Pentagon leaks embarrass U.S. in front of allies

This photo taken on March 29, 2023 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The U.S. is attempting to mendfenceswithitskeyalliessuch as South Korea, Ukraine and Israel after the baffling leak of classified U.S. intelligence documents on social media.

Diplomats from some of the allied countries of the U.S. said that itwasfrustratingto see that information exposed publicly. U.S. allies are doing damage assessments, scrambling to determine whether any of their own sources and methods have been compromised by the leak.

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Whyitmatters:Last month, a group of photos of classified U.S. Defence Department documents was posted on the social media platform Discord. These photos detailinghowtheU.S.spiesonfriendsandfoesaswellasintelligenceonthewarinUkrainewent viral on the internet, provoking trust issues among the U.S. alliance.

Embarrassingallies:

Ukraine:

If proven authentic, the leaks would suggest that the U.S.hadbeenmonitoringUkrainianPresidentVolodymyrZelenskyy"scallswith defense and military officials by using signals intelligence.

The leaked documents offer apessimisticU.S.viewpointaboutthestateofthewarinUkraine,highlightingweaknessesinUkraine"sweaponryandairdefensesand predictingastalemateinthewarfor months to come.

Several of the classified documents warn that Ukraine"s medium-range air defenses to protect front-line troops will be "completely reduced by May 23," suggesting RussiacouldsoonhaveaerialsuperiorityandUkrainecouldlosetheabilitytoamassgroundforcesinacounteroffensive.

Russia:

The Pentagon leaks reveal the stunning extent to which theU.S.haspenetratedtheRussianmilitaryforcesand the Wagner Group, a mercenary organization. The documents also reference details about the internal planning of Russia"s military intelligence agency.

Israel:

The document of particular concern in Israel said that Israel"s Mossad spy service opposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu"s proposed overhaul of the judiciary.

Egypt:

One of the leaked documents reveals that the president of Egypt ordered subordinates to secretlypreparetoshipupto40,000rocketstoRussia, while a spokesman for the Egyptian foreign ministry said Egypt was maintaining "non-involvementinthiscrisisand committing to maintain equal distance with both sides".

SouthKorea:

Another document appears to provide details of alleged internal discussions among top aides to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol that suggest that the U.S. applied pressure on Seoul to help supply the U.S. with artillery shells, which could then be sent to Ukraine.

HowU.S.friendsandfoeshavereacted:

Foreign governments have expressed anger or irritation over the leaks.

"If it is true that they have spied on us, itisaverydisappointingactthat underminestheSouthKorea-U.S.alliance, which is based on mutual trust," Leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung said. If it was true, he added, WashingtonshouldalsoapologizetotheSouthKoreanpeople.

"The widely reported leak of alleged classified U.S. information has demonstrated aseriouslevelofinaccuracy," said UK"s Ministry of Defence on Twitter.

Whattheysaid:

"It"sembarrassing," a U.S. senior defense official said, adding that there have been stern notes from the Defense Department"s White House Liaison Office to be more careful about social media and keeping track of classified material.

"It is"awake-up"call", many Twitter users commented as such over the Pentagon leaks, "U.S. intelligence leaks on Russia"s war against Ukraine is a wake-up call".

"The manner of the leak and the contents are very unusual," said a former U.S. intelligence analyst who focused on Russia, "I can"t remember a time when there was this volume of a leak and this broad of a subject matter of authentic information that was just put on social media rather than say, the Snowden files, that went through a group of journalists first."

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