Several bloggers following the Sgrena investigation are linking today to a leaked version of the U.S. military’s report on the incident, which appears to inadvertently reveal critical classified information. The link points to an Italian newspaper that gives instruction on how to copy and paste “hidden” text in the PDF version of the report. The genie is out of the bottle. But please be aware of the anti-war, anti-American agenda of those who are gloating over the leak.

As a Slashdot poster notes, a comparison of the redacted and exposed versions of the report suggests that much of what was redacted contains operational details, such as:

* An itemization of IEDs and VBIEDs deployment techniques which have been most effective,

* An analysis of the tactical strengths and weaknesses of specific checkpoints along “Route Irish”,

* Combat readiness assesment of the units and soldiers involved,

* A detailed description of how the checkpoint is laid out,

* Exact grid locations of various assets.

* Details of how checkpoint searches are set up and executed

* Details of how checkpoints are expected to deal with approaching vehicles, including threat assesment methods.

* A statistical analysis of “normal” traffic approaching the checkpoint.

It names the soldiers involved and details the specific actions taken by those soldiers. It names the soldier who killed Calipari.

It briefly describes U.S. Embassy procedures for transporting VIPs along Route Irish and in general.

It details movement of U.S. and Italian Embassy personnel.

It describes possible future procedures and configurations for checkpoints.

In other words it has a lot of information of potential use to an insurgent mission planner and a lot that is nobody’s business.

Kevin Drum is among those gloating ignorantly over the leaked document. Yes, someone on our side screwed up bigtime in leaving the redacted portions in the PDF file. But it was a mistake, and the Italians are exploiting it recklessly at the expense of national security.

Silvio Berlusconi, Il Manifesto, and Corriere della Sera don’t care a whit about our soldiers’ safety. You should. Loose lips sink ships. This Italian leak may be just as deadly.

Update: Austin Bay’s analysis of the report is must-read. So is Blackfive’s.

Update II: Dan Riehl takes a closer look at the PDF file and its apparent author, Lt. Col. Richard Thelin. More observations about the apparently sloppy creation of the PDF file at Learning To Love the Law. And Blogs of War gets an e-mail from an Italian blogger related to initial publication of the U.S. investigative report at an Italian site, Macchianera.

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