The Biden administration is continuing to grapple with the fallout from a major leak of Pentagon intelligence documents that exposed details on Ukraine, the Middle East, China and more. U.S. deals with anger from allies over leaked Pentagon documents.
Among the revelations from the leaks are details of purported U.S. spying on allies like South Korea, Egypt and Israel.
“If the report is true, it would be an action that can never be acceptable between allies of 70 years, and an infringement of sovereignty and diplomatic foul play that breaks bilateral trust head-on,” South Korean lawmaker Park Hong-keun said of the espionage reports.
Israel also denied details from the leaks that said that the country’s intelligence agency, Mossad, encouraged its officers to protest against their own government over controversial judicial reforms.
The leaks also revealed what appeared to be a secret plan by Egypt to sell ammunition and rockets to Russia, and exposed figures on how many British special forces are in Ukraine. U.S. deals with anger from allies over leaked Pentagon documents.
Australia’s defense chief called the intelligence breach a “serious incident” and stressed the importance of trust in alliances. Top Biden administration officials have been holding phone calls with foreign counterparts in an effort to mend ties.
The leaked files the veracity of which sources are not able to confirm are likely real, according to a senior U.S. official cited by NBC News. Officials warn, however, that some of the files may have been altered.
Also read: What makes US government document top secret
The U.S. government has kept secrets from the very beginning. In 1774, members of the Continental Congress passed a resolution “that the doors be kept shut during the time of business” and “to keep the proceedings secret, until the majority shall direct them to be made public.” What makes US government document ‘Top Secret’.
Secrets are even baked into the Constitution. Article 1, Section 5 says that Congress “shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy.”
In the 20th century, secrecy became synonymous with “national security” and was aimed at keeping military information out of the hands of foreign enemies. Right before World War II, informal secrecy protocols were codified and the nation was introduced to the three now-famous “classification” levels: “Confidential,” “Secret” and “Top Secret.”
Today, government officials produce classified documents at a rate of 90 million a year, or three per second. A small portion of those documents and other materials are labeled “Top Secret” because, if leaked, they have the potential to cause “exceptionally grave damage” to national security.
