A whistleblower leaked tens of thousands of secret military files on the Afghan war yesterday, documenting the deaths of innocent civilians and how Pakistan’s spy agency secretly supports the Taliban.
The leaks prompted a furious reaction from the White House, saying they put the lives of soldiers at risk, but the man behind the revelations said the controversy vindicated the decision to break cover.
In all, about 92,000 documents dating back to 2004 were released by the whistleblowers’ Web site, Wikileaks, to the New York Times, Britain’s Guardian newspaper and Germany’s Der Spiegel news weekly.
The documents carry allegations that Iran is providing money and arms to Taliban insurgents, and details how widespread corruption is hampering a war now in its ninth year.
The New York Times said the archive illustrated “in mosaic detail why, after the United States has spent almost US$300 billion on the war, the Taliban are stronger than at any time since 2001,” while the Guardian said the files painted “a devastating portrait of the failing war.”
The Guardian said the files acknowledge at least 195 civilian deaths, adding “this is likely to be an underestimate because many disputed incidents are omitted from the daily snapshots reported by troops on the ground.”
The bulk of the deaths are shootings by jumpy soldiers manning checkpoints but they include details of how a deaf and dumb man who ran “out of fear and confusion” when a CIA squad entered his home village was then shot dead after he could not hear shouted orders to stop.
The most controversial allegations center around claims that Pakistan, a key US ally, allows its spies to meet directly with the Taliban.
According to the Times, Pakistan agents and Taliban representatives met regularly “in secret strategy sessions to organize networks of militant groups that fight against American soldiers in Afghanistan, and even hatch plots to assassinate Afghan leaders.”
In one document, former Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence spy chief Hamid Gul is described at a meeting in January last year with insurgents following the killing of an al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan named Zamarai, also known as Osama al-Kini.
“The meeting attendees were saddened by the news of Zamarai’s death and discussed plans to complete Zamarai’s last mission by facilitating the movement of a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device from Pakistan to Afghanistan through the Khan Pass,” it said.
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