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 mend fences with its key allies such 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 it was frustrating to 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.

Why it matters: Last month, a group of photos of classified U.S. Defence Department documents was posted on the social media platform Discord. These photos detailing how the U.S. spies on friends and foes as well as intelligence on the war in Ukraine went viral on the internet, provoking trust issues among the U.S. alliance.

Embarrassing allies:

Ukraine:

If proven authentic, the leaks would suggest that the U.S. had been monitoring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's calls with defense and military officials by using signals intelligence.

The leaked documents offer a pessimistic U.S. viewpoint about the state of the war in Ukraine, highlighting weaknesses in Ukraine's weaponry and air defenses and predicting a stalemate in the war for 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 Russia could soon have aerial superiority and Ukraine could lose the ability to amass ground forces in a counteroffensive.

Russia:

The Pentagon leaks reveal the stunning extent to which the U.S. has penetrated the Russian military forces and 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 secretly prepare to ship up to 40,000 rockets to Russia, while a spokesman for the Egyptian foreign ministry said Egypt was maintaining "non-involvement in this crisis and committing to maintain equal distance with both sides".

South Korea:

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.

How U.S. friends and foes have reacted:

Foreign governments have expressed anger or irritation over the leaks.

"If it is true that they have spied on us, it is a very disappointing act that undermines the South Korea-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, Washington should also apologize to the South Korean people.

"The widely reported leak of alleged classified U.S. information has demonstrated a serious level of inaccuracy," said UK's Ministry of Defence on Twitter.

What they said:

"It's embarrassing," 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 'a wake-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."