Dirty Tricks

US Defence had demanded that WikiLeaks return all the 15000 odd documents that WikiLeaks had announced that they are going to publish. Amidst threats of grave consequences, they had pleaded the documents to be a security risk to the Defence Department personnel engaged in war.


WikiLeaks have refused to hand over the documents - and fearing "dirty tricks" from the US Intellegence agencies, had created an elaborate method to ensure publications of the documents by hosting the entire package in an encrypted file over 1 GB in size for download from their multiple websites and mirrors. All it needed was a password for it to be opened. They had withheld the passward as an insurance to prevent CIA from indulging in diry tricks.


US media reported that federal prosecutors were looking at possible criminal charges against WikiLeaks for releasing the confidential military documents. The Wall Street Journal claimed that the US Defence and the Justice Departments were exploring legal options for prosecuting Assange and others on grounds that they encouraged the theft of US Government property. On the other hand, it is public knowledge that the agencies are out to discredit WikiLeaks and it's founder - because they have failed in everything they tried so far!


Last week Assange further stoked the flames of controversy when he claimed that the Pentagon was ready to talk to WikiLeaks about its unreleased documents. A Pentagon spokesman said a phone call had been arranged with the WikiLeaks lawyer but no conversation had taken place. He denied that the Pentagon was willing to co-operate with WikiLeaks.


Then suddenly, there was news that Julian Assange was wanted for rape in Sweden!


"Julian was clearly preparing to release more sensitive documents, which is what he was doing in Sweden, and he had also been working with Swedish television on a project.


Friends of the secretive founder of WikiLeaks, the website behind the biggest leak of United States military documents in history, claimed yesterday that he was the victim of a smear campaign after prosecutors withdrew a warrant for his arrest in connection with rape and molestation allegations.


On Saturday a spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutors office in Stockholm confirmed that an arrest warrant for Julian Assange had been issued and urged him to "contact police so that he can be confronted with the suspicions"


Assange's online supporters were quick to point the finger at US intelligence agencies. Typical tweets included: "America will silence you one way or another." Another asked: "Can't you spooks frame up with something more original?"


Gavin MacFadyen, director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, and a friend of Assange, said: "A lot of us who had any notion of what he was doing expected this sort of thing to happen at least a week ago. I'm amazed it has taken them this long to get it together. This is how smears work.


"The charges are made and then withdrawn and the damage is done."


In any case, this will make interesting reading as days go by - and a whole lot of drama remains to be played out, as there is growing support for WikiLeaks.