Posted on 08/05/2010 9:52:54 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
LONDON (Reuters) – A leak of thousands of classified U.S. military documents has damaged the ability of foreign forces to gain the support of Afghans against the Taliban, a British military spokesman said on Thursday.
Major-General Gordon Messenger told reporters the leak last month by whistleblowing organization WikiLeaks had not given Taliban insurgents a tactical advantage, but the documents' disclosure of Afghan contacts could deter further cooperation.
"I think the damage that I would highlight is to the Afghans that were named. We rely upon very, very many Afghans who are prepared to nail their colors to the legitimate Afghanistan, and do so sometimes with much courage," Messenger said.
"If we do anything that undermines that trust, that expression of loyalty, then I think that is going to have an impact," he added.
Concern is growing over the progress of the unpopular nine-year war in Afghanistan against the al Qaeda-allied Taliban. Recent months have been the deadliest for the 150,000 NATO-led, U.S.-dominated, foreign troops in the country.
Some of the leaked documents allege that Western forces may have tried to cover up civilian casualties, casting the war in a more negative light and angering Washington, which has said the leaks erode its allies' trust.
The documents also cast a spotlight on concerns that the Pakistani intelligence agency had aided the Taliban.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Wikileaks = leftist scum continuing to undermine civilization
what else is new?
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