Updated to add background:
Nick Davies and David Leigh
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.
moreBy THE NEW YORK TIMES
The At War blog will be providing coverage of the reaction to the release of an archive of classified military documents described below that paints a grim portrait of the war in Afghanistan. The New York Times had access to the documents and published a series of reports that are gathered here.9:56 p.m. |
Kerry Says ‘Serious Questions’ Raised by DocumentsSenator John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the documents released by WikiLeaks raised serious issues about the U.S.’s handling of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“However illegally these documents came to light, they raise serious questions about the reality of America’s policy toward Pakistan and Afghanistan. Those policies are at a critical stage and these documents may very well underscore the stakes and make the calibrations needed to get the policy right more urgent.”
6:46 p.m. |
White House Offers Advice to ReportersThe White House e-mailed the following statement with the subject line “Thoughts on Wikileaks” to reporters on Sunday evening. In the memo, the White House advised journalists on possible reporting tacks to take on the documents and pointed them to an excerpt from The Guardian newspaper’s report:
You all should have received a written statement from General Jones (
see update below) about the wikileaks release. Please let me know if you didn’t.
A few thoughts about these stories on background:
1) I don’t think anyone who follows this issue will find it surprising that there are concerns about ISI and safe havens in Pakistan. In fact, we’ve said as much repeatedly and on the record. Attached please find a document with some relevant quotes from senior USG officials.
2) The period of time covered in these documents (January 2004-December 2009) is before the President announced his new strategy. Some of the disconcerting things reported are exactly why the President ordered a three month policy review and a change in strategy.
3) Note the interesting graphs (pasted below) from the Guardian’s wikileaks story. I think they help put these documents in context.
4) As you report on this issue, it’s worth noting that wikileaks is not an objective news outlet but rather an organization that opposes US policy in Afghanistan.
more Pakistan Aids Insurgency in Afghanistan, Reports AssertWhoa!