US Condemns WikiLeaks Release of Gitmo Files

Officials Do Damage Control as Leaks Spawn More Criticism

White House officials today condemned WikiLeaks, again, for the release of classified documents that are hugely embarrassing to the administration. The latest leaks, the Guantanamo Files, detail the information the administration has and the treatment of detainees.

Officials said the leaked files were “unfortunate” and condemned the various media outlets around the world for reporting their contents to the American public. They also expressed concerns about a possible backlash.

And not without good reason. The documents detail a shameful number of detainees being mistreated or held under ridiculously dubious circumstances. The arguments in favor of keeping detainees in custody, without charges, inevitably boil down to beliefs that they “probably” know something interesting.

That has left officials scrambling to try to tamp down international criticism of their shoddy behavior once again, and trying to convince the public that senile old men and random farmers who own cheap watches are “probably” a grave threat to American interests. It seems to make sense to the officials when they say it, but less so to the people being fed these claims.

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.