what they called "illegal" publication of classified American
documents by WikiLeaks, and asked the Obama Administration to use all
legal means to shut down this whistleblower website.
"The release of classified information under these circumstances is a
reckless action which jeopardises lives by exposing raw,
contemporaneous intelligence," said Senator, John Kerry, Chairman of
the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
WikiLeaks lays bare nuclear standoff with Pakistan, hacking by China
"This is not an academic exercise about freedom of information and it
is not akin to the release of the Pentagon Papers, which involved an
analysis aimed at saving American lives and exposing government
deception," he said.
Instead, these sensitive cables contain candid assessments and
analysis of ongoing matters and they should remain confidential to
protect the ability of the government to conduct lawful business with
the private candor that's vital to effective diplomacy, he said.
WikiLeaks disclosures involve 3000 cables from Delhi to Washington
WikiLeaks' deliberate disclosure of these diplomatic cables is nothing
less than an attack on the national security of the United States, as
well as that of dozens of other countries, said Senator Joe Lieberman,
Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs
Committee.
"By disseminating these materials, WikiLeaks is putting at risk the
lives and the freedom of countless Americans and non-Americans around
the world.
It is an outrageous, reckless, and despicable action that will
undermine the ability of our government and our partners to keep our
people safe and to work together to defend our vital interests," he
said.
Clinton hits diplomatic trail after document leak
"Let there be no doubt: the individuals responsible are going to have
blood on their hands," Lieberman said and urged the Obama
Administration to use all legal means necessary to shut down WikiLeaks
before it can do more damage by releasing additional cables.
"WikiLeaks' activities represent a shared threat to collective
international security," he said.
This latest release of classified and other sensitive US documents by
WikiLeaks is extremely irresponsible, said Congresswoman, Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen, the incoming Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee.
"Those who leak and publish such information are doing great harm to
our nation, and are potentially putting American lives in danger," she
said.
Wikileaks reveals standoff over nuclear fuel in Pakistan
This newest batch of documents appears to contain troves of classified
reports related to our nation's conduct of diplomacy and foreign
policy, including reports of critical discussions with our allies, she
added.
"This is the everyday work-product of our officials all over the globe.
This critical and highly sensitive information must be managed
carefully," she said.
It is deeply disturbing that a few individuals seem to have deemed
themselves worthy of deciding that scores of classified and sensitive
material should be paraded about for our enemies to review and use
against us.
Hacker attack crashes Wikileaks website
These leaks come at the expense of US security and, potentially,
American lives," the Congresswoman said.
Lieberman said it is outrageous for WikiLeaks and its enablers to hide
their conduct behind the ideal of transparency.
"As a democracy, our nation has always believed the American people
should have access to as much information as possible.
But we have also long recognized that to keep our country safe some
information must be kept secret," he said.
Wikileaks' release includes 3,038 cables from New Delhi
"This is a balancing act that the American people themselves
ultimately control through our democratically-elected representatives
and our institutions.
What WikiLeaks is doing is to short-circuit this entire democratic
process claiming for itself the exclusive, unilateral, and unchecked
power to decide what should and shouldn't be made public.
This is therefore not only an attack on our national security, but an
offense against our democracy and the principle of transparency,"
Lieberman said.
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