WikiLeaks says it disclosed secret US military documents to seek ‘transparency’

WASHINGTON - WikiLeaks, the whistle-blower organization that posted over 90,000 classified US military reports about the Afghan war, has said that its aim was to reveal “unethical behaviour” by governments and corporations.

“We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies,” The New York Times quoted the organization’s website, as saying.

“All governments can benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information,” it added.

The organization’s founder, Julian Assange, said that the documents would reveal broader levels of violence in Afghanistan than the military or the news media had previously reported.

“It shows not only the severe incidents, but the general squalor of war, from the death of individual children to major operations that kill hundreds,” he said.

The huge cache called the ‘Afghan War Diaries, 2004-2010′, one of the biggest leaks in US military history, was given to the New York Times, the Guardian and the German news magazine Der Spiegel.

The documents prove fears that Pakistan is aiding the Taliban to organize networks of militant groups that fight against American soldiers in Afghanistan.

The reports suggest that the Taliban has had access to portable heat-seeking missiles to shoot at aircraft.

It disclosed details that a secret US unit of army and navy special forces has been engaged on missions to “capture or kill” top insurgents. (ANI)