Congressman: State Dept Blocking Probe Into WikiLeaks Failures

Incoming Intelligence Committee Chair Says Officials 'Need an Attitude Adjustment'

The US State Department and other agencies are said to be blocking a Congressional probe into how WikiLeaks came into possession of a large number of their cables. Incoming Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R – MI) warned that the department was ” more concerned about the department’s reputation than the consequences.”

Rep. Rogers’ efforts to probe the security failings that led to the leak have been met with serious resistance, and State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley insists that isn’t going to change. He insisted only that the controls in place were “fully consistent with the 2004 Intelligence Reform Act.

Of course, it should come as little surprise that the State Department, already reeling from unsavory revelations about them, should be hesitant to allow anything new to come to light, but with officials looking to lay the blame anywhere and everywhere, the “obstructionist” attitude isn’t going to fly, insists Rep. Rogers.

“They need an attitude adjustment,” the Congressman insisted, and given his new position in a Republican dominated House he will be able to bring considerable pressure to bear. Secrecy may be the order of the day for the administration, but prudent suspicions over the nature of that secrecy are only going to grow as more leaks continue to emerge.

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.