How could a 21-year-old soldier without such a high rank get hold of classified US government documents and, above all, make them public? Here the Pentagon – the US Department of Defense – is baffled.
Experts suspect that a senior official must be responsible for the leak since it became known that top-secret documents were spilled on the street. But it turned out to be an illusion that this state secret information could only be seen by senior defense officials.
“I was stunned to hear that someone of such low rank had access to this data,” says Peter Wijninga of the think tank The Hague Center for Strategic Studies.
The arrested leaker Jack Teixeira has been working as a systems administrator for the National Guard for the past few years. He was in charge of communications equipment at an airbase in Massachusetts and held a low rank in the army, comparable to a corporal in the Netherlands. It is unclear how he obtained the leaked information.
just a summary
“He’s part of a unit that doesn’t really need this information,” Wijninga says. Typically, classified intelligence reports are heavily reworked before they are further circulated. Most services and people who have access to sensitive documents will only see a summary of those documents. “So people don’t have the details, but they know what’s going on.”
The arrest of the young soldier was viewed from the air:
According to the US Department of Defense, hundreds of thousands of people around the world had access to these documents. It is not clear what accreditation Teixeira has. This question needs to be answered in the near future.
Very sensitive information
However, what is remarkable is that the documents currently lying on the street contain these sensitive details. The footage allegedly shared by Teixeira revealed how deeply American and allied intelligence agencies had infiltrated the circles around the Russian government. This made it clear that the Americans could inform the Ukrainians about the planned Russian attacks almost instantly.
They also showed that US intelligence agencies were listening to Ukrainian leaders, as well as allies such as Israel and South Korea. These revelations could undermine confidence at a time when Washington is trying to forge a western front in the fight against Moscow.
Share more since 9/11
Leiden University intelligence expert Ben de Jong says that more people in the intelligence community have access to classified information is part of a trend that began more than two decades ago. “After the 2001 terrorist attacks, one of the most important complaints was that the intelligence agencies, especially the FBI and CIA, did not share enough information about the perpetrators of the attacks.”
“The services then decided to share more, otherwise you will hurt efficiency,” says De Jong. “You could say that this leak is, in a way, a result of that. In this area, the secret services are in a dilemma; It’s hard to strike the right balance between sharing too much and too little information.”
In addition, confidential information is not only in the hands of the administrators of the secret services. Young employees also receive these documents, for example, to create reports for their superiors. It is unclear whether this applies to Teixeira as well. Some experts point out that as a system administrator, he also has access to IT facilities. Therefore, it is possible that he received the documents in another way.
less fast in the Netherlands
De Jong thinks a similar leak seems less likely in the Netherlands because the services there are much smaller. Secret services such as the CIA, FBI and NSA have a large number of employees in the USA. These services then share a lot of data with military personnel around the world, as well as with allies. The Netherlands is a much smaller player in this area.
In his response, Defense Minister Ollongren stressed that any strict protocol is in place. “But I assume the Americans have those rules too, and they do anyway.” There is no guarantee that this will always go well in the Netherlands. “This is why the findings in America excite me. You should always look at what could go wrong and pay attention to how our own system works in practice.”
Big consequences for Americans
The damage done to Americans is enormous. The leaked information is up to date. Some reports are only a few weeks old. Relations with loyal allies are particularly affected. “This damages the relationship of trust,” Wijninga says.
But what is worrisome is that hostile countries could use this information to learn how the information was collected. “This is very bad for the position of American intelligence. This means that an adversary can take action to block access to information in the future.” In other words, the United States is weak in terms of intelligence. “The Pentagon needs to work on this,” Wijninga said. Tough measures need to be taken.”
Source: NOS

Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.