Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange remains on the lam. Interpol advisory arrest notices for a string of burglaries committed in at least four countries. Of course not, but they are as genuine as the charges for which Sweden cites in requesting his arrest. Being head of a whistleblower organization is a mere coincidence... Wikileaks has not revealed anything that we didn't already suspect. Two billion US dollars a week flow into Afghanistan in the form of aid, and are promptly transferred via courier to Swiss and UAE bank accounts in Bahrain and Dubai. Former Afghan Vice-President Ahmad Zia Massoud was briefly detained in Dubai with 52 million dollars in cash.
No explanation where the cash came from, or why he was carrying it. The United States has a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy on what recipients of humanitarian and foreign aid do with the money. In reality, the US has lost accountability a long time ago of funds given to the Afghan government.
Interpol is going to be busy this week after Nigeria issued an arrest warrant and has requested Interpol's assistance in detaining former US Vice President Dick 'Caligula' Chaney for bribery and corruption charges. These charges stem from Mr. Chaney's role as CEO of Halliburton Corp, a company which became very wealthy during the Iraq War.
Mr. Chaney, just like Julian Assange are playing international 'Where's Waldo' and are laying low for a while. Revealed by Wikileaks, was a request by the theocratic monarchy of Saudi Arabia that the US preemptively bomb Iran. The US has brokered arms deals with the Saudis, providing them with a modern Air Force. Are they ever going to use this Air Force? If the Saudi's and Emirate countries want to bomb Iran they should 'man up' and do it themselves..
The US led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan has been a disaster. We have accomplished nothing more than propping up weak, corrupt regimes who will fall after US and Allied military leave. Why then we are allowing our Governments to continue to fight this ridiculously unpopular, expensive and unnecessary war?
Just like Vietnam, the US has become obsessed with body counts. Unfortunately, wikileaks shows some of these bodies are innocent civilians. Wikileak video footage of Reuters correspondents and unarmed civilians being murdered was sickening.
Regardless of whether anyone agrees with Mr. Assange's expose, or vilifies him as a terrorist, he has a right to publish the truth. The truth may make us uncomfortable, uneasy, and we can just look away. Whatever we do, we should at least question why. In a frenzy of false claims, the US State Department has asserted that the latest media-dump of information puts lives at risk. Who's lives, and at what risk? Talking smack, or just plain gossiping about another world leader behind his back is hardly a life threatening event. Without Wikileaks and others like them, the CIA would still be using secret prisons, international kidnapping of innocent civilians (Rendition Programme), and the government would still be illegally wiretapping American telecommunications. Spying on our allies wasn't really a new revelation, all countries do it. Asking diplomats to get DNA and fingerprint samples was a little bizarre.
Freedom of the Press is a sacred cow that few in government would dare to touch. Wikileaks keeps governments honest and our free society demands a free press.
In the downward spiral of any democracy, the journalists, the intellectuals, and those who would write against a corrupt regime are the first to go. Protecting our right to information is essential in a democracy. Regardless of how you feel about Mr. Assange, we need people like him in an open and free society.
Across the Pond Follow 'Across the Pond' on Twitter: www.twitter.com/fraefife
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