Defence taskforce to examine leaked war files
Updated
Leak: The documents provide details on previously unreported civilian deaths. (AFP: Shah Marai, file photo)
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the Defence Department has set up a special taskforce to scrutinise tens of thousands of leaked US military documents about the war in Afghanistan.The 91,000 classified documents, released by Wikileaks, paint a grim picture of the conflict and the apparent double-dealing of the Pakistan military.
Spanning a six-year period, they reveal details of assassination plots, field intelligence, Pakistan's alleged support for the Taliban and previously unreported civilian deaths.
Ms Gillard says Defence will examine the documents to see what the implications are for Australia, which has about 1,500 troops in Afghanistan.
"I obviously am concerned to see a national security-style material leak," she said.
Australia is mentioned in some of the documents, mostly in reports about how they have come under enemy fire.
One report from December 2009 says Australian forces came under fire from four insurgents and that one Australian was wounded in action.
Another report from 2008 says an Australian was wounded after coming under fire from an unknown number of insurgents.
Ms Gillard says under the caretaker conventions, Defence will brief both the Government and the Opposition on the findings.
More leaks to come
US defence officials say the mole appears to have had secret clearance.They fear more leaks are possible, with the White House describing their disclosure as "illegal" and "alarming".
The leaks could have more of a political impact than operational one by raising new questions about the war strategy.
Yet while the Obama administration says it is outraged by the disclosure of the documents, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs is playing down their strategic impact, pointing out they mostly cover a period when George W Bush was president.
Reports that Pakistan's intelligence agency was helping the Taliban have been denied by Pakistan's ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani.
"Allegations of any arm of the Pakistani government collaborating or cooperating with the Taliban is absolutely wrong," he said.
"We all know it wouldn't make sense for us to help the Taliban who are killing our own soldiers and our own intelligence officers."
US president Barack Obama says he will review his Afghanistan policy at the end of the year.
The release of the files has also triggered an outcry from many of America's allies.
Britain says it regrets the leak, while Pakistan says the reports are "skewed" and not based on the reality on the ground.
A top NATO general is also calling for increased vigilance to thwart such security breaches.
But the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, says despite some legal issues, the questions the leaks raise are valid.
"However illegally these documents came to light, they raise serious questions about the reality of America's policy towards Pakistan and Afghanistan," he said.
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