Planned Wikileaks Release a Security Risk: Pentagon

By Jason Beahm on October 25, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

More sensitive military information is about the be released on the Wikileaks.org website. As you may recall, Wikileaks released over 91,000 U.S. military reports from Afghanistan earlier this year. The Pentagon says that they do not expect to be surprised by any of the new information in the new Wikileaks release, which is expected to contain as many as 400,000 documents from U.S. combat units. So then there's nothing to worry about, right?

Wrong. Officials from the Pentagon have said that, although the information is not going to surprise them, it poses a serious security risk as the documents may have the names of Iraqis who have aided the U.S. The release of the documents could in turn harm U.S. national security and international relations with Iraq, according to Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan, Bloomberg reports.

"Our concern is the threat to individuals, our people and our equipment," Lapan said.

Officials, including former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, have called the release of the information a "hugely irresponsible step on the part of Wikileaks." Nevertheless, there doesn't seem to be anything that the government can do to stop it.

The perception of the Wikileaks release varies greatly from one person to the next. Some view Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and the site as a modern whistleblower, bringing to light what is really happening in business and government. Others view it as nothing short of treason, a site that gives aid to the enemy and harms the U.S.

So what can we expect in the future? Will the government find a way to shut down the site? Will WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange face arrest? Will the information bring to light positive changes in business and government? Will people lose their lives over the release of the information?

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