WikiLeaks Afghan War Diary “threat to national security”.

The controversial revelatory site WikiLeaks has released documents detailing classified military information on the war in Afghanistan. The recently released document ‘Afghan War Diary’ includes over 90,000 reports on the Afghan War from 2004 to 2009.

The reports, penned by intelligence officials and soldiers, describe meetings with top political figures, intelligence information and detail fatal military actions regarding the United States military.

WikiLeaks was established in 2007, and describes itself as a “multi-jurisdictional public service” which aims to protect whistle blowers and other figures who have important information to communicate to the public. The release of the documents on the war in Afghanistan was condemned by the White House, which said the leaks could place US personnel and other coalition troops in danger. WikiLeaks editor in chief, Julian Assange, said at a recent London press conference; "It's up to a court to decide, clearly, whether something is in the end a crime. That said, there is a prima facie case, there does appear to be evidence of war crimes in this material."

The Ministry of Defence is trying to block any access to the WikiLeaks site from its own computers in an attempt to restrict its employees from leaking classified information.

WikiLeaks said it has “many alternative names. The Ministry of Defence site blocking has not prevented dissident MoD providing us with material exposing the UK involvement in Iraq and elsewhere.”

WikiLeaks’ mission statement details that by improving the transparency of governments leads to “reduced corruption”. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said; "MoD staff are unable to access WikiLeaks because there is no compelling business reason to have the facility."

The documents contain revelations of major military target, Osama bin Laden. The leaked information shows the military’s tracking of bin Laden from 2006, suggesting the US has kept such information hidden from the public, despite previously saying it had not received solid information on him in years. The reports also contain information on the deaths of 195 civilian fatalities, which is likely to be detrimental to both US and UK militia.

Despite these detailed leaks, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said they did not include any new information about the war in Afghanistan. He added; “it has a potential to be very harmful to those that are in our military, those that are co-operating with our military and those that are working to keep us safe."

WikiLeaks operates on the premise that those involved with providing information to the whistle blowing company remain anonymous. Though the source of the Afhgan War materials does not appear to have been identified, the organisation has said it will help Private Bradley Manning - who has been accused of giving WikiLeaks a video of a 2007 gunship raid in Iraq - to pay for his legal representation. Although he is not associated with the leaked Afghan papers, reports suggest that he might have played a part in it.

The United States has said it strongly condemns the material, and has stated that Wikileaks did not contact the White House before releasing the classified information. American officials were made aware of the leaks from media sources, but confirm that the leaks do not impact their commitment to “deepen partnerships with Afghanistan and Pakistan”. US National Security Advisor General James Jones said that the documents only cover Afghan War material up to December 2009, and states; “On December 1st 2009, President Obama announced a new strategy with a substantial increase in resources for Afghanistan.”

Julian Assange, head of Wikileaks, was unavailable for comment, but Fresh Outlook received an exclusive interview with Dr John Jewell, director of Undergraduate Studies at Cardiff University's Journalism, Film and Media Department. Dr Jewell specialises in the communication of war within the media. He stated that the reports were “embarrassing” for the US military, but does not believe the further reports that WikiLeaks is threatening to publish, will reveal anything particularly new.

He said: “Currently, the Afghan reports mostly detail American military information, strategies which have changed since 2004-2009. The reports are shocking in that they deal with civilian deaths in a way that we probably would not have thought possible had the leaks had not happened. The 'fog of war' idea that applies to a lack of awareness surrounding conflict is prominent here as we do not learn of Afghan civilian deaths compared to those of British or Americans. I also think the MoD attempting to block WikiLeaks is superfluous now as the thousands of Afghan reports are appearing through various media outlets.”