WASHINGTON (TIP): Fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden’s theft of 1.7 million secret documents could potentially put US military forces in “lethal” danger worldwide, American lawmakers warned January 9 citing a confidential Pentagon report. The defense department prepared and sent to prominent members of Congress a classified paper analyzing the potential impact of revelations by the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor. The report itself was not made public.

Snowden has disclosed details of US intelligence-gathering operations, but the lawmakers warned that Snowden’s illegal haul includes a large amount of classified military data. “This report confirms my greatest fears — Snowden’s real acts of betrayal place America’s military men and women at greater risk,” House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers said in a joint statement with top committee Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger.

The actions by Snowden, who is currently in Moscow where he has found temporary asylum, “are likely to have lethal consequences for our troops in the field,” Rogers added. Snowden and his supporters argue that his revelation of details of secret US programs that hoover up vast amounts of telephone and Internet data on virtually every American was merely a mission to defend civil liberties.