Assange Alerts His Hostages

Remember how I suggested that Obama was establishing a practice of only making deals with people–whether they be Republicans or Democrats–who take hostages?

Well, Julian Assange just made it clear who his hostages are:

Top officials in several Arab countries have close links with the CIA, and many officials keep visiting US embassies in their respective countries voluntarily to establish links with this key US intelligence agency, says Julian Assange, founder of the whistle-blowing website, WikiLeaks.“These officials are spies for the US in their countries,” Assange told Al Jazeera Arabic channel in an interview yesterday.

The interviewer, Ahmed Mansour, said at the start of the interview which was a continuation of last week’s interface, that Assange had even shown him the files that contained the names of some top Arab officials with alleged links with the CIA.

[snip]

“If I am killed or detained for a long time, there are 2,000 websites ready to publish the remaining files. We have protected these websites through very safe passwords,” said Assange.

Assange’s message–on Al Jazeera, in a message directed to “the Arab Street”? If he is disappeared or killed or put away, the names of America’s stooges in the Middle East will be released on some outlet like Al Jazeera.

Given that some of those people are probably our crack oil dealers from Saudi Arabia, I can imagine how such a message might be persuasive–and might be made to be persuasive to the US government.

Mind you, we already know that the US has a long history of close ties between its clients–even with people like Saddam Hussein–and the CIA. We already knew this.

Much like we already knew this:

Some Arab countries even have torture houses where Washington regularly sends ‘suspects’ for ‘interrogation and torture’, he said.

But I would imagine Jordanians and Egyptians (in the case of our torturers) would be very interested in reading how their country tortured other Arabs at the behest of the US.

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114 replies
  1. bell says:

    it is fairly clear why a few folks in high places want to get rid of assange as quickly as possible… it looks like it is going to be difficult for them to stop the data from coming out regardless of what happens to assange..

    • sona says:

      yes, assange is too much of a master strategist and wikeleaks has been a dream of his that he has been working on for a while – don’t get me wrong, i knew him when he was completing his doctorate in physics in the university of melbourne – he is articulate, passionate, very politically aware and knew back then the risks involved but he was always aware that whatever happens to him personally, it is important to make sure his dream doesn’t fizzle out – it won’t now, he has delivered on that score but i do take exception to threats made against his son – i do not know daniel, his son, but i know julian cares

      • bigbrother says:

        Interesting comment….here is a great 11 page article in the New Yorker on his life up to now http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/06/07/100607fa_fact_khatchadourian?currentPage=all He has gone through a lot and lived almost as a hunted man in secrecy often so has a lot of skills. Wikileaks needs an executive committee to diversify their chain of command. Assange is to obsessed with authority for good reason. He is one of the bravest individuals in history challenging the most viscious in modern times he has fantastic understanding of cyber space. Extortion is a very dangerous game but he has a growing list of powerful allies to take him our would make him the most powerful martyr of modern times for millions of angry disenchanted people. Read the story

  2. Stephen says:

    He certainly has the cat by the tail. Make that multiple cats and they are big. The Israelis must be on the edge of there seats with Hillary beside herself contemplating questions she would have to answer if she runs again. Oh Billy what should we do.

  3. PeasantParty says:

    It definitely sounds like Assange has planned for all sorts of things. If I were in charge, I’d leave him alone. It seems he can bring more problems than they want to see light.

    • BoxTurtle says:

      If you do that, he’s still going to release embarassing information. Just on his schedule.

      ObamaLLP is between a rock and a hard place. Their normal tactic when confronted forcably is to give the confronter everything he wants in return for a bone they can throw to us DFH’s. But this time, they’re personally threatened. So all they can think of is to crush the enemy using many of the questionable legal tactics that BushCo used.

      Boxturtle (I think he’d be dead already if not for his hostages)

      • Synoia says:

        Yes, I too believe he’d be dead if it was not for his preparation.

        Slit wrists in a UK forest? Small airplane falling out of sky? Accident in tunnel at high speed? A Hoffa disappearance?

        No, best of all, a Ken Lay heart Attack!

        • onitgoes says:

          No, best of all, a Ken Lay heart Attack!

          Indeed, best of luck & all God speed to Mr. Assange. He needs and deserves it now more than ever. I fear that, eventually, “something” will happen to him, but I suspect he’s BRAVE enough to suffer those consequences. I am deeply grateful for his very good work and for his courage & grace under fire. To stick your neck out like he is… well, it’s quite something to behold.

          I’ve long felt, though, that Ken Lay did NOT have any such heart attack, and that Kenny-boy’s living large somewhere like Paraquay… perhaps on the Bush crime family’s lands down there. Otherwise, if Lay is, in fact, dead… yes, then Lay was “offed” by the PTB. And the Enron workers got royally screwed, as did a whole lot of the rest of us serfs (those in CA spring immeidately to mind).

          Assange is clearly an exceptionally bright man. His work far exceeds Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (which was also admirable). Ellsberg has gone out his way to praise Assange and state clearly that Assange is a courageous hero… and hopefully will live for many more long years.

          Time will tell. This most recent “leak” is quite interesting. Go, Julian!

    • gesneri says:

      Those in charge aren’t bright enough to leave him alone.

      I’m wondering if this is maybe just the very beginning of worldwide insurrection. Assange will be taken down somehow, I’m afraid, but this episode may have illuminated the fact that the new revolution is not on a battlefield, nor is it urban warfare. It’s cyberwarfare–dissemination of confidential information, hacking, etc. Possibly the exposure worldwide of the men behind the curtain?

      • PeasantParty says:

        ” is it urban warfare. It’s cyberwarfare–dissemination of confidential information, hacking, etc. Possibly the exposure worldwide of the men behind the curtain?”

        The men behind the curtain! Now that would be awesome!

        I think the push back will be more than dissemination of info. It will also be a boycott.

      • solerso says:

        Its that they are too arrogant not to leave him alone. the govt (not just obama and congress) is full of highly competetive careerist people who cant stand it that Assange might win. They may sacrifice some spies, all the while telling themselves they’ve got it all worked out. The spies in the Saudi or the Arab emirates in in power so they are safe. If any of those spies are in Iran they might want to think about running, NOW! Cause they’ll be dead inside 15 minutes if names are named.

  4. BoxTurtle says:

    Wise selection of hostages, those folks can go directly to the MOTU’s who are holding Obama’s leash. The MOTU’s may well say “We don’t care if YOU are embarassed, you will do nothing to hurt our revenue stream”

    I’m also thinking that the Syrians would be very interested in that list of names. The Syrian border was the major source of outside fighters in Iraq for the longest time, we would have made contacts as high up as we could.

    If it weren’t for his hostages, I think he’d already be dead and/or gone.

    Msg to ObamaLLP: Don’t set any precidents here that you don’t want used by the next president. Like having sole authority to kill an American citizen without anything more than a presidental say-so.

    Boxturtle (Obama covered for Bush, but will his successor cover for HIM?)

  5. wavpeac says:

    I cannot imagine the fear and paranoia he must be living with on a day to day basis. Power and control, that is irrational, emotional, greedy and compulsive does not like to be denied. In fact, it’s not a matter of reason, it’s a matter of “tolerance” for the feelings evoked when you cannot have your power, your way. Assange is in grave danger, regardless of his “hostages”. Our officials need control and they will not allow him to have it. (they need it like and addiction).

    Here’s what I think those in power will do.

    1) continue to make him an enemy of the state. Continue to use the word “terrorist” and “enemy” as they speak his name.

    2) what they do eventually with every hostage taker…eventually there is an “over taking moment” a “taking the power back”. No hostage takers ever get to hold a power in check for long.

    3) They will be slow and methodical about taking the power back.

    I would hate to Assange.

    We have an obligation to refute the constant references to “terrorist” and to keep this story as loud as we can.

    Absolute power always wins….it’s a matter of time.

    • marcos says:

      A William S. Burroughs quote is appropriate here, from “Ah Pook is Here:”

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C5XuylNFLo

      When I become death, death is the seed from which I grow.

      Hiroshima, 1945, August 6, sixteen minutes past 8 AM.

      Who really gave that order?

      Answer: Control.

      Answer: The Ugly American.

      Answer: The instrument of Control.

      Question: If Control’s control is absolute, why does Control need to control?

      Answer: Control… needs time.

      Question: Is Control controlled by its need to control?

      Answer: Yes.

      Why does Control need humans, as you call them?

      Answer: Wait… wait! Time, a landing field. Death needs time like a junkie needs junk.

      And what does Death need time for?

      Answer: The answer is sooo simple. Death needs time for what it kills to grow in, for Ah Pook’s sake.

      Death needs time for what it kills to grow in, for Ah Pook’s sweet sake, you stupid vulgar greedy ugly American death-sucker.

      Death needs time for what it kills to grow in, for Ah Pook’s sweet sake, you stupid vulgar greedy ugly American death-sucker… Like this.

  6. jeremy says:

    Good to know. But I think it’s important to stop conflating institutions with individuals. Countries don’t torture people; people torture people.

    The U.S. is a country. Members of the U.S. government and agents of the U.S. state are guilty of torture. I was born in the U.S. (not by choice), so does that mean that I’m guilty of torture because I failed to stop the constituted authority under which I was involuntarily born from torturing?

    • oldnslow says:

      …does that mean that I’m guilty of torture because I failed to stop the constituted authority under which I was involuntarily born from torturing?

      Yes, yes it does.

      • perris says:

        it does make a person guilty if they are complacent, however if they mount a fight, a reasonable campaign against those policies then no, you shed your guilt when you join the fight

      • hotdog says:

        Most intelligent people in other countries do not equate what the US government does with each and every one of its citizens, just like most intelligent people in the US don’t equate other foreign citizens with what their governments do. We/they aren’t naive enough to think the oligarcs aren’t the ones pulling the strings. Do you really think you’re guilty for what our fascist government has perpetrated over the last fifty years? That’s one hell of a complex.

        • croghan27 says:

          We/they aren’t naive enough to think the oligarcs aren’t the ones pulling the strings. Do you really think you’re guilty for what our fascist government has perpetrated over the last fifty years? That’s one hell of a complex.

          Is that not the way responsible government is supposed to work? The democractically elected leaders are responsible to the electorate. If the electorate allows them to go ahead with some vile schemes …. then YES, they are guilty. They are performing the wishes of those who elected them.

            • onitgoes says:

              A good point about elections & citizen’s “votes” in the past decade plus.

              I agree that citizens do have a lot of blood on our hands for past USA transgressions, which have been ongoing since the inception of this nation. I’ve had some deep and impassioned arguments/discussions with various folks about our “roles” and “responsibilities” as citizens who vote gov’t into power.

              I must admit, though, that since the Bushco Coup, I have felt a lot less personally responsible for the evils & “sins” of govt. It’s not just that I didn’t vote for Bush, it’s that I don’t believe our votes “count” anymore. We used to have *some* say in terms of elections; not anymore.

            • croghan27 says:

              Precisely …

              1) Gore, the opposition, stopped any dispute about the Florida results himself and Bush was confirmed by the Supreme Court ….

              2)Bush was later elected by a stronger majority over Kerry (who declined to contest the Ohio results) …

              and 3) Obama has abundantly shown that it is six of one and a half dozen of the other between Presidential Dem/Repub candidates ….

              • hotdog says:

                Thanks for bringing up the second most important point about the “democratically elected.”
                No real choices are allowed.
                I’m not really prepared to go into a nit-picking argument. I’m sure we agree on just about everything being discussed here. I just take offense at being called guilty for acts I deplore and fight to prevent. Say I’m not working hard enough. I can handle that. Just don’t say I’m responsible for what countless heartless assholes are doing.

          • hotdog says:

            Please explain how picking an icon generated by proprietary software, certified by defense contractors, loaded and stored on proprietary hardware by private contractors, guarded by more defense contractors, that is then assimulated on proprietary networks and then tabulated by more proprietary software, the results of which are then presented to you by corporate media conglomerates, is “democratically elected.”

              • hotdog says:

                Sorry, I missed seeing your comment. In all honesty, I have to plead ignorance. But that’s kind of the point. The whole system is another one of secrecy. I.e. “Trust us, the military, industrial, congressional, judicial, executive complex, we’re looking out for YOU… And obeying the law… And not making things worse in the world… And not dealing with terrorists… And not torturing people… and advocating transparency…etc. etc.”

                • Ymhotep says:

                  Of interest to you might be The News Election Service (NES) which became the National Election Pool. Look them up and it might make your blood boil. Peace

          • BillyP says:

            If the electorate allows them to go ahead with some vile schemes …. then YES, they are guilty.

            That argument does not hold when elections are rigged.

            • croghan27 says:

              First an apology to hotdog …. I did not mean it imply that any ball park snack is personally responsible for depredations by their government. I am sure hd is doing all that is reasonable to redress the obvious wrongs.

              About elections being rigged …. who is the rig’er and who is the rig’ee? Accusations fly between both parties about that situation. If the election is (was) rigged then it must have been to someone’s advantage – at the moment it appears to me that Bushco. won in 2000 because he was better at it than Gore.

              Can we say that war excitment helped Bush against Kerry in the same way that the Malvinas conflict gave Maggy Thatcher a second term?

              Did Obama play fast and loose with the rules when elected? Certainly the foolish hue and cry raised about ACORN was more smoke than any mirror of double dealing – who ZOOMED whom, there? Obama seems to be genuine – unhappily so.

          • Sabre-Toothed Critter says:

            I think you’re at the edge of blaming the victim, essentially saying that those who are suffering deserve to suffer.

            I consider the situation a betrayal of the public trust. It’s not a matter of “You elected me! Blame yourself!” When the public repeatedly tries to throw the bums out, but is repeatedly betrayed by the next crop of bums, I think it’s inaccurate to blame the voter for it. Voters have been trying to clean up this system for a long time, and have been thwarted by the very system they are trying to clean up.

            Again and again, I come to the sad conclusion that total collapse is the road, and we’re gonna walk that undesirable path whether we like it or not.
            I don’t see that road leading to anything good. Looking ahead, I only see chaotic multi-layered totalitarian control over local populations. If we’re lucky, we won’t be wearing sackcloth and it won’t last as long as the Dark Ages.

            To quote Governor Tarkin from Star Wars IV:
            “The regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.”

            • elouise says:

              You made me cry. I’m so sad for Our country and the world.

              Dr. McCanne made me cry. Why can’t we give healthcare to all.

              Margaret and others unemployed made me cry.

              What a sad country we live in. The Hubris and greed is just unforgivable.

        • Sabre-Toothed Critter says:

          I’ve been digging around at Pravda, and there are loads of articles and essays about Assange, Wikileaks, the severe governmental depravity in America, etc. Initially, most of those articles expressed astonishment that the American public was not rising up to stop the treachery of its government. Now, those authors have investigated the reasons for American apathy, and are writing essays about the causes of American socioeconomic decay.

          Warning: If you read the comments sections of Pravda essays, you may encounter vast numbers of anti-Israel comments that make our more outspoken anti-Israel commenters look timid. And as you may expect, some of those comments are incoherent. Still, I very much like reading what people from other countries have to say about issues.

          • hotdog says:

            Thanks for the link. Sifting through the nut jobs on that site is a little bit of a chore though. It is entertaining in an “Elvis was an Alien” kind of way.

  7. socks says:

    This does make it rather hard to ‘disappear’, the guy without outing your national spies.

    One aspect I find interesting in all of this discovery process:

    There are those that have refused to believe the propaganda put out by our Government and the MSM. They worked to deliver truth all along the way, and they have people that follow and keep up with what they find is important to know-the actual facts of what this nation has been doing for decades.

    You know, the ones labeled ‘haters of America’ by the laughing carrion eating hyenas in our society.

    At each juncture of revelations the willfully wrong have an opportunity to do something as simple as change their minds. They can stop cat calling and mocking their fellow citizens, whose only goal is to know the truth.

    But I haven’t read or heard anyone say, “Golly, I was wrong, and if wrong about this or that, what about these other things too.”

    There are people in this society too, who have known the truth and for some reason have made great efforts to keep the truth under wraps. It is this last group whose actions I really have a hard time understanding.

    And it is this last group, especially who are in places of power that I find as repugnant as the ones who initiated the vile secretive injustices to begin with. And for that reason it is all but impossible to respect, let alone follow these people.

  8. allan says:

    If he is disappeared or killed or put away, the names of America’s stooges in the Middle East will be released on some outlet like Al Jazeera.

    He may now have more to fear from Al Quaeda than he does from from western powers,
    They would be overjoyed at such a release of information.

    Unless it also turns out that Osama was on the CIA payroll at some point. Hmmm…

  9. perris says:

    I wonder if the republicans or tea partiers ever got wind what they would do

    someone like ron paul

    that if he wanted to bring articles of impeachment against obama but for war crimes and violations of treaties and our constitution as it concerns rendition, etc, that they would get a good deal of support from plenty of progressives

    as long as they implicated bush along side, I would be thrilled if obama was brought to face responsibility for what he did as it concerns the corner stones of our democracyh

  10. Synoia says:

    I’m interested in his BofA files.

    There must be some interesting information in there, especially about robo-foreclosures. Hopefully thee will be a smoking gun between liars loans, the 2005 bankruptcy law, and a discussion of how to handle the robo-foreclosures.

    Loans made with intent to cause default are subject to rescission under TILA.

    • bigbrother says:

      The hub that were mandated in the Clinton era where ALL of our electronic and telephone information are gathered and saved is where the real power is once those dumps can be searched…every dirty deal, by politicians, lobbyist, government contractors, that was not made in a bathroom will be available to embarass crooks and liars, That will be a penalty that the Oligarch cannot squelch. Making be more accountable. And that is what Assange is about….accountability.

      • bigbrother says:

        It is likely that the telecom hub data dumps were used as extortion evidence in US Congress as Corporate telecoms got legislative perks during BUSHCO. If Assage’s whistleblowers gets in there the Oligarch could have a day of reckoning.

  11. lsls says:

    CIA? No mention of OBL (CIA) being the supposed perpetrator of 9/11 and the bait used by our government to go to wars based on a pack of lies…you know, that guy that keeps showing up in convenient tapes, whenever needed to scare the sheeple.

  12. barrelofmonkeys says:

    Testicular fortitude! If the Dems had just one of Assange’s balls, this country would be a much better place.

  13. lsls says:

    I really don’t find anything surprising about any of the Assange leaks so far. If he comes up with the Mother Lode (Bushco’s follies)…okay. Most people in governments in other countries consider any American in any kind of embassy or influential (media) or powerful business position to be possibly affiliated with the CIA, and that includes Assange, Lamo, etc. They all watch each other, snitch to their respective governments, and spend a great deal of time on cocktails and weenies. Personal knowledge of this..

      • Ymhotep says:

        How many so-called “secret” documents have any of us seen that have called into question ‘anything’ that Israel has been involved in on the international scene? One(?) which indicated that Fatah assisted Israel in trying to destroy Hamas. That was pretty self-serving. Are their others that I’ve missed? Peace

          • onitgoes says:

            Yes. I’m not so sure about Assange being a Mossad agent. there’s a lot of different agencies/groups/govt’s/companies that haven’t been leaked… my sources downunder (as some have posted here) indicate this is not the case.

        • lsls says:

          But that is not new news, if you get what I mean. There seems to be a much bigger agenda…demonizing Iran sprinkled throughout a bunch of old news…like the lead up to Iraq.

          • Ymhotep says:

            Which country seems to be most obsessed with the destruction of Iran? Which country ‘hates’ most of the rulers of the current Arab regimes? Which country sends teams of its agents covertly into third countries to assassinate its Arab enemies? Which country has been justifying any action that it has taken, legal or illegal, for 60 years by claiming it was necessary to its survival? Peace

                  • Ymhotep says:

                    One cannot cure a problem until the problem is first identified. No one should be exempt from scrutiny or criticism. The world isn’t all that complicated. Just look at the idiots who are running it. Peace

                    • lsls says:

                      Well…I’m into exposing what one can, however, in my older age, I’ve come to the conclusion that it won’t be cured in my lifetime. I don’t believe anymore in wasting my energy on that which I can’t actually do anything about, and I don’t like to sweat the small stuff either. You can’t change human nature. I can’t even stop my dogs from getting in a fight on occasion. It is nature, being territorial, being greedy, and a whole lot of complex issues having to do with all life forms…I did observe a butterfly and a wasp drinking from a hummingbird feeder..they bickered a little bit, and the butterfly won.

                    • Ymhotep says:

                      A couple of things…..tilting at windmills is useless. When a butterfly flaps it’s wings in China, there will eventually be a hurricane in Florida. We ‘can’ change human nature. It’s done all the time. Else we’d all still be sitting around a fire in some cave somewhere eating rats. Evolution not revolution. Peace

                    • manys says:

                      That’s an impressive series of unsupported assertions followed up with endless question marks. That style of participation strikes me as a bit selfish, but as you’ve asked of others, “how do you know?” “Cuz I R payin attention” doesn’t count.

                    • lsls says:

                      PS. The idiots think they’re running it. They aren’t. Just look at the Tsunami and also the earthquake in Haiti. It’s Mother Nature and we are just a product of it…with big egos.

  14. jedimsnbcko19 says:

    The CIA, and other Black Opt agencies know this simple truth

    the enemy you can see ASSANGE is not really the problem.

    it is the enemy you can’t see that is problem.

    ASSANGE is not acting along.

    Remember when he was in jail all hell broke lose!

    ASSANGE may be the nice guy, behind curtain number 2 you may find a bigger nightmare, one that is not rational, sorta like the JOKER in BATMAN.

  15. doggid says:

    What happened to the Big Dump on an American Bank that was promised a month ago? Will this be a New Years Gift?

    We all wonder why our society is so screwed up. Wikileaks is bringing to light how Foreign Policy is based upon lies. With only a couple thousand pages of 250m being released it’s truly fascinating how perception is changing about our governments with what?

    The Truth.

  16. lsls says:

    What I’m really interested in is why in the world would the Swedes work with Rove regarding anything…That is, to me, the only news so far out of all of this. If Rove is involved…it stinks worse than a carcass. Is a puzzlement.

    • Ymhotep says:

      Rove is a Mossad agent. Or a CIA agent. Or a paid propagandist for the oligarchy. Whatever he is he ain’t working for the best interests of the American people. Peace

      • lsls says:

        I tend to agree with that. We know for sure that the Bushco neocons have paid him, and protected him with a thick armor of teflon for years and years..

  17. Bobster33 says:

    Assange has made it safe and responsible to leak reprehensible information. Copy-cat websites are emerging as we speak. I suspect the government (s) will do three things,

    1. Start leaking false information (in the hopes that Wikileaks publishes it) to discredit Assange.

    2. Start leaking massive amounts of information (true and false) which will bury any media outlet.

    3. Make Assange a deal that he cannot refuse.

  18. okeeheepkee says:

    it may be that they won’t kill him. beyond the deadman’s switches he’s put in place, they may be worried about the martyr effect.
    would probably be better for them to discredit him in another way, another, more lurid sex scandal, or maybe drugging him with some sort of psychoactive, making him crazy. they’ve done it before.

  19. croghan27 says:

    C-T Critter …. do you really think that things have gone that far so all is lost? If so, that sad.

    Could Assange so expose the double dealings of the ruling class that a sincere revolt (not revolution) may rise up against “those bastards that sold out, the patriot game”? Is America (and the rest of the world, for that matter) left only with the tea bag option …. locking and loading against hellfire missles and drones?

  20. lsls says:

    Why is Rove involved?

    Why do the Swedes seemingly trust him?

    Does Assange have something on him personally or on Bushco.

    Is he being paid? By….???

    Very suspicious.

  21. kimo says:

    This makes him secure one way; on the other hand, also makes him into a target. There are other parties in the Middle East (like Al Qaeda) who would love to see his package broacasted for all of the world to see.

    It’s not a smart move.

  22. timbo says:

    Wait–so Assange is promising that if some Saudi radical terrorist kills him that these US intelligence assets names will be released?

    *shakes head in wonderment*

  23. watajob says:

    I wanna’ see him dump the goods on BoA. Now, THAT will be interesting.

    Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes her laws.

    Mayer Amschel Rothschild

  24. ThadBeier says:

    It’s all very interesting.

    One thing that nobody talks about is the impossibility of dead-man switches. There have to be some number of people besides Assange that have copies of all of his data, either in the clear or with the keys to decrypt. If he really wants this data released in the event of his incapacitation, he can’t just be relying on some script checking every day or week for signs of life.

    Assange claims, as well, that five newspapers have all of he diplomatic cables. I can’t help but think that the security at those papers might not be all that good — they are in the business of distributing information, after all.

    My guess is that pretty soon, all of the cables will be released anonymously, and then all of of Assange’s protection will be lost.

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