American Military News by Courtney McBride - Bloomberg News April 12, 2023
It may prove to be the most serious intelligence leak the U.S. has had in a decade, and behind closed doors, it has set off uncomfortable conversations with the nation’s closest allies.
The trove of classified documents dumped online revealed to the global public just how closely Americans are spying on their friends and foes at a most delicate time. The war in Ukraine is at a turning point. President Joe Biden is seeing the leader of the U.K. this week and then he will host his South Korean counterpart, a key partner in efforts to counter China, at the end of April.
As one foreign official put it, the timing is bad and the lack of public outcry from various capitals should fool no one.
South Korea, a critical partner on semiconductors and electric vehicles, said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin already has called to talk about the incident, and Australia, which signed up for a multibillion-dollar submarine deal, is seeking further information.
U.S. allies are disconcerted by the biggest breach of US intelligence since former federal contractor Edward Snowden handed out thousands of pages of classified documents to journalists. Rather than air their grievances out in the open, they are hitting the diplomatic back channels — and hitting them hard.
The Justice Department has launched an investigation to root out the leaker of what a Pentagon spokesman called “highly sensitive, classified” information. But the damage has been done, across continents and time zones. Although officials are still assessing the extent of the harm and much of the information may already be known, at least to allied governments, it’s the leak of so much fresh information that is most troubling and embarrassing.
U.S. lawmakers have expressed their concern about the potential fallout, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has requested a classified briefing for all senators.
Bloomberg News hasn’t independently verified the documents, which have been circulating on different forums including Telegram. U.S. officials said Monday that the documents originated in the government, but that some may have been doctored. According to the New York Times, the documents posted online were changed to understate estimates of Russian casualties in Ukraine and overstate those of Ukrainian forces.
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/04/biden-faces-awkward-talks-abroad-after-classified-files-leak/
