The trouble in dealing with Julian Assange is that he loves
attention — and it doesn’t
matter what kind. There must be a catalogue of psychological
factors that influence his malady, but the end result is he adores
playing himself and being noticed for it.
Assange loves saying that his execution has been called
for by American politicians. He actually appears proud to be
charged by the Swedish authorities with a sex crime against two
women. He apparently believes this makes him a true masculine hero,
countering a reported problem he’s had since puberty in macho
Australia.
All in all the worst thing that could happen to Julian
Assange would be not to be extradited to Sweden;
not to be extradited to the United States; and
not to be harassed by American-sponsored legal actions
wherever he might travel internationally. Lucky for Julian’s
psyche, two out of those three occurrences most likely will not
happen. On the other hand, there is a down side to his desire to
wallow in the attention.
Assange is quickly becoming the darling of the Michael
Moore “I hate America as long as that theme is financially
rewarding” set. Of course there are many followers of that club
that just blame the U.S. for everything and get nothing but
personal satisfaction out of their preoccupation. Julian Assange,
the entrepreneur and radical chic social climber, is not one of
them.
There are many in the U.S., of course, who believe that
the U.S. Government should not be allowed to restrict access to
information other than that which is of immediate importance to
national security, such as code breaking that informs of imminent
danger to the state, e.g. Pearl Harbor. While there is a good
argument against over-classification, the unauthorized publication
of secret official communication cannot be left to individuals who
make a business out of such an enterprise.
There are even some journalists who believe if they have
the ability to obtain classified information, that is reason enough
to publish it. The logic is that it’s the government’s job to keep
matters secret — and if they
can’t, well, that’s just too bad. Assange shares this concept and
takes it one step further. He, and others like him, believe it’s
their duty to expose anything they can regarding American
political, economic and military affairs —
the more apparently confidential the
better.
For some self-serving reason these individuals and
organizations are quite content to ignore the fact that the
information is ultimately the property of the American people, who
have delegated to their government the duty of gathering and
securing all levels of intelligence and its analysis. The American
people have an interest in restricting access to their information
— and have the legal right
to do so.
Without arguing the scope of the right to freedom of
speech, it is clear that Julian Assange’s objective is to gather
information that exposes official interests and views and
embarrasses the United States. His intent is malevolent and
targeted in such a manner as to endanger the American public
through divulging the classified activities and analysis of its
governmental representatives and institutions. Such an activity is
not protected under the First Amendment.
The issue is not the content of the diplomatic cables
— many of which actually
show the United States’ foreign policy, as Gideon Rachman put it in
the Financial Times, as “principled, intelligent and
pragmatic.” Rather it is that Assange’s intent is to injure the
United States Government and thereby diminish the status and ethic
of the American public as a uniquely endowed body of people seeking
to be “exceptional” in the world from which they have carved and
built an unparalleled nation.
Jealousy and self-loathing are among the usual suspects in
such hostility. But that’s for Assange’s psychiatrist to work out
and not a political or legal analysis. In the end, Julian Assange
is counting on falling legally under the “Pentagon Papers” ruling
of the U.S. Supreme Court whereby the publisher of stolen
classified documents is exonerated of responsibility. It will have
to be proven that Pfc. Bradley Manning, who transmitted the
classified communications to WikiLeaks, was enticed, encouraged, or
guided by Assange and his group. Julian’s defense team seems a bit
worried over that crucial issue.
Even if he “beats the rap” in the future, Julian Assange
will have to live with the reality that he is viewed as an enemy of
the United States. He may think now that this is a major
enhancement to his influence, but one wonders whether such a social
status has long-term positive value. If he hasn’t already,
somewhere along the line he will make a mistake by going too far.
The penalty then will be far greater than the current
mansion-arrest in Ellingham, Norfolk and possible conviction for
the sex crime in Sweden.
