Julian Assange, WikiLeaks: More Afghan War Secrets to be Published

August 16, 2010

The founder of WikiLeaks says his group will not be threatened by U.S. officials, but the website will remove the names of "innocent parties" before publishing more secret military documents from Afghanistan.

WikiLeaks' Julian Assange told reporters in Sweden Saturday he is not acting in the face of demands by the Pentagon or any other group.

Assange said WikiLeaks intends to publish another 15,000 secret documents on the Internet later this month. All the documents are being reviewed "line by line," he added, and the names of "innocent parties who are under reasonable threat" will not be disclosed.

U.S. military officials denounced WikiLeaks' disclosure of more than 70,000 classified or secret documents in the website's Afghan War Diary, and they have said the life of anyone named in the unpublished documents is at risk.

The Pentagon has told WikiLeaks its actions risk the lives of U.S. soldiers and Afghan citizens and could possibly undermine military operations against extremists in Afghanistan. Members of the Taliban are reported to have said they are studying the documents with an eye toward retaliating against any informants cooperating with the U.S. military.

The classified documents WikiLeaks published last month included allegations that Pakistani government agents have met with and advised the Taliban, and that international forces in Afghanistan have covered up military action that killed innocent civilians.

The journalists' group Reporters Without Borders has said WikiLeaks acted with "incredible irresponsibility" by publishing the documents, and other human-rights groups have expressed similar sentiments.

President Barack Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said at the White House Friday that all of WikiLeaks' actions have been "troubling."

Assange, an Australian national who heads the group, says WikiLeaks has been acting "safely and cautiously." WikiLeaks describes itself as a public service organization for whistleblowers, journalists and activists.

Military officials suspect a U.S. soldier gave the documents to WikiLeaks.