So Ecuador grants Assange asylum

[olevetonahill]

Now what? Will they go in and take him out by force as they have threatened ?

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/assange-ecuador-asylum-u-k-123726223.html

[rock on sooner]

Now what? Will they go in and take him out by force as they have threatened ?

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/assange-ecuador-asylum-u-k-123726223.html

Just guessin' here, but it'll be pretty hard for Ecuador to
get him out of the country, considering that the Brits know
when he hiccups, much less tries to leave the country.
Personally, I think Assange ought to be incarcerated for
the leaks, he apprently did that before the other stuff.

[Midtowner]

I doubt the UK is going to storm the Ecuador embassy. That said, if Sweden will just agree not to extradite him to the U.S. after trying him for those bogus charges, he'd go tomorrow.

[olevetonahill]

I doubt the UK is going to storm the Ecuador embassy. That said, if Sweden will just agree not to extradite him to the U.S. after trying him for those bogus charges, he'd go tomorrow.
And you know those RAPE charges are bogus because you have seen and studied every piece of evidence?

UK IMHO will do 1 of 2 things. Either they remove the diplomatic protection and go in and get him or just wait until he trys to sneak out and nab him him then

AS far as I know he has never been charged with a crime against the US yet, whats he so afraid of?

[rock on sooner]

I doubt the UK is going to storm the Ecuador embassy. That said, if Sweden will just agree not to extradite him to the U.S. after trying him for those bogus charges, he'd go tomorrow.

I agree about not storming the embassy, but that doesn't
mean he wouldn't be picked up outside the embassy when
he tries to leave the country (and I'm not sure the Brits would
be involved.)

[Midtowner]

And you know those RAPE charges are bogus because you have seen and studied every piece of evidence?

The timing is awfully interesting, isn't it? Rape is a great crime to charge with. You can convict someone of a serious felony on someone's word alone.


UK IMHO will do 1 of 2 things. Either they remove the diplomatic protection and go in and get him or just wait until he trys to sneak out and nab him him then

AS far as I know he has never been charged with a crime against the US yet, whats he so afraid of?

The endgame here is obvious.

I still don't agree that the U.S. has jurisdiction here... but he with the most guns makes the law sometimes.

[olevetonahill]

The timing is awfully interesting, isn't it? Rape is a great crime to charge with. You can convict someone of a serious felony on someone's word alone.



The endgame here is obvious.

I still don't agree that the U.S. has jurisdiction here... but he with the most guns makes the law sometimes.

So because of the Timing the charges are Bogus? Good logical thinking there counselor.
Like I said he has never been charged with a Crime by US yet, so I repeat, Whats he afraid of? Why would rape charges be manufactured against him?

[jkjsooner]

Personally, I think Assange ought to be incarcerated for
the leaks, he apprently did that before the other stuff.

I actually disagree with this. Assange is not an American citizen and was not operating within the U.S. In my opinion he has no obligation to keep our state secrets any more than I am obligated to keep Turkey state secrets.

If his country of citizenship (Australia?) or the country he was operating out of have laws related to protecting U.S. classified information then he should be prosecuted in those countries under those laws. I just don't think he should be within our jurisdiction.

I don't want a foreign country extending their reach into the U.S. and I don't think we should extend our reach into foreign countries.

Those U.S. citizens who passed Assange information are the criminals.

Also keep in mind that there's a long history of media divulging classified information and not being charged. Some would argue that that is their free speech right and that they are not the ones who were entrusted with keeping the secrets. Given, most of the reporters are very careful to only release whatever they need to release (usually as it relates to some type of criminal activity on the part of officials) and definitely don't release hundreds of thousands of pages of documents.

[jkjsooner]

I'm no fan of Assange. When I first heard about WikiLeaks I thought it was one of the best ideas I've ever heard. It was a great way to anonymously expose fraud and corruption.

When Assange got a big head and started basically embarrassing states is when he lost my sympathy.

[yermom]

why do the Brits have such an interest in Swedish charges?

[rock on sooner]

JKJ, you make a good point with the citizenship thing. But,
here's a thought, what do you thiink Turkey would do if you
divulged their state secrets? Charges of espionage come to
mind...I hear Turkish prisons ain't fun.

The U.S. has at least one leaker in custody and on trial.

[jkjsooner]

JKJ, you make a good point with the citizenship thing. But,
here's a thought, what do you thiink Turkey would do if you
divulged their state secrets? Charges of espionage come to
mind...I hear Turkish prisons ain't fun.

The U.S. has at least one leaker in custody and on trial.

Maybe so but I doubt I would be extradited for it. In fact I almost guarantee you I wouldn't.

I think there would be a lot of people who would have a serious problem with our country extraditing a US citizen to even France for divulging French state secrets...


I guess the more I think about it it is our business whether we want to extend our reach in such a way. It's the business of England (or ultimately Sweden if he is sent there for trail) whether they want to allow us to extend our reach in such a manner.

I would have no problem if Sweden or England said, "No, we're not allowing you to extend your reach to a non US citizen acting outside of the United States."

[olevetonahill]

Maybe so but I doubt I would be extradited for it. In fact I almost guarantee you I wouldn't.

I think there would be a lot of people who would have a serious problem with our country extraditing a US citizen to even France for divulging French state secrets...
And yet again. WE The USA have not charged him with anything, We have not tried to extradite him yet. The Swiss want him on a RAPE charge

[jkjsooner]

And yet again. WE The USA have not charged him with anything, We have not tried to extradite him yet. The Swiss want him on a RAPE charge

If he did what they say he did then he should be extradited to Sweden.

U.S. officials have discussed charging him. Also, I was responding to this which is why I got on the topic of him being potentially extradited to the U.S.


Originally Posted by rock on sooner
Personally, I think Assange ought to be incarcerated for
the leaks, he apprently did that before the other stuff.

I know, it's frustrating when you start a thread and it almost immediately goes on a tangent...

[KantoSooner]

This is one of those deals where things just work out.

Assange will stay in the embassy. He will be 'free' in the sense that he'll not be formally locked up, but he'll not be free to leave the embassy grounds. (which are technically Ecuadorian territory and thus sovereign, just like any embassy. Storming them would be an act of war.)

The Brits get to keep him bottled up and will hold the flight from justice charge over his head if he ever gets bored.

the Swedes will keep their charges pending.

The Ecuadoreans will get to act hurt and the champion of anti-imperialists everywhere....all for the price of room and board of one skinny Aussie.

The Aussies and Americans, who haven't charged him with anything get to watch the turd slowly rot, safely stashed away in a quasi-unfriendly embassy, off their territory, at someone else's cost.

Everybody wins.

Well, except for sweet baby Julian, of course, who gets to be in prison in all but name.

I'm quietly satisfied that this whole thing worked out so neatly. It's almost as though someone in MI5 had their thinking cap on particularly early.

God Save The Queen.

[badger]

I'll say what many people are probably thinking: The sh!t Assange is threatening to wiki-leak must be soooooo damning and exposing to important people that he isn't in jail yet and has basically been allowed to dick around along as he has.

[LiveLaughLove]

I don't see the Swedes or Swiss or whoever working on our behalf to trump up rape charges on the guy.

He's not a US citizen so owes us nothing as far as not releasing those documents. Still in the end, we have probably had agents killed because of it.

I think he should be considered an enemy of the state, or enemy combatant, and dealt with thusly.

I think Australia ought to bring him up on aiding and abetting an enemy.

[KantoSooner]

That is one possibility, but has the ring of the truthers about it. I think it's more likley to be more of the same: frank emails and analyses that embarass countries and politicians with whom we do business and make it more difficult to get things done.

Let's say, for instance, that President-For-Life Butthead of Chaosistan wants a little quid-pro-quo for letting us overfly his territory to take out an Al Qaeda training camp. Let's say it involves a really interesting weekend in Monaco in the company of six young ladies waaaaay too good looking to be amateurs and a couple of young men without a blade of body hair between them.

Now, the boy scout Assange might feel that arraning such a thing was below the dignity of democratic governments and the amorality of the people involved should be brought into the open for all to see. And maybe so.

But the good President is not likelly to be happy about it and might not be so willing to help out his 'good friends' in the future.

If you like sausage, don't ever examine, too closely, the process of sausage making.

[yermom]

I don't see the Swedes or Swiss or whoever working on our behalf to trump up rape charges on the guy.

He's not a US citizen so owes us nothing as far as not releasing those documents. Still in the end, we have probably had agents killed because of it.

I think he should be considered an enemy of the state, or enemy combatant, and dealt with thusly.

I think Australia ought to bring him up on aiding and abetting an enemy.

the government doesn't have to "trump up" charges, just a couple of people do. it seems a little convenient. how often do governments get this involved about an alleged sex offender?

[okie52]

Roman Polanski comes to mind.

[yermom]

who were we threatening to invade to get him?

[KantoSooner]

There has been talk of the Brits 'storming' the embassy to get him. It isn't going to happen.

If he's apprehended in Britain it's more likely that the Ecuadorians will arrange to secretly move him to an airport and get him on a private flight out to a carribean refueling spot...and then discover when the plane's airborne that the flight is 'Royal Airforce Flight 007' headed to a nice undisclosed location.

[jkjsooner]

You know what would be funny? If someone got some good dirt on Ecuador and sent it to WikiLeaks. What they do with that information would be telling.

My guess is that Assange would suppress the information if he has the ability to do so and we would see that he doesn't exactly live up to the standard he set for others.

[rock on sooner]

Maybe so but I doubt I would be extradited for it. In fact I almost guarantee you I wouldn't.

I think there would be a lot of people who would have a serious problem with our country extraditing a US citizen to even France for divulging French state secrets...


I guess the more I think about it it is our business whether we want to extend our reach in such a way. It's the business of England (or ultimately Sweden if he is sent there for trail) whether they want to allow us to extend our reach in such a manner.

I would have no problem if Sweden or England said, "No, we're not allowing you to extend your reach to a non US citizen acting outside of the United States."

Ya know, yer prolly right about not being extradited, but I bet yer neck
would be sore constantly looking over yer shoulder. And I made the post
about incarceration thinking about the damage the leaks did to various
US operations, overt and covert, around the world.

[soonercruiser]

How much money does Assange have?
How poor are the general population of Ecuador, and their military?
....I see another helicopter roof top rescue in the making!