The publication now of over 3,000 cables sent by US diplomats in The Hague to Washington is no coincidence, Julian Assange of the Wikileaks organisation, told Nos tv on Sunday.



Dutch journalists approached Wikileaks looking for information which may be relevant to the ongoing debate about a new mission to Afghanistan, Assange said.

While Wikileaks is not trying to influence the debate, it would be wrong if the material ‘written by the US government’ was not published before the debate and vote on the plans, Assange said.

Many of the 3021 cables obtained by several Dutch news organisations focus on US efforts to get the Netherlands to stay in Afghanistan. In the event, the government collapsed when Labour refused to give its backing to a second extension to the Nato mission.

The new government is now looking at sending a 545-strong police training mission instead.



More on this

US pressured Labour over Afghanistan