WikiLeaks release: US warns India

The US has warned India and other countries across the world about a potentially embarrassing release of classified documents by the whistle-blowing website, WikiLeaks. The documents may harm American interests and create tension in ties with its “friends”.

“We have warned India about a possible release of documents,” State Department spokesman P J Crowley said. “We do not know precisely what WikiLeaks has or plans to do. We have made our position clear. These documents should not be released,” Crowley said, ahead of the expected release of millions of sensitive diplomatic cables.

It is yet unknown what is contained in these documents related to India. WikiLeaks has said there will be “seven times” as many secret documents as the 400,000 Iraq war logs it published last month. On his Twitter account, Crowley said the State Department officials had also contacted leaders in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Britain, France and Afghanistan.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reached out to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, as WikiLeaks is expected to release three million classified US cables involving some key allies, including Australia, Britain, Israel, Russia, Turkey and India. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urged WikiLeaks to stop “dangerous” leaks.

“I hope those who are responsible for this will, at some point in time, think about the responsibility that they have for lives that they’re exposing. And, stop leaking this information,” Admiral Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.

“It continues to be extremely dangerous,” he said. “We are mindful of the announcement, which WikiLeaks made earlier this week, that there is a release of documents pending at some point in the future.”

If the past is any indication, certain news organisations may already be in possession of specific documents, Crowley told reporters early this week. “So, we continue to work through, as we have throughout this process, evaluating both the material that we think was previously leaked from government sources to WikiLeaks. We continue to make clear that this is harmful to our national security. It does put lives at risk. It does put national interests at risk,” he said.

“Inherent in this day-to-day action is trust that we can convey our perspective to other governments in confidence and they can convey their perspective on events to us,” Crowley said. “And, when this confidence is betrayed and ends up on the front pages of newspapers or lead stories on television and radio, it has an impact.”

These revelations were “harmful” to the US and its interests, he said. “They are going to create tension in our relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world.” Without getting into any discussion of any specific cable, Crowley said the kinds of cables that US missions across the world sent to Washington were classified.

“They involve discussions that we’ve had with government officials, with private citizens. They contain analysis. They contain a record of the day-to-day diplomatic activity that our personnel undertake,” he said. “This back and forth between the government of the US and governments around the world, it is diplomacy in action. It is part of the system through which we collaborate and cooperate with other countries,” he said.