Pentagon Launches ‘Manhunt’ for Document Leaker

Officials Concede More Leaks Were Possible

According to Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, the Department of Defense has launched a “manhunt” to discover whoever leaked the 92,000 classified documents on the Afghan War which WikiLeaks presented to The Guardian yesterday.

Though it is widely assumed that the leaker is already in custody, Pfc. Bradley Manning who is currently being held over a previous leak, it seems that officials are not discounting the possibility that another person with “secret” level clearance is actually responsible, and officials say more leaks may well be on the way.

The enormous collection of documents details some six years worth of the Afghan War, and has been angrily condemned by administration officials. Morrell insisted that the scale of the leaks was “clearly alarming” but that the documents were just “low level” assessments of little value.

Manning is already charged with leaking the “Collateral Murder” video, which shows US helicopters killing Iraqi civilians in 2007, and could face upwards of 50 years in prison for “mishandling” classified documents. He is also said to have leaked an enormous number of other files to WikiLeaks, but whether these are they, or if these are some other, different collection, is apparently unknown.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.