The US Disclosed Files Showcase the Real Face of the Afghan War: Poll

According to TOLOnews polling, the 90 thousand released documents by WikiLeaks depict the true face of war in Afghanistan

According to the polling, 57.8 percent of voters said the released documents showed the true face of the Afghan war.

31.9 percent have given a negative response, and 10.4 percent of voters have responded ‘I don't know'.

Result:

The secret documents

The first time the WikieLeaks website released 90,000 secret documents of the United States intelligence to the media, it did not seem anything interesting.

The main points in the documents were not new to many.

The support of Pakistani intelligence (ISI) to insurgents and civilian casualties caused by foreign forces are obvious for many people.

The White House and Pakistani authorities are not happy with the documents released by the WikieLeaks, Guardian newspaper and the New York Times.

These documents reveal that NATO is behind the civilian deaths in Afghanistan, and also Pakistan is actively supporting and helping Afghanistan's government opposition forces.

The WikieLeaks website that released 92,000 secret documents about the war in Afghanistan shows that the US was aware of Osama Bin Laden's sanctuaries, the involvement of Pakistan's ISI in attack plans on Afghan leaders and foreign forces and Iran's support to Taliban militants.

Reactions:

President Karzai:

Afghan President, Hamid Karzai in reaction to these documents had said: "the international community is here to fight terrorism, but the danger is based elsewhere and they are not acting against it."

The president said the insurgents' sanctuaries have not been targeted outside Afghanistan, which is a controversial issue.

The Afghan President highlighted that the aim behind the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan is to fight against terrorism, but they are not acting strongly enough.

While the international community is aware of militants' havens outside Afghanistan, they do not take strong action to eliminate them, he said.

The US Secretary of Defence, Robert Gates:

The US Secretary of Defence said that the US defence department has asked the FBI to help investigate the leak of more than 90,000 secret military logs.

Speaking at a news conference at the Pentagon, the US Secretary of Defence, Robert Gates called the leaks "potentially severe and dangerous".

"It seems to me, to ensure the investigation goes wherever it needs to go, that having the FBI involved as a partner is very important," he said.

Robert Gates did not say whether he planned to pursue charges against Wikileaks.

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen:

The Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said the leak endangered the lives of NATO soldiers, and of civilians and Afghan citizens working with NATO.

"They might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldiers or an Afghan family," he said.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has called on NATO to provide a clear, unified system of accounting for civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

Amnesty International:

"The picture that emerges from the leaked data on civilian casualties is that NATO's leadership did not know exactly what was happening on the ground," said Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director, Sam Zarifi.

The logs support Amnesty International's concerns about improper reporting of civilian casualties, a lack of investigations into casualties that are recorded, and poor coordination between different national forces about incidents and even over investigations that take place.

The secret documents show better monitoring of incidents after new rules of engagement were put in place in June 2009 by the former NATO commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

The WikiLeaks Website

While emphasising on the publication of more US secret documents, WikiLeak's spokesperson, Mr Schmitt, said WikiLeaks is responsible for the world not for specific individuals or any countries' interest.

Pentagon calls the leaked files a serious threat worsening stability and security in the region, especially in Afghanistan, but WikiLeaks commented the publication of these logs help increase the understanding of people on what is going on in the regions.

"From our prospective, transparency and knowledge about ongoing issues like war are the only things that can help to create something remotely like safety, so they will directly contribute to the public understanding what is going on in these regions. And from public scrutiny hopefully also influence the politics to develop in a better way," said Mr Schmitt.