The Obama administration has called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help track down the source of leaked documents on the Afghan war, which were posted on the WikiLeaks website last weekend.
In what has been seen as a hardening of the White House line on the publication of 92,000 classified military files last Sunday, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said it could endanger the lives of US troops, their allies and Afghan informants.
Mr Gates said the Pentagon would ‘aggressively investigate’ and prosecute those behind the leak.
The leak exposed sources and methods for US intelligence agencies and allowed US adversaries to learn about military tactics and procedures, said Mr Gates.
The founder of the Wikileaks website, Julian Assange, has defended the release of the files, saying he hoped it would spark a debate about the war and that his site had checked for named informants before distributing the papers.
The US military's top officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, said there were better ways to question the war and claimed Mr Assange may have blood on his hands.
Beyond exposing US contacts, the leaked documents also threw an uncomfortable spotlight on links between Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency and insurgents who oppose US troops in neighboring Afghanistan.
Admiral Mullen acknowledged that some ties remained but said Islamabad was 'strategically shifting' against insurgents.
