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| U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement to the media after a bipartisan meeting with Congress members in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, July 27, 2010. Obama said on Tuesday that he was concerned about the leak of U.S. military documents about Afghanistan, but the papers don't reveal new information. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun) |
by Matthew Rusling
WASHINGTON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- While Sunday's leak of more than 90,000 U.S. military documents divulged little new information, it highlights U.S.forces' uphill climb as they prepare for the July, 2011 deadline to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan.
The leak, posted on a website known as Wikileaks, came at a time when the White House is facing pressure from an increasingly war-weary public to make sure it is on track with the handover of security duties to Afghan forces.
Among other things, the documents point to a high level of Afghan civilian casualties, prompting human rights organization Amnesty International on Monday to call for a more coherent system for dealing with civilian deaths.
Some experts argue those issues have been rectified -- the U.S. Army has taken steps to limit civilian deaths including the implementation of rules prohibiting U.S. forces from shooting before taking fire, which were put in place by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
