Blinken hinted at the matter during a press conference in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, in which he said, among other things, that the United States has been discussing the issue for some time with its allies. “And I could not find from that that our cooperation was at stake,” said Blinken, who added that there was praise for the steps Washington has now taken.
The documents were leaked by Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the US Air National Guard, accused yesterday of copying and distributing confidential documents. Last Thursday he was arrested by FBI agents.
Wikileaks
The leak is one of the largest security breaches by the United States since the WikiLeaks scandal, which exposed more than 700,000 diplomatic files. The Pentagon speaks of a “deliberate criminal act”, while US President Joe Biden has launched an investigation into why Teixeira had access to sensitive information. For example, he accessed details of where Ukraine’s military weaknesses lay and humiliated Washington by exposing spying on allies.