Karzai slams WikiLeaks

"I heard this yesterday ... that names of certain Afghans who cooperate with the coalition Nato have been also revealed in these documents. This indeed is extremely irresponsible and shocking," Karzai told a news conference.

 
“Because whether those individuals acted legitimately or illegitimately, by providing information to Nato forces, they are lives. And the lives are in danger now.”
 
The London Times claims to have found the names of dozens of Afghans said to have provided intelligence to US forces after a two-hour search in the 91,000 confidential documents made public by WikiLeaks.
 
Karzai commented that the publication of names is “an act I cannot overlook”.
 
Site founder Assange told the Ottawa News newspaper that he would “deeply regret” any harms caused by the disclosures.
 
But he pointed out that no-one has yet been harmed and insisted that the value of the revelations outweighs any danger to informants’ lives and claimed that some had “acted in a criminal way” by giving false information.
 
The leaks have not led to any changes to military operations, according to Major General John Campbell, who in charge of a key regional command in eastern Afghanistan.
 
But, he added, “I can see that they will be a detriment down the road.”

France 24's Leela Jacinto blogs on Afghanistan and Pakistan

 
US General David Petraeus has issued new guidelines to troops after taking over command of international forces in Afghanistan.
 
He tells them to “fight hard” but to “be a good guest”.
 
The three-page document touches on the sensitive subject of civilian casualties, whose extent was revealed in the WikiLeaks, telling troops “if we kill civilians or damage their property in the course of our operations, we will create more enemies than our operations eliminate.”
 
He also tells them to confront “the culture of impunity” and graft, saying that troops should “identify and confront corrupt officials”.