Reported on May 20 by the reference news website According to a report on the website of the US Political Daily on May 19, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken asked his senior staff to crack down on the leaks of diplomatic activities related to the Gaza war, and made it clear that he was "angry" at the constant outflow of media reports that disclosed sensitive information.
It is reported that Blinken reprimanded senior leaders of the United States State Department at a small team meeting earlier this month, claiming that not only confidential documents, but also new proposals for mediating a ceasefire and ensuring Hamas to release hostages also appeared in media reports.
Blinken said that these leaks made negotiations more difficult and undermined the belief within the State Department that documents or details of closed talks would not fall into the hands of journalists.
The report quoted three US State Department officials as saying that Brinken asked the officials who reported directly to him at this meeting to help close these loopholes, especially the intelligence leaks related to the Gaza war. One of the State Department officials, who declined to be named, said that Blinken's message had been strictly conveyed to the entire State Department.
Matthew Miller, the chief spokesman of the United States Department of State, did not directly confirm the details of the discussion, but said in a statement: "The Secretary of State has always made it clear that the disclosure of information about sensitive diplomatic discussions is not conducive to advancing the interests of the United States."
The report also said that Blinken's warning showed that there was an increasingly acute unease within the Biden administration. He believed that when some officials had resigned to protest the government's Israeli policy, the continuous leakage of secrets would make the work of the State Council difficult. The move also highlighted the strong disappointment of the Biden team when it tried to get the hostages out of the Gaza Strip and the efforts to increase international assistance to the Palestinians stalled. (Compiled by Cao Weiguo)
