Plugging the Leaks

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) last week asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to describe in detail the damage he believes to have resulted from the WikiLeaks disclosure of thousands of secret troop dispatches in Afghanistan. In a July 28 letter, Levin asked Gates what defense officials consider the "most significant new disclosures" and what the Defense Department is doing to mitigate any potential harm. Levin also wants to know to what extent the leak exposed information that was not previously available in the public domain.