The United States will investigate the leak of classified documents and “turn over every rock” until the source is found, its military chief says.
Documents labelled “Secret” and “Top Secret” first appeared on social media sites in March and purportedly reveal details of the military capabilities of some American allies and adversaries.
“We will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday.
Austin, the first senior US official to comment on the leak, said the Pentagon was not sure if other documents were circulated.
“These are things that we will find out as we continue to investigate,” Austin said.
US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns called the leaks “deeply unfortunate” but did not give details on what he said were “quite intense” investigations by the Pentagon and the Justice Department.
“We need to learn lessons from that, as well, about how we can tighten procedures,” Burns said.
Investigators are working to determine what person or group might have had the ability and motivation to release the intelligence reports.
The leaks could be the most damaging release of US government information since the 2010 publication of thousands of documents on WikiLeaks.
Some of the most sensitive information is purportedly related to Ukraine’s military capabilities and shortcomings, and one document mentions the small number of Western special forces soldiers in the country.
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the disclosure.
‘People may well die’
Some national security experts and US officials say they suspect the leaker could be American, given the breadth of topics covered by the documents. More theories could develop as the investigation progresses, they said.
“It’s more than embarrassing,” former CIA officer Glenn Carle told Al Jazeera of the leaks.
“I’m sure it already has caused significant harm and I expect that some people may well die from it … Depending on the country it will damage or destroy their career – or get them killed.”
The US has been engaging with its allies over the disclosures, which have highlighted relations with the United Kingdom, Israel, South Korea, and Egypt – to name a few.
Russia said on Wednesday the leaks may be a move to “deceive” Moscow.
“It’s probably interesting for someone to look at these documents, if they really are documents or they could be a fake or it could be an intentional leak,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Russian news agencies.
“Since the US is a party to the [Ukraine] conflict and is essentially waging a hybrid war against us, it is possible that such techniques are being used to deceive their opponent, the Russian Federation.”
