The tragicomic descent of Julian Assange into international shame

[struggle4progress]

3. Well! Let's consider the points made in the excerpt one-by-one:

I. FROM EXCERPT IN OP:

... Assange didn’t concern himself too much then, or now for that matter, if some flesh-and-blood people would be hurt or even killed by his revelations (anti-Taliban informants in Afghanistan, for instance, whose unredacated names appeared in Wikileaks dispatches). On this front, he was chillingly indifferent or outright dismissive. There’s a name for people with that sort of personality — though it is usually used in the context of mass murderers, not webmasters ...

EXHIBIT A:

Exclusive: The Taliban has issued a chilling warning to Afghans, alleged in secret US military files leaked on the internet to have worked as informers for the Nato-led coalition, telling Channel 4 News "US spies" will be hunted down and punished ... Zabihullah Mujahid told Channel 4 News that the insurgent group will investigate the named individuals before deciding on their fate. "We are studying the report," he said, confirming that the insurgent group already has access to the 92,000 intelligence documents and field reports. "We knew about the spies and people who collaborate with US forces. We will investigate through our own secret service whether the people mentioned are really spies working for the US. If they are US spies, then we know how to punish them" ...

Taliban hunt Wikileaks outed Afghan informers
By Jonathan Miller
Updated on 30 July 2010
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/taliban+hunt+wikileaks+outed+afghan+informers/3727667.html

EXHIBIT B:

... David Leigh and Luke Harding's history of WikiLeaks describes how journalists took Assange to Moro's, a classy Spanish restaurant in central London. A reporter worried that Assange would risk killing Afghans who had co-operated with American forces if he put US secrets online without taking the basic precaution of removing their names. "Well, they're informants," Assange replied. "So, if they get killed, they've got it coming to them. They deserve it." A silence fell on the table as the reporters realised that the man the gullible hailed as the pioneer of a new age of transparency was willing to hand death lists to psychopaths ...

The treachery of Julian Assange
The WikiLeaks founder, far from being a champion of freedom, is an active danger to the real seekers of truth
Nick Cohen
The Observer, Saturday 17 September 2011
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/18/julian-assange-wikileaks-nick-cohen

EXHIBIT C:

... After the Afghan War Logs, Julian declared, chillingly, ‘I’m not scared to make mistakes or be blamed, or even accidentally cause harm in the cause of justice’ ...

The War On Secrets
December 6, 2010 by Isabelle Fraser
http://isismagazine.org.uk/2010/12/the-war-on-secrets/

II. FROM EXCERPT IN OP:
... Then came those stories of his wayward and lordly way with the whole Wikileaks organization. Supporters found him arrogant and self-centered ...

EXHIBIT D:

... Since August 20, 2010, when Swedish authorities issued an international warrant for Assange's arrest on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion (he has has denied the allegations), the transparency site has been in crisis. "We had ... conceived of ourselves as a neutral submission platform, pure technology, and not a political agitator with a Twitter account," writes Daniel Domscheit-Berg, Assange's one-time lieutenant, in his valuable book "Inside WikiLeaks:" "It was Julian who made the decisions. The rest of us were too indecisive and skittish or simply lacked the resolve to set any limits for him. Julian thus became the autocratic head of WL, accountable to no one and tolerating no challenges to his authority."

When the sex charges were made public, Domscheit-Berg and other key WikiLeaks volunteers -- including Birgitta Jonsdottir, the Icelandic MP who had helped publicize the famous "helicopter shooting video" that first signaled WikiLeaks turn from neutrality toward explicit political agitation -- tried to get Assange to step aside for the good of the organization. It should go without saying, but people who want to hold others to high ethical standards have to themselves be beyond reproach. Unfortunately, in the weeks after those charges arose, Assange kept a tight and unrelenting grip, a story that Domscheit-Berg details in his book.

During a climactic online meeting on September 14, 2010, WikiLeaks' inner circle, which also included a mysterious master coder referred to as "the architect," met for what would be their last group conversation. Assange was angry about comments Jonsdottir had made to the Daily Beast: "I am not angry with Julian, but this is a situation that has clearly gotten out of hand," she told reporter Philip Shenon. "These personal matters should have nothing to do with WikiLeaks. I have strongly urged him to focus on the legalities that he's dealing with and let some other people carry the torch."

But Assange refused to back down, saying, essentially, "WikiLeaks, c'est moi." According to Domscheit-Berg's account, Jonsdottir responded, "So what you are saying Julian is that you are wl [sic] and everyone else just your servants who you allocate trust to" ...

Assange's stubborn grip hurt WikiLeaks
By Micah Sifry, Special to CNN
updated 1:11 PM EDT, Fri August 17, 2012
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/16/opinion/sifry-assange-ecuador/index.html

EXHIBIT E:

... My trips to WikiLeaks' HQ became far less frequent, and I attempted to leave the organisation early. This was refused. I was cornered for several days and asked to sign a gagging agreement.

Supporters were asked to "apply psychological pressure" to encourage me to sign, evidencing a growing cultlike ethos at the centre of the group.

I was disturbed and conflicted. I still found the organisation's aims were in many ways laudable, the financial and legal pressures unjust, and its publishing pattern far more responsible than it received credit for.

I couldn't support its internal culture, its lack of accountability, willingness to lie publicly, and crucially its failure to condemn Shamir. I supported the organisation's principles, but not its methods ...

Why I felt I had to turn my back on WikiLeaks
Former staffer tells how dismay mounted during his three months with the whistleblowing group
James Ball
guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 September 2011 16.25 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/sep/02/why-i-had-to-leave-wikileaks

EXHIBIT F:
... First impressions were not improved upon. After working with Assange to go through the initial material about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Times reporters came to believe he was smart and tech-savvy, but "arrogant, thin-skinned, conspiratorial and oddly credulous" ...
NYT: WikiLeaks' Julian Assange is "Arrogant, Thin-Skinned, Conspiratorial"
January 26, 2011 4:40 PM
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20029701-503543.html

III. FROM EXCERPT IN OP:
There followed ... allegations of sexual misconduct, charges filed in Sweden, ... his flight from British authority, and ... sanctuary in ... the Ecuadorian embassy ...

EXHIBIT G:
Timeline: sexual allegations against Assange in Sweden
16 August 2012 Last updated at 10:31 ET
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11949341

EXHIBIT H:
Timeline: Julian Assange's extradition battle
By Alexis Lai, CNN
updated 10:07 AM EDT, Thu August 16, 2012
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/16/world/europe/assange-extradition-timeline/index.html

IV. FROM EXCERPT IN OP:
He has proven to be untrustworthy. He has broken faith with the friends and supporters who gave him bail money.

EXHIBIT I:

The Metropolitan Police in London, United Kingdom, say that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is in breach of his bail conditions by staying overnight at the Ecuadorian embassy, where he sought political asylum on Tuesday. If Assange leaves the premises, he can be arrested, the police added ...

Assange Breached Bail in Seeking Asylum, British Police Say
By Juha Saarinen
06.20.12 12:17 PM
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/06/assange-breached-bail/

EXHIBIT J:
Julian Assange's leading supporters face losing £240,000 in bail money
Sureties posted at Westminster magistrates court by group of celebrities and activists now in jeopardy after WikiLeaks founder seeks asylum in Ecuadorean embassy
Robert Booth
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 June 2012 13.43 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jun/20/julian-assange-supporters-240000-bail