An Australian intelligence officer is being sent home from Washington after he temporarily misplaced a briefcase containing classified US documents. It is understood the briefcase was accidentally left in an office at the US Congress building and was later returned to the Australian embassy.
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The Department of Foreign Affairs says the man works for the Office of National Assessments (ONA) and will return to Australia shortly because of the security breach. The department says while the incident was serious, the classified material was not compromised. The head of the Australian Defence Association, Neil James, says it is another embarrassment for Australia’s intelligence agencies. "It certainly isn’t an incident that would engender further confidence," he said. "Let’s face it: our major intelligence sharing agreements are with the Americans and particularly after embarrassing incidents like the [former Australian intelligence officer Jean-Philippe] Wispelaere case and our persecution of [former Australian intelligence officer] Merv Jenkins, there’s obviously a crying need to reassure the Americans that we do take things like this seriously." |