So, enforcing the law is a “witch-hunt” and someone who is alleged to have released hundreds of thousands of secret cables is a “whistleblower?”
No one will ever accuse the rapist/hacker Julian Assange of being a sophisticated observer of government and politics. He is a child, an emotionally immature sociopath who cares little about the real world impact his crimes have had on nations and governments — and individuals. Wikileaks revealed the names of Afghans who were collaborating with the US and the Taliban has threatened to punish those individuals. It is unknown if Assange’s crimes have resulted in the deaths of any Afghan citizens who were named in the docs.
Having been granted asylum by the Ecuadoran government after seeking refuge in their embassy following his escape from British authorities, Assange made his first public statement, calling on President Obama to “do the right thing”:
The United States must renounce its witch-hunts against Wikileaks. The United States must dissolve its FBI investigation.
“The United States must vow that it will not seek to prosecute our staff or our supporters. The United States must pledge before the world that it will not pursue journalists for shining a light on the secret crimes of the powerful.
“There must be no more foolish talk about prosecuting any media organisation; be it Wikileaks, or be it the New York Times.
“The US administration’s war on whistleblowers must end.
“Thomas Drake, William Binney and John Kirakou and the other heroic whistleblowers must – they must – be pardoned or compensated for the hardships they have endured as servants of the public record.
“And to the Army Private who remains in a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, who was found by the United Nations to have endured months of torturous detention in Quantico, Virginia and who has yet – after two years in prison – to see a trial: he must be released.
“Bradley Manning must be released.
“And if Bradley Manning did as he is accused, he is a hero and an example to us all and one of the world’s foremost political prisoners.
“Bradley Manning must be released.
Comparing Wikileaks with the New York Times in any context whatsoever is ludicrous. But that’s a sample of Assange’s fantasy, seeing himself and his fellow adolescent hackers as “heroic” figures, speaking truth to power and saving the world from “oppression.”
I will grant that there is too much secrecy in government. But this is a problem that must be solved incrementally and with great care. Wikileaks used a sledge hammer where a scalpel was needed. Assange and his crew might not like it, but not every nation is in love with every other nation. Giving your enemies — or your friends for that matter — intimate knowledge of what our government is thinking makes the world less safe. Assange is kidding himself if he thinks otherwise.
The British won’t let Assange leave the country. We’ll see how long the Ecuadorans tolerate his presence before giving him to the British so he can be extradited to Sweden and face the women who accuse him of rape.
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