to 91,000 documents from the Afghanistan battlefront which, among other things, reportedly show the role of Pakistani agencies and the Taliban in fighting Western military forces.

Media reports said the documents also showed how NATO forces had killed scores of civilians in unreported incidents in Afghanistan and revealed the secret efforts of coalition forces to "kill or capture" senior Taliban and al Qaeda figures.

According to the reports, the documents point to the influence of foreign governments in the insurgency. They suggest that members of Pakistan's security forces, especially the Inter Services Intelligence, had met Taliban leaders to organise resistance against the US forces and assassinate US-supported Afghan leaders.

US National Security Advisor Gen James Jones said in a statement here on Sunday that the disclosure could put the lives of Americans and their partners at risk and threaten the country's 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," he said.

The statement said the documents posted by WikiLeaks reportedly covered a period of time from January 2004 to December 2009.

"On December 1, 2009, President Obama announced a new strategy with a substantial increase in resources for Afghanistan, and increased focus on al Qaeda and Taliban safe-havens in Pakistan, precisely because of the grave situation that had developed over several years. This shift in strategy addressed challenges in Afghanistan that were the subject of an exhaustive policy review last fall.

"We know that serious challenges lie ahead, but if Afghanistan is permitted to slide backwards, we will again face a threat from violent extremist groups like al Qaeda who will have more space to plot and train. That is why we are now focused on breaking the Taliban’s momentum and building Afghan capacity so that the Afghan government can begin to assume responsibility for its future. The United States remains committed to a strong, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan," Gen Jones said.

He said that, since 2009, the US and Pakistan had deepened their important bilateral partnership.

Gen Jones said counter-terrorism cooperation had led to significant blows against al Qaeda's leadership. He said the Pakistani military had gone on the offensive in Swat and South Waziristan, at great cost to the Pakistani military and people.

He also pointed out that the US and Pakistan had commenced a Strategic Dialogue, which had expanded cooperation on issues ranging from security to economic development.

"Pakistan and Afghanistan have also improved their bilateral ties, most recently through the completion of a Transit-Trade Agreement. Yet the Pakistani government – and Pakistan’s military and intelligence services – must continue their strategic shift against insurgent groups. The balance must shift decisively against al Qaeda and its extremist allies. U.S. support for Pakistan will continue to be focused on building Pakistani capacity to root out violent extremist groups, while supporting the aspirations of the Pakistani people," he added.

Wikileaks said the document set, called the Afghan War Diary (AWD), "an extraordinary compendium" of over 91,000 reports, covered the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010.

"The reports, while written by soldiers and intelligence officers mainly describing lethal military actions involving the United States military, also include intelligence information, reports of meetings with political figures, and related detail," it said.

"The reports cover most units from the US Army with the exception of most US Special Forces' activities. The reports do not generally cover top-secret operations or European and other ISAF Forces operations.

"We have delayed the release of some 15,000 reports from the total archive as part of a harm minimization process demanded by our source. After further review, these reports will be released, with occasional redactions, and eventually, in full, as the security situation in Afghanistan permits," it said.

WikiLeaks describes itself as a multi-jurisdictional public service designed to protect whistleblowers, journalists and activists who have sensitive materials to communicate to the public.

"We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. All governments can benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information. Historically that information has been costly - in terms of human life and human rights. But with technological advances - the internet, and cryptography - the risks of conveying important information can be lowered," it says.

"We believe that it is not only the people of one country that keep their government honest, but also the people of other countries who are watching that government. That is why the time has come for an anonymous global avenue for disseminating documents the public should see," it says.

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