US soldiers can be demoralized by WikiLeaks docs: Morrell
World
US soldiers can be demoralized by WikiLeaks docs: Morrell
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says US did not ignore detainee abuse, following the release of classified military documents. The Pentagon decried the website's publication of the secret reports, the largest security breach of its kind in US military history, far surpassing the group's dump of more than 70,000 Afghan war files in July.US officials said the leak endangered U.S. troops and threatened to put some 300 Iraqi collaborators at risk by exposing their identities. The bottom line is, our forces are still very much in danger here as a result of this exposure, given the fact that our tactics, techniques and procedures are exposed in these documents. And our enemies are undoubtedly going to try to use them against us, and making their jobs even more difficult and dangerous, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said. Working with Iraq Body Count, a group run by academics and peace activists that estimates Iraq casualties, WikiLeaks had calculated that the documents revealed about 15,000 previously unknown civilian deaths. Morrell spoke about casualties and the allegations made about US forces. WikiLeaks said it had edited out sensitive information and was confident the documents contained no detail that could lead to anyone being harmed. The Iraq war files, spanning 2003 to 2009, touched on other themes, including well-known US concerns about Iranian training and support for some Iraqi militias. More than 4,400 US soldiers have been killed since the start of the 2003 US-led invasion. All US forces are set to withdraw from Iraq by the end of next year.
