WikiLeaks: Disclosures an attack on globe,defends Clinton

8220;The United States strongly condemns the illegal disclosure of classified information. It puts people8217;s lives in danger,threatens our national security and undermines our efforts to work with other countries to solve shared problems,8221; she said in her first statement after the release of a quarter million documents by WikiLeaks.

8220;Let8217;s be clear. This disclosure is not just an attack on America8217;s foreign policy interests. It is an attack on the international community,the alliances and partnerships,the conversations and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity,8221; she said last night.

Clinton,however,said she was confident that the partnerships that the Obama administration has worked so hard to build will withstand this challenge.

8220;The President and I have made these partnerships a priority,and we are proud of the progress that they have helped achieve,and they will remain at the centre of our efforts,8221; she said.

She refused to make a direct comment on or confirm what are alleged to be stolen State Department cables but said the US 8220;deeply regrets8221; the disclosure of any information that was intended to be confidential,including private discussions between counterparts or American diplomats8217; personal assessments and observations.

Clinton said the US is taking aggressive steps to hold responsible those who stole this information.

8220;I have directed that specific actions be taken at the State Department in addition to new security safeguards at the Department of Defense and elsewhere to protect State Department information so that this kind of breach cannot and does not ever happen again,8221; she said.

She said besides relations between governments,other concerns sparked off by the disclosures are about safety of human rights workers,independent observers and journalists whose references are contained in the documents.

US diplomats meet local human rights workers,journalists,religious leaders and others outside of government who offer their own candid insight. 8220;These conversations also depend on trust and confidence,8221; she noted.

8220;Whatever are the motives in disseminating these documents,it is clear that releasing them poses real risk to real people,and often to the very people who have dedicated their own lives to protecting others,8221; Clinton said.

8220;There is nothing laudable about endangering innocent people,and there is nothing brave about sabotaging the peaceful relations between nations on which our common security depends.

8220;There have been examples in history in which official conduct has been made public in the name of exposing wrongdoings or misdeeds. This is not one of those cases,8221; Clinton argued.

In contrast,what is being put on display in this cache of documents is the fact that American diplomats are doing the work we expect them to do,she said,adding that disclosures like these tear at the fabric of the proper function of a responsible government.

8220;People of good faith understand the need for sensitive diplomatic communications,both to protect the national interest and the global common interest.

8220;Every country,including the United States,must be able to have candid conversations about the people and nations with whom they deal,8221; she said.

Clinton said stealing confidential documents and then releasing them without regard for the consequences does not serve the public good and it is not the way to engage in a healthy debate.

8220;In the past few days,I8217;ve spoken with many of my counterparts around the world,and we have all agreed that we will continue to focus on the issues and tasks at hand.

8220;In that spirit,President Barack Obama and I remain committed to productive cooperation with our partners as we seek to build a better,more prosperous world for all,8221; she said.

Separately,White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama had been briefed on the issue.

8220;The stealing of classified information and its dissemination is a crime,8221; he said. 8220;It is obvious,though,that serious controls and oversight have to be in place in order to balance the need to know and the need to share.8221;

Replying to a question,he did not rule out the possibility of the Obama Administration considering taking legal action against WikiLeaks.

8220;I think obviously it was a very serious crime,first and foremost. I don8217;t think anybody would stand here and tell you this isn8217;t a concern about security. This is a concern that8230; some of these information could contain names of people that are working with our government to help on issues like human rights,on issues of democracy in places where those aren8217;t so easy to work on,8221; Gibbs said.

But,he said the US cannot afford to let it greatly impact its ability to pursue a foreign policy that is in its interest.

Gibbs said the Department of Defence has made it much more difficult for somebody to get access to and to copy and move both this type and this volume of information,disabling the ability to,for instance,plug in a thumb drive or a CD and copy vast amounts of information.