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Afghan-related files of Pak agencies leaked
WASHINGTON: The US government has condemned the leak of more than 90,000 military documents on the war in Afghanistan, including details of Afghan civilian deaths, covert operations against the Taliban.Pakistan's ambassador to the United States on Sunday denounced the leak of secret files on the Afghan war and insisted his nation was fully committed to fighting insurgents.
Ambassador Hussain Haqqani called the release of the file by web whistleblower site Wikileaks “irresponsible,” saying it consisted of “unprocessed” reports from the field.
“The documents circulated by Wikileaks do not reflect the current on ground realities,” Haqqani said in a statement.
“The United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan are strategic partners and are jointly endeavoring to defeat Al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies militarily and politically,” he said.
James Jones, the US national security adviser, said the US "strongly condemns the disclosure of classified information by individuals and organisations which could put the lives of Americans and our partners at risk and threaten our national 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."
The unverified documents allegedly consists largely of classified reports and assessments from junior officers in the field that analysts use to advise policymakers.
It is unclear who the source of the leaked documents is, and Jones did not address the veracity of the information contained in the leaks.
He did point out that the documents "reportedly cover a period of time from January 2004 to December 2009", the bulk of which time George Bush, the former US president, was in office.
Jones also noted that Barack Obama, who took over from Bush, announced on December 1, 2009 "a new strategy with a substantial increase in resources for Afghanistan, and increased focus on al- Qaeda and Taliban safe-havens in Pakistan".
"This shift in strategy addressed challenges in Afghanistan that were the subject of an exhaustive policy review last fall," Jones said.
The documents were released by the online whistle-blower Wikileaks website, which gave US newspaper The New York Times, Britain's Guardian newspaper and the German weekly Der Spiegel access earlier.
Eric Schmitt, one of the New York Times reporters who worked on the story, told said that the documents gave an unvarnished view of the war – a "very fine grain, down on the ground level detail that hasn't been revealed before ... whether it's in firefights or drone activities, secret operations performed by commandos of the CIA".
They painted "a much grimmer picture and portrayal than either the Bush or Obama administrations have allowed so far," he said.
According to the reports, the US deploys special forces to work from a capture or kill list, missions that were stepped up under the Obama administration and that have led to some civilian deaths.
Also, the US has tried to cover up the fact that the Taliban have heat seeking surface to air missiles.
And the documents say the CIA expanded paramilitary operations in Afghanistan and ran the Afghan spy agency from 2001-2008.
The documents also describe US fears that ally Pakistan's intelligence service was aiding the Taliban.
According to the Times, the documents suggest Pakistan "allows representatives of its spy service to meet directly with the Taliban in secret strategy sessions to organise networks of militant groups that fight against American soldiers in Afghanistan, and even hatch plots to assassinate Afghan leaders".
That prompted Pakistan's ambassador to the US to denounce the leak and insist his nation was fully committed to fighting al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Hussain Haqqani called the release of the files "irresponsible" and said it consisted of "unprocessed" reports from the field.
He added the democratically elected government in Pakistan led by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, is committed to fight and alienate the terrorists and Pakistan armed forces and intelligence agencies are effectively pursuing the same policy.
Courtesy www.Geo.tv