The Wikileaks (see here) release of 92,000 reports shows not only the heavily reported coalition killing of civilians, kill or capture missions and the Taliban using deadly surface-to-air missiles. It also shows just how Taliban are killing civilians and there are some awful reports of Taliban attacks. There are also reports of funding,training and arms supplying from Iran (see here).
It's worth bearing in mind that there are two sides to this story (or more) with the Afghans in the middle who are the biggest losers. I know there are now more children including girls going to school and some safer areas and some people are now protected from some of the awful Taliban laws but there can be no doubt that the short term (if I can call it that) is awful.
The press conference today given by Wiki Leaks founder Julian Assange also told how the Australian secret service was asked to investigate Wikileaks (who refused the US request) and that there is a further 15,000 reports yet to be published. These reports have not yet been released because they are being checked to ensure that they don't endanger civilians.
Perhaps this data is dangerous for the military but it does show that if you try to hide secrets then sooner or later they will be exposed if that secret is big enough.
It should also be noted that not all of these report will be 100 percent accurate but they are only as accurate as any other reports taken by the military during a conflict can be. But its the general picture of the war that it paints that is most important.
I would also add that I have been quite impressed with how the guardian have reported this story on their Web site. With a live blog and map of the significant incidents (see here). Expect this story to not only run and run but actually effect the way this war is reported an conducted.
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