Leaks and the war, leaks and the scandals, leaks and the right to be informed...

     The "leaking" by the web page Wilkileaks of some 75,000 supposedly top secret documents concerning U.S. military action in Afghanistan--as significant as it may be for an understanding of the war itself--is highly revealing in terms of the role that "leaks" have in the the process of informing or disinforming the public. A "leak" is usually information which comes from important government, intelligence or business circles. The "leakage" is likewise done for specific political or economic reasons and suggests profound conflicts or disagreements within the organizations affected.

    Wilkileads is dedicated to the publication of leaks and top secret documents, something which for obvious reasons is criticized by the governments, military or business organizations involved.

On July 26th Wilkileaks informed its readers that "over 75,000 secret US military reports covering the war in Afghanistan. Although the report is very extensive, the opening paragraphs go to the heart of the question:

"The Afghan War Diary an extraordinary secret compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. The reports describe the majority of lethal military actions involving the United States military. They include the number of persons internally stated to be killed, wounded, or detained during each action, together with the precise geographical location of each event, and the military units involved and major weapon systems used.

The Afghan War Diary is the most significant archive about the reality of war to have ever been released during the course of a war. The deaths of tens of thousands is normally only a statistic but the archive reveals the locations and the key events behind each most of these deaths. We hope its release will lead to a comprehensive understanding of the war in Afghanistan and provide the raw ingredients necessary to change its course.

Most entries have been written by soldiers and intelligence officers listening to reports radioed in from front line deployments. However the reports also contain related information from Marines intelligence, US Embassies, and reports about corruption and development activity across Afghanistan."