Australia blames US, not WikiLeaks, for leaks

The Australian government Wednesday blamed the United States, not the WikiLeaks founder, for the unauthorized release of about 250,000 secret US diplomatic cables and said those who originally leaked the documents were legally liable, according to a Reuters report.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd also said the leaks raised questions over the "adequacy" of US security over the cables.

"Mr (Julian) Assange is not himself responsible for the unauthorized release of 250,000 documents from the US diplomatic communications network," Rudd told Reuters in an interview.

"The Americans are responsible for that," said Rudd, who had been described in one leaked US cable as a "control freak."