In his June 10 column, Vijay Prashad writes: “The U.S. State Department cables and the video footage (notably of the killing of reporters by U.S. helicopters in Iraq) provided direct evidence of war crimes and corruption that involved U.S. officials. The U.S. establishment has wanted to punish Assange and Manning for this revelation, not for what Assange did in Sweden or for the leak of the Podesta emails.”
Prashad might note that WikiLeaks has exposed more than American misdeeds. Assange’s former colleague, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, explained in an April 2, 2011 “Frontline” interview that he had left WikiLeaks over its indifference to the survival of Afghans who had worked with Americans. While Domscheit-Berg appears to be a gentle person who would not at all want Assange to face the jeopardy he is now in, one can imagine how things might look from an “establishment” view: The U.S. could not do a minimum to keep its Afghan allies safe; and, with the subsequent data dump of classified diplomatic cables, the U.S. was greatly compromised in conducting a foreign policy.
As to the dumps of DNC materials onto the web in 2016, they might not factor into existing U.S. indictments of Assange, but they might matter to the “establishment” and, indeed, to anyone who is reading the Mueller report (which is, I suppose, an “establishment” document). As I try to read the report, it looks to me like Assange decided to cast his lot with the GOP in 2016, and operated strategically to help throw the election.
Throwing an election is not the behavior of journalists or whistleblowers. It can be that of people who have amassed considerable political power, and determine to use that power according to their own lights. I am very sorry that Ola Bini is languishing in prison without charges being brought, and that our government may bear behind-the-scenes responsibility for this. What will happen to Assange, we will see; but, in principle, I think it is fair that Assange should be held accountable for his harms.
Mary H. Hall
South Hadley