WikiLeaks’ next release will be seven times the size of the Iraq war logs, already the biggest leak in U.S. intelligence history, the Web site said Monday.
p
The organization made the announcement in a brief message posted to its followers on Twitter, giving no information about the content of the coming release or its exact timing — although it did refer to the coming months in a separate tweet sent about an hour later.
p
Although the Web site has been spilling secrets for years, WikiLeaks shot to international prominence this year with three leaks. One exposed a classified U.S. helicopter video that appears to show an attack on two Reuters employees and other civilians. The second made public 77,000 ground-level U.S. intelligence files covering the war in Afghanistan. The third put out 400,000 more such files exposing the daily grind of attacks, detentions and interrogations in Iraq.
p
Although it isn’t clear what WikiLeaks is planning to release next, it allegedly has a huge cache of classified U.S. State Department cables whose publication could give a behind-the-scenes look at American diplomacy around the world.
p
In the message, the site also said it was under intense pressure over the imminent release — a possible reference to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s legal problems in Sweden, where he is wanted for alleged sexual misconduct. It could also be a reference to the constant pressure which Assange says is being applied to the Web site’s servers, security, and finances.
p
WikiLeaks did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking further clarification. Assange says he never makes the exact nature of his releases public ahead of time, explaining that that gives secret-holders time much to spin the information to their advantage.