International Terrorist Julian Assange One Step Closer to American Justice

Article first published as International Terrorist Julian Assange One Step Closer to American Justice on Technorati.

With all the attention focused on events in the Middle East, it would be easy to think that American authorities have forgotten about Julian Assange, but rest assured that those responsible for our security still place the WikiLeaks founder higher on their list of international threats than Osama binLaden.

U.S. security people moved closer to getting their hands on this terrorist master-mind with the deportation order just issued by the British court, although the inevitable appeals will likely see this case drag on for months yet. These unseemly delays are extremely frustrating for those seeking the blood of the man who has caused them so much embarrassment, but may prove helpful by giving them more time to find proof (so far lacking) of serious wrongdoing.

The powers-that-be would love to bring charges that would result in a lengthy prison sentence for Mr. Assange, although fond hopes of a speedy execution seem to have evaporated, along with much of the evidence that he did anything more than just print material that fell into his hands. U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder won’t discuss what exact charges could be pursued, but legal experts feel that they may include espionage and conspiracy. Lately authorities have resorted to bottom-of-the-barrel efforts to find anything of substance.

Attempts to bribe Bradley Manning with a reduced sentence didn’t prove very helpful to the cause of justice. Either Mr. Manning is a lot tougher than he appears, or they are trying to find evidence of non-existent criminal activity. Despite the massive effort put into finding some, there is no real proof that Julian Assange played any role in stealing the documents, but our security agencies are seldom deterred by mere facts.

Recent tactics have included trying to squeeze information out of social media sites. Prosecutors obtained a court order aimed at getting Twitter to hand over records on Julian Assange, Bradley Manning and several others. There are suspicions that other sites, including Facebook, may have already bowed to pressure and turned over material.

It’s fascinating to hear our leaders praising freedom of speech, and urging other nations to allow their citizens more right to express themselves without fear. For many countries striving to free themselves from tyranny, social media sites have become the main avenue for free communication, yet our leaders see no hypocrisy in trying to exercise the same sort of political control over these sites that they condemn elsewhere. They have become so obsessed with bringing down Julian Assange, that they show no concern for the freedoms that they claim to hold so dear.

Julian Assange’s legal team believe that as he isn’t an American citizen, and hasn’t committed any crime in the U.S., American courts have no jurisdiction. The international community is growing increasingly puzzled by what they see as American obsession with what is already yesterday’s news, and not such a big deal to begin with. What foreigners fail to understand is the monstrous egos of our elected officials. Some of those egos have been seriously bruised by the head of WikiLeaks, and “justice” must be pursued.

Using whatever methods necessary U.S. officials will undoubtedly get their hands on Julian Assange. What a triumph for American justice and democracy, and what an example for other countries struggling for their rights.

U.S. Investigation of Julian Assange – Legal Process or Witch-Hunt?

Article first published as U.S. Investigation of Julian Assange: Legal Process or Witch-Hunt? on Blogcritics.

 

 

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange committed the worst possible crime, but it’s not the one that the U.S. government wants to prosecute him for. His most serious offense isn’t the theft or publication of thousands of documents, but the loss of face he has caused for some very powerful people.

Hillary Clinton has vowed to vigorously investigate and prosecute those responsible, but who is really to blame? Julian Assange published the documents, and it may be possible to prove he had some complicity in the theft, but he has no responsibility for the lapses in security, and he certainly wasn’t the author of these documents.

Australia’s foreign minister has said the US is to blame for the release of thousands of diplomatic cables on Wikileaks, not its Australian founder, Julian Assange. He went on to say that these leaks throw into question the state of American security. Mr. Rudd certainly isn’t the only one who feels that WikiLeaks is being used to divert attention away from those who should be taking at least some of the responsibility for this diplomatic disaster. There appears to be at least as much support for Julian Assange as for those trying to prosecute him.

Attempts to shut down WikiLeaks only resulted in thousands of mirror sites taking over, and companies cutting off WikiLeaks funding saw their sites targeted. The American authorities, not surprisingly, labeled those responsible as criminal hackers, which is a fine example of politics in action. Others see their actions as a legitimate protest against government control.

It’s convenient to keep the focus on Julian Assange, and away from American liability, or criminal wrong-doing. There is a concerted effort to label these leaks as a foreign attack, and even an act of terrorism, but is this an accurate interpretation of the facts, or simply face-saving spin by an embarrassed government?

Julian Assange makes a convenient scapegoat. As a foreigner, and head of an organization that operates outside of the United States, American authorities would love to make him the sole villain in this affair.

Is there any reality to the idea that this diplomatic fiasco is entirely the work of a foreign terrorist organization? It is at best a shaky premise. The idea that Julian Assange is a professional spy, who infiltrated American security agencies, to make off with thousands of classified documents, is hard to swallow. Branding a web-site that merely publishes whatever embarrassing information that comes its way, a terrorist organization, only makes U.S. officials look silly (or desperate).

The actual theft resulted from a combination of ineptitude and an insider with a grudge. Pte. Bradley Manning had little trouble hacking into government computers, to steal classified information that he shouldn’t have had access to. The government’s case against Mr. Assange hinges on the degree to which he may have instigated the theft. Being actively involved in obtaining classified information is much more serious than simply publishing it.

Now U.S. authorities are reputedly offering Mr. Manning a plea bargain in return for implicating Julian Assange in the theft. Considering the seriousness of the charges faced by Bradley Manning, it will be difficult for him to refuse some sort of deal, but will the world see this as justice?

The American government already looks bad enough. If the rest of the world sees the prosecution of Julian Assange as nothing more than a show trial with trumped-up evidence, designed to blame foreigners for something that is really more a domestic issue, then mild resentment over the contents of the documents could turn into real hostility.

There is a big difference between American authorities making a legitimate attempt to defend against foreign attack, and using brute force, as the world’s most powerful country, to launch a witch-hunt, for no other purpose than to divert attention away from themselves. If the Justice Department succeeds in convicting the head of WikiLeaks of espionage, and putting him in jail for a long time, will the rest of the world see this as democracy in action, or the long arm of a vengeful Uncle Sam?

Important, powerful people don’t appreciate being made to look foolish, and need their revenge. If this is the real reason for the government’s aggressive pursuit of Julian Assange, and they are willing to go to any lengths to prove that this whole affair can be pinned on foreign agents, then the result could prove more humiliating than the contents of the documents.

American relations with other governments have suffered serious setbacks from these leaks. Politicians have a God-given talent for making bad situations worse, and are well on their way to turning embarrassment into diplomatic disaster.

The Great WikiLeaks Conspiracy

Article first published as The Great WikiLeaks Conspiracy on Blogcritics.

To understand how this damaging information made it to Mr. Assante, one only has to look at who had the most to lose, and who the most to gain.

As Secretary of State the big loser in all of this is Hillary Clinton. This has been a huge embarrassment for her, not just because of what was in those leaked papers, but because her department was negligent in letting them fall into the wrong hands.

The big winner is Sarah Palin. Anything bad for the Obama White House is good for her. And there is no question that this makes the Democratic administration look terrible.

Put two and two together, and it’s obvious what happened. Can it be a coincidence that all of this hit the fan right after Hillary said that she didn’t think much of Sarah? As Hillary Clinton spends little time in her office (having to devote so much effort to keeping an eye on Bill), it would have been easy for Sarah to sneak in, hack Hilary’s password (only_a_cigar), and transfer thousands of documents to WikiLeaks’ computers.

Why, as a nation, are we so addicted to conspiracy theories? What motivates us to take the most mundane facts and weave them into fantastic plots?

J.F.K. was assassinated by Fidel Castro disguised as Marilyn Monroe. Elvis didn’t die, but was abducted by aliens, only to return to earth as a clerk in a 711 store. No one has been to the moon, and the landing was an elaborate hoax by NASA, filmed in a secret warehouse (right next to the one where they store the dead aliens and their flying saucer) to gain the upper hand in the space race.

John Kennedy died exactly as every investigation has proven, shot by Lee Harvey Oswald from the Book Depository Building. Elvis Presley passed away from complications brought on by over-indulgence, a bloated caricature of himself. The moon-landing took place, and there are no little green men in a New Mexico refrigerator.

All of these hard facts are difficult for the conspiracy-theorists to swallow, as they are so ordinary. Life can’t really be that simple, and uncomplicated. They are firm believers that the sound of hoof beats must be coming from unicorns, and not horses. Weather balloons and meteor showers are obviously alien spacecraft, full of bizarre creatures who have traveled for light-years just to perform strange experiments of a sexual nature on us.

Sorry folks, but life isn’t really a romp in the Enchanted Kingdom, and things are usually pretty much what they seem. Perhaps the problem is not being able to see the forest for the trees (or is it the trees for the forest?).

The Wikileaks scandal is bad enough, having caused not just embarrassment, but real harm to the U.S. and her allies. Talk of terrorist plots to destabilize the West, professional espionage rings, Republican dirty tricks, war-crimes trials and execution of all involved, satisfy the conspiracy theorists, but distract from the truth.

The reality is that Julian Assange is nothing more than a misguided crusader for freedom of information, and the documents ended up in his hands through a combination of carelessness, and a disgruntled employee. We just don’t like to accept that great events (and politics) can be so petty and sordid.

Reality is out there. Let’s learn to live with it!