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Press Secretary Calls WikiLeaks Release Shameful

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2010 -- WikiLeaks full public release on its website of 400,000 classified military documents from Iraq war operations is shameful, the Pentagon press secretary said tonight.

"This is an extraordinary disservice to America's men and women in uniform," Geoff Morrell said.

More than 150,000 forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are already in considerable danger, he said. "That danger is now exponentially multiplied as a result of this leak because it gives our enemies the wherewithal to look for vulnerabilities in how we operate and to exploit those opportunities and potentially kill our forces. That is just shameful."

The department does not yet know in detail what Wikileaks has published, but officials say they expect the same sort of documents the organization put on the Internet in July about the conflict in Afghan. WikiLeaks posted 77,000 documents from the Afghan database online in that breach of national security.

"This document leak is four times as large as the Afghan document leak," Morrell said. "It gives our enemies that much more to mine, and it puts our forces that much more in danger, so we condemn it, we deplore it."

Based on information contained in the newly released Iraq documents, some news outlets are already reporting on alleged abuse and civilian deaths.

"It has been a driving force for us, a guiding principle for us over the last seven years of this conflict to do everything in our power -- perhaps more than any other military in the history of the world has ever done -- to minimize civilian casualties," Morrell said.

"We have not always been perfect but we have been far better than anyone else has in the history of warfare," he added, "and we continue to do everything in our power to prevent innocent civilians from being killed in the war zones."

A DOD task force has been combing through the Iraq data base to assess the damage that the WikiLeaks publication of the activity reports could pose to the U.S. military, Iraqi allies and on-going operations.

"Potentially what one could mine from a huge data base like this are vulnerabilities in terms of how we operate, our tactics, our techniques, our procedures, the capabilities of our equipment, how we respond in combat situations, response times -- indeed how we cultivate sources," Morrell said. "All of that, [given the] thinking and adaptive enemy we've been facing in Iraq and Afghanistan, can be used against us."

U.S. intelligence reports and Taliban public statements indicate that enemy forces have been mining the released Afghan data base for operational vulnerabilities, Morrell said.

"We fear that this indeed can further endanger and get our troops killed," he said.

"We are extraordinarily disappointed that [WikiLeaks is] making the same mistake twice," Morrell said, "that they are leaking classified information -- in fact that they induce people to break the law to leak classified information and then share that information with the world, including our enemies."

News Links

WikiLeaks Releases 400,000 Classified U.S. Military Files - Voice of America

The Iraq Documents - New York Times

The Iraq War Logs - The Guardian

The Iraq War Logs - Der Spiegel

WikiLeaks Discloses Reports From Iraq - Wall Street Journal

Wikileaks Posts Thousands of Classified U.S. Documents - Los Angeles Times

Website Claims 15,000 Unreported Iraq War Deaths - Wall Street Journal

A Grim Portrait of Civilian Deaths in Iraq - New York Times

WikiLeaks Reveals War 'Bloodbath' - Sydney Morning Herald

Leaked Reports Detail Iran's Aid for Iraqi Militias - New York Times

Iran Accused of Plotting Attack on Green Zone - The Guardian

Iran Waging Shadow War with Coalition Troops in Iraq - The Australian

Five Bombshells from WikiLeaks' Iraq War Logs - Christian Science Monitor

Detainees Fared Worse in Iraqi Hands, Logs Say - New York Times

Iraq War Leaks: U.S. Didn't Probe Abuse Allegations - Washington Post

Wikileaks: U.S. Ignored Iraq Torture Allegations - Daily Telegraph

Iraq War Documents: No U.S. Investigation of Many Abuses - Los Angeles Times

U.S. Forces 'Ignored Iraq Torture' - BBC News

Iraq War Leaks: No U.S. Investigation of Many Abuses - Associated Press

WikiLeaks Show U.S. Failed to Probe Iraqi Abuse Cases - Reuters

Iraq War Logs Disclosure Condemned by NATO and Pentagon - The Guardian

Ministry of Defence Criticises Wikileaks Iraq Release - BBC News

Opinion Mixed on Significance of WikiLeaks' Latest Revelations - Globe and Mail

WikiLeaks Continues to Face Challenges - Washington Post

Iraqi PM Says Politics Behind Latest WikiLeaks Relase - Voice of America

Maliki: Opponents Will Use U.S. Leaks Against Him - Washington Post

Iraq Prime Minister Calls Report Political - Wall Street Journal

Leaked Reports Stir Political Disputes in Iraq - New York Times

Wikileaks' Timing Angers Iraqi PM - BBC News

Tensions Still High Along Kurdish-Arab Line - New York Times

WikiLeaks Documents Give Iraqis Fuller Picture of War - Los Angeles Times

WikiLeaks Defends Release Of U.S. Iraqi War Documents - Voice of America

WikiLeaks Defends Release of Classified Documents - Christian Science Monitor

Wikileaks Defends Its Release of Iraq War Documents - Time

Pentagon: No Surprises Seen In WikiLeaks Iraq War Data - Reuters

WikiLeaks Documents Open To Interpretation - NPR

Mix of Trust and Despair Helped Turn Tide in Iraq - New York Times

Iraq WikiLeaks Release Offers New Casualty Details - Associated Press

Leaked Documents Recount Tales Known by Every Iraqi - Agence France-Presse

Use of Contractors Added to War's Chaos in Iraq - New York Times

British Legal Threat as U.N. Calls on Obama to Look at Claims - The Guardian

WikiLeaks Founder Gets Support in Rebuking U.S. - New York Times

WikiLeaks Founder on the Run, Trailed by Notoriety - New York Times

Topics include:

1) Running out of time, Petraeus implements Biden's counterterrorism plan

2) Britain chooses to become an American auxiliary

Running out of time, Petraeus implements Biden's counterterrorism plan

Bob Woodward's latest book, Obama's Wars, discusses how, during the debate within U.S. President Barack Obama's inner circle over the best military strategy for Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus was the main proponent of a classic "protect the people" counterinsurgency strategy. During the debates, Petraeus railed against Vice President Joe Biden's proposal for a narrower "kinetic" counterterrorism approach that would focus on killing al Qaeda and Taliban leaders with bombs, missiles, and special-operations raids. Obama eventually gave Petraeus's plan the nod. Attempting to implement the soft touch recommended by counterinsurgency theory, former commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal severely limited the use of airstrikes and artillery and ordered U.S. ground units to disengage from firefights rather than risk firing into occupied buildings.

But that was then. Under pressure to show measureable results, Petraeus now seems to be warming up to Biden's approach more than he is likely to admit. According to the New York Times, the past three months have witnessed a sharp acceleration of airstrikes and commando raids on Taliban leadership targets. From June through September, U.S. pilots dropped 2,100 bombs and missiles on Taliban targets, a 50 percent increase from a year ago. Officers attribute the increased rate of attacks on better target intelligence, provided by a greater number of drone surveillance aircraft. Between early July and early October, special-operations forces killed 300 midlevel Taliban commanders and 800 foot soldiers, and captured another 2,000. According to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, a recent internal study requested by Petraeus showed that 90 percent of the campaign's operational success has come from just 5 percent of the forces, led by his command's special-operations raiding teams.

With time running out until the December strategy review and July's scheduled drawdown, Petraeus has cast away McChrystal's soft touch. Furthermore, the counterinsurgency mantra of "clear-hold-build-transfer" no longer seems relevant given the time pressure to deliver credible progress. Petraeus's strategy now appears to be pure coercion, directed at mid- and higher-level Taliban leaders. Perhaps Petraeus has removed the Counterinsurgency Field Manual from his nightstand, and replaced it with Thomas Schelling's Arms and Influence, the Cold War-era primer on the utility of military coercion.

Petraeus's tactical shift may be getting results. According to the New York Times, the general is sending in aircraft and clearing the roads to shuttle high-level Taliban leaders who are now seeking an audience with Afghan government representatives. The fear of a Hellfire missile, a laser-guided bomb, or the nighttime arrival of commandos seems the most logical explanation for the growing willingness of some Taliban commanders to talk. The metrics of counterinsurgency success -- growing acceptance by the population of the legitimate government, improved policing, falling corruption, etc. -- have not arrived and could not account for the changed calculations of these Taliban leaders.

The Afghan government and the Taliban are obviously a long way from a truce. The negotiating authority of the Taliban envoys is in question. And, according to the New York Times, the Taliban emissaries must remain anonymous, lest they be killed by the Pakistani intelligence service, which apparently has yet to sanction the idea of a settlement. In spite of these frailties, Petraeus seems eager to arrange these talks -- they seem to be the best way of showing results before the December policy review.

Obama is no doubt equally eager for progress toward a truce, if only to get another chance at resetting his Afghanistan policy. If he gets that chance, it won't be due to counterinsurgency theory but rather to tried-and-true coercion, enabled by a surprisingly small number of drone handlers, intelligence operators, and special-operations raiders. Could that make Joe Biden Obama's best military advisor?

Click through to read more ...

The wait and the flight gave me time to consider all I'd heard from the many fine professionals working to stabilize southern Afghanistan. People mostly believed in their work and that they were making a difference at the local level. But nobody has a good answer when we ask about the corrupt power brokers like Ahmed Wali Karzai (AWK), Abdul Rahman Jan (ARJ), Gul Agha Sherzai, and Sher Mohammad Akhundzada, not to mention President Karzai himself.

Continue on for more traveling with Nick....

In a recent essay, I discussed why a containment and deterrence strategy is the path of least resistance in response to Iran's future nuclear weapons capability. I also explained why executing such a policy won't be easy.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has hoped that Iran's leaders would figure out that their nuclear program is reducing, not increasing, Iran's security. The U.S. government's massive sale of offensive armament to Saudi Arabia is designed to be as clear a signal to Tehran as is possible.

No one should expect Iran's leaders to change course at this point. The question is whether Saudi Arabian F-15s armed with JDAMs and HARMs can by themselves provide effective deterrence against Iranian nuclear-armed surface-to-surface ballistic missiles. If not, U.S. leaders will face difficult questions about what additional measures might be necessary to create strategic balance around the Persian Gulf.

The video from last week's

Conversation and Book Signing with Dave Kilcullen is now posted, on the

Marine Corps Association

YouTube channel.  Part one of eight below, the other parts are

accessible through the related videos links or: 

2,

3,

4,

5,

6,

7,

8. 

Dave Kilcullen kicks off 1:42 into the clip, after we acknowledge the sponsors

that made the event possible.

More....

Book Review: 

The Terror of Natural Right: Republicanism, the Cult of Nature, and the French Revolution

by Dan Edelstein.  Published by University Press of Chicago, Illinois. 

2009, 275 pages.  (Links are to a paperback edition to be released o/a Nov

15; hard copy is available now)

Reviewed by CDR Youssef Aboul-Enein, MSC, USN

The Terror of Natural Right: Republicanism, the Cult of Nature, and the

French Revolution

Combating violent Islamist extremism and in particular its ideology requires

not only an understanding of the nuances between Islam, the religion, Islamist political

thought, and violent Islamist ideology, it also requires an understanding of the

nuances of secularism, republicanism and the democratic experience.  I am always

surprised by how notions of what constitutes an Islamic state embodied by Ayatollah

Khomeini's theories in Iran, Sayyid Qutb (the modern ideological founder of Sunni

violent Islamist extremism), and Abu Al Ala al-Mawdudi, the founder of Pakistan's

experiment in Islamist governance have been shaped by the theories of French Revolution. 

In addition, militant Islamist ideologues like to obscure the nuances differences

between the French and American experiences in the application of democracy, preferring

general stereotypes and generalities.   Stanford University Assistant

Professor of French Dan Edelstein has written a highly technical and complex exploration

that attempts to explain how the French Revolutionary ideals were used to justify

the Reign of Terror (1793 to 1794) in France.

ISAF established the Northern Distribution Network to reduce its logistical dependence on its supply routes through Pakistan. A corollary aim was to reduce Pakistan's strategic leverage over the military campaign in Afghanistan. Increased Taliban activity in Baghlan and other northern provinces may be designed to put the northern supply routes under threat, reestablishing Taliban and Pakistani leverage.

I recommend reading the whole article.

More on Yemen, complementing the prior post on the

Yemeni perspective on Al Qaida. Here's a 3 minute video outlining 10 of Yemen's

significant internal problems.  The video is part of the

NATO Review edition 05/2010 titled: "Yemen:

danger ahead?". See also Why al Quaida chose Yemen for Faris Sanabani's analysis.

Writings of Saeed Obeid

al-Jamhi: A Fresh Yemeni Attack on al-Qaida Ideology

by CDR Youssef Aboul-Enein, MSC, USN

As a member of the United States Armed Service given the

privilege to be involved in counter-terrorism, I have been an advocate of

highlighting and using direct Arabic materials written by terrorists or Arabs

involved in countering terrorism to educate America's next generation of

counter-terrorism analysts, counter-insurgency specialists, foreign area

officers, and investigators.  This Columbus Day weekend, I was reading the work

of Saeed Obeid al-Jamhi, a Yemeni intellectual and social commentator who offers

a fresh ideological attack on al-Qaida.  His 2008 book is entitled, "Al-Qaida

fee al-Yemen: Al-Nash'ah, al-Khalfiyah, al-Imtidaad," or "Al-Qaida in Yemen:

Its Origin, Ideology, and Future."  The book was published in 2008 by Maktaba

al-Hadarah (Modern) Press in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital.  It contains a different

and purely Yemeni perspective on al-Qaida that is worth discussing among

America's counter-terrorism specialists....

Book Review:

The Junior Officers Reading Club: Killing Time and Fighting Wars by Patrick

Hennessey.  Published by Riverhead Trade; reprint edition (September 7, 2010),

336 pages. ISBN 1594484791

Reviewed by Michael Gates

After nearly nine years of conflict, the grandchildren of the "Greatest Generation"

have earned the right to tell their story from the frontlines of the Long War. This

generation of junior officers and soldiers from more than forty countries has experienced

persistent conflict, irregular threats, and unpredictable futures.  Combat

tours have not ended in victory parades, but in training to prepare for the next

scheduled deployment. Numerous contemporary authors have struggled to articulate

the experiences of this new generation of warriors; however, former British Grenadier

Guards Captain Patrick Hennessey has definitively captured the voice of the newest

generation of veterans.  Hennessey's remarkable memoir, The Junior Officer's

Reading Club: Killing Time and Fighting Wars, is likely to stand the test of

time as a brilliant and cathartic perspective from one of the young leaders of the

conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond. If you are looking for classical and

polished prose you will not find it here; this book does well by keeping the rugged

structure and tone of the conflicts that served as its' inspiration. The language

is brilliantly gritty and harsh, yet this work exquisitely frames the true essence

of the experiences, realities, and wisdom of the young Digital Age veterans fighting

in distant corners of the world.

Read the entire article at AFJ.