Arms secrets `leaked to Web'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.THOUSANDS OF sensitive documents relating to US national security have been leaked, according to reports on the Internet yesterday.
But America's mainstream media, preoccupied with the Thanksgiving holiday, seemed not to want to know.
The documents, as many as 20,000 pages of them, are said to detail efforts by the Clinton administration to conceal the extent of Iraq's weapons development plans, White House approval for exports of sensitive satellite technology to China, and information about the incentives offered by Washington to North Korea in return for curbing its nuclear programme - terms that North Korea has in the event ignored.
The reports on Iraq's weapons programme could prove especially embarrassing as they reportedly confirm much of the information provided by the former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter when he argued that Iraq was successfully concealing the scale of its plans to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
The leak was reported by the anti-establishment Internet journalist Matt Drudge. He is shunned by mainstream journalists as a gossip-monger, but many of his reports on the Monica Lewinsky affair, deemed too risque or politically problematical by Washington reporters, turned out to be true.
Verbatim details from the papers were not available yesterday, and Murray Waas, the reporter said to have the papers, could not be reached. Drudge suggested that Waas, who writes for the pro-Clinton Internet magazine Salon, was reluctant to divulge the contents while Bill Clinton facesimpeachment proceedings.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments