WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Friday that he was disappointed by criticism from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates over the release of about 76,000 pages of U.S. documents related to the war in Afghanistan.
Gates said Thursday that the massive leak will have significant impact on troops and allies, revealing techniques and procedures.
Assange rejected that assessment Friday, saying in a release that Gates 'has overseen the killings of thousands of children and adults' in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, also criticized Assange and the person who gave him the documents. WikiLeaks, Mullen said, was risking lives to make a political point.
So, while Assange isn't going to give up his source, it wouldn't hurt for him to show where they scrubbed identifying info on personnel, or ways & means, from the reports. They didn't. They've given away intel not only on what we know, but in some cases they've given away intel on how we know it. Does Assange account for his actions? Nope. He counterattacks. It doesn't mean his point about Gates might be valid or not. What it means is that it's irrelevant to the criticisms leveled by Gates and Mullen, and Assange fails to respond to the, instead choosing to obfuscate the point by making political gamey and spurious counterattacks.
Assange's statement Friday was harshly critical of Gates, particularly over deaths in Afghanistan.
"Secretary Gates could have used his time, as other nations have done, to announce a broad inquiry into these killings," the statement said. "He could have announced specific criminal investigations into the deaths we have exposed. He could have announced a panel to hear the heartfelt dissent of U.S. soldiers, who know this war from the ground. He could have apologized to the Afghani people.
"But he did none of these things. He decided to treat these issues and the countries affected by them with contempt. Instead of explaining how he would address these issues, he decided to announce how he would suppress them.
"This behavior is unacceptable. We will not be suppressed. We will continue to expose abuses by this administration and others."
Wow. I suppose when those abuses are the creation of some creative editing of camera footage, you can "expose" all sorts of things. One wonders if Assange is distantly related to Kelso from That '70s Show.
By: Brant
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