The White House condemned the leak of about 900,000 classified U.S. military records posted online by Wikileaks Sunday.
The documents, which cover a time period from January 2004 to December 2009, contain information about U.S. military efforts on the ground in Afghanistan, including information about civilian deaths and details about Taliban use of heat-seeking missiles, according to The New York Times, which received early copies of the reports along with London’s the Guardian newspaper and Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine.
In a statement released Sunday, President Obama’s national security advisor, Gen. James Jones, said the disclosure of these documents could put the lives of Americans and U.S. partners at risk and threaten the nation’s security.
“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 reports cover a time period before Obama announced a new strategy on Dec. 1, 2009 to increase resources in Afghanistan and increase focus on al Qaeda and Taliban safe-havens in Pakistan. While challenges lie ahead, Jones said Obama’s strategy aims to address conflicts presented by violent extremist groups, increase bilateral efforts, and support the local people.
“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,” he said. “The United States remains committed to a strong, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan.”
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