‘Turn over every rock’: US vows to find source of intel leaks
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says all measures will be taken to find the culprit who compromised American intelligence documents.
The United States will investigate the leak of classified documents and “turn over every rock” until the source is found, its military chief says.
Documents labelled “Secret” and “Top Secret” first appeared on social media sites in March and purportedly reveal details of the military capabilities of some American allies and adversaries.
“We will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday.
Austin, the first senior US official to comment on the leak, said the Pentagon was not sure if other documents were circulated.
“These are things that we will find out as we continue to investigate,” Austin said.
US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns called the leaks “deeply unfortunate” but did not give details on what he said were “quite intense” investigations by the Pentagon and the Justice Department.
“We need to learn lessons from that, as well, about how we can tighten procedures,” Burns said.
Investigators are working to determine what person or group might have had the ability and motivation to release the intelligence reports.
The leaks could be the most damaging release of US government information since the 2010 publication of thousands of documents on WikiLeaks.
Some of the most sensitive information is purportedly related to Ukraine’s military capabilities and shortcomings, and one document mentions the small number of Western special forces soldiers in the country.
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the disclosure.
-al jazeera
