The leaking of what appears to be more than 90,000 secret U.S. military records has shed light on the Afghanistan war -- and angered the White House.
In a statement, President Obama's national security advisor, Marine Gen. James L. Jones, condemned the "disclosure of classified information" that he said could put the lives of Americans at risk and threaten the nation's security.WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website that posted the documents late Sunday, provided the files in advance to a number of media outlets including the New York Times, the Guardian newspaper in London and German magazine Der Spiegel. The Los Angeles Times has yet to review the documents, which you can find here.
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, told the Guardian -- the paper turned the files into an easy-to-navigate interactive feature on their website -- he made the decision to publish the files because it "shows the true nature of the war."
Dozens of readers have responded to the news of the links. Here's a few of their comments:
xomo00 wrote: I find the following statement of incredible cynicism:
"In a statement, President Obama's national security advisor, Marine Gen. James L. Jones, deplored the "disclosure of classified information" that he said could put the lives of Americans and U.S. partners at risk and threaten the nation's security."
1- This has been used more than once to undermine freedom of speech, a democratic fundament.
2- The lives of Americans (of the north) are at risk because the U.S. is ILLEGALLY invading and murdering the people of Afghanistan and Iraq who have done nothing to them and are DEFENDING their own countries.
When will the U.S. stop their permanent wars in this world? Please STOP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I beg you!
quatidion wrote: Wikileaks believes that ALL information should be made public. It does not believe that any person, government or company has the right to private information.
With one exception. The Wikileaks founder will not release information about himself or his company. He feels that it would put his freedom, even possibly his life, in jepordy. He readily ADMITS that his publication of information will cause others to lose their lives and liberty. He accepts this as the price of free access to information.
Only, not at his expense.
I think he needs to be outed so he can share the fate, and the common destiny, of the people he puts at risk.
Warren wrote: Its to bad that Chenney and Bush didn't finish this war before they moved on to the illegal invision of Iraq. Nine years later we are still fighting the was that Chenney and Bush said would be easy to win within a few months. We've have spent over a trillion dollars on both of these wars and still spending more each year. On top of it all, nine years later our we are in the wrost depression since the 30s because of the Chenney/Bush and the GOP policies from 2001 - 2006. The time has to get out of Iraq and figure out what the hell we are doing in Afghanistan and how to get out of there.
kcooper35 wrote: What we need is to reinstate the draft or set up a program similar to other nations where military service for some period of time is mandatory. Maybe then those who now laud these traitorous acts will change their tune as they come to realize that releases such as these might very well ultimately end up hurting them and/or their friends.Melvin Painter wrote: Hey odumba, could it be that you forgot that you ordered the leak. I understand how this could easily have happen as with all the golfing, partying, nights on the town, pandering to the Mexicans, and trashing Israel, it's hard to keep track of what you are supposed to be doing.
Did WikiLeaks cross a line by releasing the classified documents? The Obama administration says the disclosure could put the lives of Americans at risk and threaten the nation's security -- do you believe that? If you've explored the files yourself or read stories from other outlets, has your view on the war changed?
-- Gerrick D. Kennedy
Photo: U.S. soldiers in Kuhak inspect a bomb from the era of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times