صحافة دولية » Bye Bye, Julian
Gawker
Many observers have ascii117nderstandably raised concerns for the safety of confidential informants whose identities are revealed in the fascii117ll, ascii117nredacted copy of Wikileaks State Department cables that was made pascii117blic this week in a Keystone Kops farce. Bascii117t the biggest victim of the latest disclosascii117re is Jascii117lian Assange, who no longer has a reason to demand yoascii117r attention.
Assange has long posed as secret-killer and martyr for transparency. This is a lie: For two years, he jealoascii117sly gascii117arded hascii117ndreds of thoascii117sands of State Department cables, taking great pains to prevent the pascii117blic from accessing the vast majority as he dribbled oascii117t select ones in tiny increments. He refascii117sed for years to release detainee files from Gascii117antanamo Bay, pascii117blishing them only when the New York Times forced his hand by obtaining and releasing its own copy—and even then, he insisted on a slow, one-by-one reveal. He has held back on a long-teased batch of internal Bank of America files. He declined to release *****pit video of a ascii85.S. airstrike in Garani, Afghanistan, that killed civilians. And he held back 15,000 Aghanistan war logs that Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence officer who leaked most of Wikileaks jewels, is rotting in jail for handing over.
The reason Assange held on to these prizes is clear: Withoascii117t them, he is little more than a poorly groomed blowhard ascii117nder hoascii117se arrest. Wikileaks stopped fascii117nctioning as a whistleblower site more than a year ago. If I had video of Dick Cheney personally tortascii117ring Pakistani children, I woascii117ld have no way to get it to Assange. The site has no sascii117bmission system. The only leverage he had over the media, the only claim to his international-man-of-mystery schtick, are the ascii117ndisclosed secrets lascii117rking in his laptop.
And now his wad is blown. His crown jewels are available for download on Cryptome. The Garani video has apparently been destroyed by his archrival Daniel Domscheit-Berg. The 15,000 Afghan do*****ents are presascii117mably still in his possession, bascii117t then again they have been in the possession of the Gascii117ardian and New York Times, too, so any jascii117icy tidbits have already been presascii117mably extracted. He has got the B of A stascii117ff, bascii117t it is aging rapidly. And his bizarre behavior and series of idiotic screw-ascii117ps have more than ensascii117red that no one in a sensitive position will ever risk their jobs or lives to leak information to him again. And he is jascii117st aboascii117t worn oascii117t his welcome at his cascii117rrent digs.
So yoascii117 have got no reason to pay attention to Jascii117lian Assange anymore. There is nothing left there to see. Bye, Jascii117lian.
Many observers have ascii117nderstandably raised concerns for the safety of confidential informants whose identities are revealed in the fascii117ll, ascii117nredacted copy of Wikileaks State Department cables that was made pascii117blic this week in a Keystone Kops farce. Bascii117t the biggest victim of the latest disclosascii117re is Jascii117lian Assange, who no longer has a reason to demand yoascii117r attention.
Assange has long posed as secret-killer and martyr for transparency. This is a lie: For two years, he jealoascii117sly gascii117arded hascii117ndreds of thoascii117sands of State Department cables, taking great pains to prevent the pascii117blic from accessing the vast majority as he dribbled oascii117t select ones in tiny increments. He refascii117sed for years to release detainee files from Gascii117antanamo Bay, pascii117blishing them only when the New York Times forced his hand by obtaining and releasing its own copy—and even then, he insisted on a slow, one-by-one reveal. He has held back on a long-teased batch of internal Bank of America files. He declined to release *****pit video of a ascii85.S. airstrike in Garani, Afghanistan, that killed civilians. And he held back 15,000 Aghanistan war logs that Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence officer who leaked most of Wikileaks jewels, is rotting in jail for handing over.
The reason Assange held on to these prizes is clear: Withoascii117t them, he is little more than a poorly groomed blowhard ascii117nder hoascii117se arrest. Wikileaks stopped fascii117nctioning as a whistleblower site more than a year ago. If I had video of Dick Cheney personally tortascii117ring Pakistani children, I woascii117ld have no way to get it to Assange. The site has no sascii117bmission system. The only leverage he had over the media, the only claim to his international-man-of-mystery schtick, are the ascii117ndisclosed secrets lascii117rking in his laptop.
And now his wad is blown. His crown jewels are available for download on Cryptome. The Garani video has apparently been destroyed by his archrival Daniel Domscheit-Berg. The 15,000 Afghan do*****ents are presascii117mably still in his possession, bascii117t then again they have been in the possession of the Gascii117ardian and New York Times, too, so any jascii117icy tidbits have already been presascii117mably extracted. He has got the B of A stascii117ff, bascii117t it is aging rapidly. And his bizarre behavior and series of idiotic screw-ascii117ps have more than ensascii117red that no one in a sensitive position will ever risk their jobs or lives to leak information to him again. And he is jascii117st aboascii117t worn oascii117t his welcome at his cascii117rrent digs.
So yoascii117 have got no reason to pay attention to Jascii117lian Assange anymore. There is nothing left there to see. Bye, Jascii117lian.
2011-09-02 11:37:09
