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State Department Fears More Leaked Files
July 30, 2010 - 10:42 PM | by: LA HolmesState Department officials expressed concern Friday that whistleblower website Wikileaks.org may release classified departmental cables and worry that further leaks could threaten diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley acknowledged in a briefing Friday that several diplomatic cables were part of the most recent Wikileaks file dump. “There were a handful of cables that came out among this tranche, maybe five or six,” Crowley said. Still unknown is precisely what information those cables contain, but Crowley said classified documents likely were released that compromise diplomatic affairs in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“We have the same concern on our end that the military has on its end,” Crowley said. “We rely on sources to provide us information and perspective that allows us to understand what’s going on around the world and make sure that our policies are appropriate to those circumstances. If those sources are compromised, we lose valuable information, and sources – in many cases, human sources – can be put at risk.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said in an briefing Thursday that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange "might already have the blood of soldiers or Afghan families on his hands." Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates leveled sharp criticism at Assange, ramping up the Obama Administration’s response that earlier this week maintained that the leaks, while egregious, would have little impact on American efforts in the region.
The government has made overtures to Assange, but its ability to communicate with him is weak at best. “He’s not an American citizen, so our ability to talk to him, wherever he might be, is obviously limited,” Crowley said. “Whether or not he’ll come forward and engage in a constructive process, I can’t say.”
Assange seems thus far to be unwilling to engage the US government. He fired back at Gates and Mullen Friday, claiming his website sheds light on what Assange claims are cover-up efforts. “Secretary Gates has overseen the killings of thousands of children and adults in [Iraq and Afghanistan],” he said in a video statement released to CNN. Assange asserted Wikileaks “will continue to expose abuses by this administration and others.”
The investigation into how privileged State Department documents were leaked is ongoing and may not yield results for some time.
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