Reply #53: It's a Mission Impossible PR stunt

[Azathoth]

If the file contains the cables, it would have been easier just to release it unencrypted. Then everybody would have all the cables and there would be no use going after Assange -- the damage would already be done. Instead, Assange apparently wants to draw this whole thing out and attract as much media attention to himself as possible. The whole Mission Impossible-esque "encrypted file with dead man's keys being emailed out in the event of foul play" game is nothing more than attention-seeking hype.

On the other hand, the file might, as you suggest, contain something so secret and damaging that Assange is using it to actually blackmail the government and ensure his own safety. Of course, if that were true, it would make him the world's biggest hypocrite. The whole point of his (and WikiLeaks') espoused philosophy is that government secrets are bad, and the more the government wants to keep something secret, the more urgent it is that that secret be revealed to the public. By his own logic, something so secret and damaging that it can be used to blackmail the US government is something that he has no right to conceal from the public.