10 years ago, WikiLeaks revealed the American atrocities in Iraq
A computer screen displaying the WikiLeaks organization logo (illustrative image).
AP Photo / Yves Logghe
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
It has been 10 years to the day that WikiLeaks published some 400,000 secret documents on the war in Iraq.
It is the largest leak in United States military history.
In total, these revelations document nearly 15,000 additional civilian deaths, according to Iraqi Body Count, a benchmark database on the Iraq war.
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With our correspondent in Baghdad,
Lucile Wassermann
It is a video which toured the world in April 2010.
It shows an American helicopter opening fire on a dozen civilians,
including two journalists from Reuters.
The video was posted by WikiLeaks and raised awareness of the site globally.
A few months later, in October, he published some 400,000 secret documents on the war in Iraq, which had a major impact on US-Iraqi relations.
“
It's hard to say that what WikiLeaks did pushed American forces out of Iraq
[at the time].
I have no evidence for this.
But I think it didn't help relations between Iraq and the United States,
says Sajad Jiyad, an expert on Iraqi politics.
And I think the view people here have of Americans has been impacted by WikiLeaks.
When they came back in 2014, and then after, I don't think there was a lot of self-confidence
”.
These revelations implicate the American forces, but also and especially the Iraqi forces, accused of various forms of violence against civilians.
They do not cause surprise in Iraq, details Sajad Jiyad.
“
I think for the Iraqis, every time they looked at what WikiLeaks came up with, it confirmed that this government was not really a government of the people.
I would say that confidence in politicians has not recovered since
”.
Today, it is in part for these documents that the American authorities are
asking for the extradition of the
founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange.
He faces 175 years in prison in the United States.
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