A huge cache of classified papers about the Afghan campaign from 2004 to 2009 has leaked into the public domain. The documents have been posted by Wikileaks as the Afghan War Diary and represent one of the biggest leaks in US history. Advance copies were given to the New York Times, the Guardian and the German news magazine, Der Spiegel. The US Government response has been predictably hysterical with US National Security Adviser Gen James Jones stating that such classified information:

“could put the lives of Americans and our partners at risk”

Which might be true if the leaks were not all pretty much known already. The key claims appear to be:

• Nato has concerns that Pakistan and Iran are helping the Taliban in Afghanistan.
• The Taliban has had access to portable heat-seeking missiles to shoot at aircraft – presumably Stingers inherited from the Mujahaideen
• A secret US unit of army and navy special forces has been engaged on missions to “capture or kill” top insurgents – the famous “Green Badge” teams.
• Many civilian casualties – caused by Taliban roadside bombs and Nato missions that went wrong – have gone unreported.

I think this release serves NATO quite well in reality.