Wikileaks

Wikileaks, Wikileaks decision to transfer tens of thousands of classified raw field reports on the war in Afghanistan to the New York Times and two European news organizations reflects the growing strength and complexity of the Web site of small non-profit organization, founded three years to combat what he considers excessive secrecy.

Founder Julian Assange Wikileaks calls for the release of about 92,000 individual reports that spraying is an effort War in Afghanistan “the closest analog to the Pentagon Papers.” He was referring to secret military documents that helped to change public opinion about the war in Vietnam after it became public in 1971.

“It provides an overview map, if you will, over time, what has happened during this war,” said Assange, a native of Australia, in a television interview broadcast Sunday on Channel 4 UK’s public service.

He acknowledged that some will judge harshly airing website classified documents, but insisted that Wikileaks was not violating the law or endangering the troops. For the first time, Wikileaks unilaterally decided to delay the release of some documents because of the possibility of putting them away could cause damage, he said.

“We believe that the road to justice is transparency, and we are clear that the ultimate goal is to expose the injustices of the world and addressing,” said Assange.

The publication of the documents also fed the appetite for more disclosure about the war, now in its ninth year.

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“People want more details,” said Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy. “They want a greater clarity and openness of what have come to this point. Wikileaks, in this case, has filled the void left by the Pentagon.”

The White House responded critically to release the documents. “The United States strongly condemns the disclosure of classified information by people and organizations that could put the lives of Americans and our partners at risk, and threaten our national security, national security adviser, James Jones, said in a statement.

Jones called the leaks “irresponsible” and said the White House only learned of the news organizations that the documents be posted on line. A senior government official said authorities are reviewing the documents to decide whether to take legal action against the site.

Assange said Wikileaks “has no opinion on whether the war should continue or not.” But he added: “We have a view that should be tried as humanly possible.”

Wikileaks, by an amorphous network of volunteers in more than a dozen countries, gained global importance of this year when he posted a video of an attack helicopter secret U.S. military in Iraq that killed civilians. An edited version of 17 minutes of video footage of the gunboat “appeared on the Wikileaks website on April 5 under the title” The Assassination of guarantee “, a label that drew harsh criticism from military officials and commentators in many media.

In this case, instead of making their own assessment of the documents, Wikileaks files selectively provided to the Times, the Guardian newspaper in London and the German magazine Der Spiegel. The three outlets agreed to publish simultaneously, although each organization had its own reporting and produced their own stories.