WikiLeaks founder defends document release

92,000 cryptic reports that offer an hour-by-hour, and sometimes a minute-by-minute, look at the U.S. Army’s actions in Afghanistan were leaked this Sunday by WikiLeaks, a European news organization devoted to uncovering secrets of all kinds. The documents were shared with The Guardian, The New York Times, and Der Spiegel weeks ago, and made public in those papers, and on the Internet, on Sunday.

The picture that emerges from the tens of thousands of documents suggest that the American effort in Afghanistan is even more difficult than currently believed. And they hint at secrets not meant to be revealed, suggesting that the U.S. is responsible for more civilian casualties than previously reported. They detail the activities of a black-ops unit responsible for hunting down Taliban leaders. And they suggest Pakistani collaboration with the Taliban.

The documents have ignited a firestorm in the media about the role of information in wartime. How much can be revealed? And who gets to decide? We speak today with WikiLeaks’ founder, Julian Assange.