US demands WikiLeaks return military documents

The Pentagon on Thursday demanded that the whistleblower website WikiLeaks "return immediately" leaked US military documents after the site released tens of thousands of secret files.

"The Defense Department demands that Wikileaks return immediately to the US government all versions of documents obtained directly or indirectly from the Department of Defense databases or records," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.

The website's disclosure "of a large number of our documents has already threatened the safety of our troops, our allies and Afghan citizens who are working with us to help bring about peace and stability in that part of the world," he said.

"The only acceptable course is for Wikileaks to take steps immediately to return all versions of all of these documents to the US government and permanently delete them from its website, computers and records."

(c) 2010 AFP