Maliki: Foes Will Use Wikileaks
The Washington Post reports:
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that his opponents are using leaked classified U.S. military reports to discredit his administration as he struggles to secure a second term in office.
Maliki's government also said in a statement in response to the trove of documents released Friday night by the whistleblower group WikiLeaks that it would investigate newly disclosed shootings by employees of the American security company formerly known as Blackwater.
"We need to take these documents into consideration in order to achieve justice for our citizens," the statement said.
Referring to details of cases in which U.S. forces had killed Iraqi civilians, the statement said the U.S. military's "permissive" rules of engagement had led to a "point of crisis" between the two countries.
The documents show that U.S. soldiers killed at least 700 Iraqi civilians in situations where the troops felt threatened.
They also suggest that U.S. soldiers were ordered to refrain from formally investigating cases of inmate abuse by Iraqi police and soldiers.
While the nearly 400,000 documents disseminated by WikiLeaks have not produced major revelations, Iraqi politicians are likely to seize on newly disclosed details for political gain as negotiations over the formation of a new government drag on.
