Crikey

International news organisations have published extracts from secret military documents detailing the United States’ involvement in the war in Afghanistan over the weekend. The six-year archive was originally leaked by WikiLeaks, although news outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and German magazine Der Spiegel were given access to the information weeks ago on the condition the information would be embargoed until Sunday.

Initial media reports of the archive, which comprises over 92,000 reports, have hinted at the explosive nature of the material, suggesting the ‘war diaries’ paint a more grim account of the conflict than official sources.

Responsible for co-ordinating the release of the information, The Guardian has dedicated this page to what it titles the ‘Afghanistan war logs’. An interactive map plots the 300 most interesting cases from the reports, highlighting the casualties.

The paper’s editorial described the information as “disturbing”, highlighting harrowing accounts of civilian deaths:

“We today learn of nearly 150 incidents in which coalition forces, including British troops, have killed or injured civilians, most of which have never been reported; of hundreds of border clashes between Afghan and Pakistani troops, two armies which are supposed to be allies; of the existence of a special forces unit whose tasks include killing Taliban and al-Qaida leaders; of the slaughter of civilians caught by the Taliban’s improvised explosive devices; and of a catalogue of incidents where coalition troops have fired on and killed each other or fellow Afghans under arms.”

According to the New York Times, the information in the reports demonstrates why the Taliban are now in a stronger position than in 2001, despite the United States spending almost $300 billion on the conflict.

Der Spiegel, also involved in the release of the information,  has predicted that the information contained in the reports will be invaluable to future understanding of the conflict:

The documents offer a window into the war in the Hindu Kush — one which promises to change the way we think about the ongoing violence in Afghanistan. They will also be indispensible for anyone seeking to inform themselves about the war in the future.

The BBC has described the disclosure as “one of the biggest leaks in US military history”.

The role of internet whistlebower site WikiLeaks has also been analysed. The Atlantic suggests organisations like WikiLeaks, which are increasingly helping major news organisations with investigations, may be changing the way news is gathered and reported:

“In the new asymmetrical journalism, it’s not clear who is on what side or what the rules of engagement actually are. But the reason WikiLeaks may have just changed the media is that we found out that it doesn’t really matter. Their data is good, and that’s what counts.”

The Daily Beast has also claimed to know the identity of the person responsible for the leak, naming an American army intelligence analyst as the source.

Australian news outlets have yet to provide comprehensive coverage on the documents, instead reporting the Obama administration’s denouncement of the potentially embarrassing documents.