Who is afraid of Julian Assange?

Julian Assange, the founder of whistleblowing website Wikileaks has been finally arrested by London Police on an Interpol warrant for alleged sexual misconduct in Sweden. The arrest comes in the backdrop of the release of thousands of confidential diplomatic cables by the website. The hunt for Assange has been gathering steam ever since the leaks started to appear in the media and on the website. He has been accused by United States of being irresponsible bordering on criminal for putting innocent lives at risk. United States has initiated criminal investigation against Wikileaks while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been talking to the World leaders whose names have appeared in the leaks in bid to limit the diplomatic fallout. A US Army Intelligence Analyst Bradley Manning is already under arrest and being investigated for being one of the main sources for Wikileaks. In the last few days, US has been trying frantically to shut down the website. Several US Internet service providers have refused to provide service and companies such as Amazon, PayPal, MasterCard and Visa have stopped their services.

But what exactly are these leaks saying that has apparently upset so many. Whatever has been released so far in public domain seems to suggest the following. The American are still active playing their imperial games around the world managing their interests through vassals, clients and properties fighting wars, both overt and covert in far corners of the World. Sunni royal families of the Arabian Peninsula revile Iran and have been urging their American masters for an immediate attack. Pakistani nuclear arsenal is not safe and may fall in the hands of terrorists. British soldiers were a disaster in Helmand. Hamid Karzai is weak and paranoid. Vladimir Putin is an alpha-dog etc.

Although there have been some specific information such as list of strategic US owned site and the details of US snooping on UN leadership, hardly any of these seem to have come as a shock to people . Yet, there must be some reason for such an anxiety that made all those who claim to stand for freedom, democracy and free speech to go after the whistleblower with utmost ferocity. There has been a hot pursuit by the US authorities to block the website and the hunter and the hunted have been playing Tom and Jerry ever since. Wikileaks has been resurfacing with newer domain extensions and using mirrors to stay afloat. Why is it that they are trying to go after Wikileaks with the same alacrity as they would go after a terrorist organization and brand Assange as an anarchist in the same fashion others have been branded international terrorists?

The answer seems to be quiet evident. Empires since the beginning of time feed on secrets. The secrets which are kept, shared, sold, bartered and betrayed. The secrets that are about enemies, friends, clients, vassals, subjects and citizens. Even though the generic nature of these secrets may be a common knowledge, yet the establishment would go to any length protecting it. For example who doesn’t know that the Saudis are not so fond of Iran or vice versa, yet releasing a document which captures the Saudi King saying something to that effect has a dramatic impact. There are a number of reasons why this should happen. First of all, the expose’ in black and white directly contradicts the officially stated reasons for the existence of the empire and its machinery. For example, United States has undermined United Nations which is the world’s representative body for years, taking unilateral actions and yet it claims to stand for freedom and democracy in the world and the dichotomy doesn’t affect the official US pronouncements one single bit. However, this claim would start biting the dust in the official utterances, the moment the very same officials are seen to be spying on the UN leadership. As a result, the official language changes overnight and some realism comes into it, for example, Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently remarked while responding to a question on the fallout of the leaks on the US foreign policy “The fact is, governments deal with the United States because it’s in their interest, not because they like us, not because they trust us, and not because they believe we can keep secrets. Many governments – some governments deal with us because they fear us, some because they respect us, most because they need us. We are still essentially, as has been said before, the indispensable nation.”

Second, it makes them vulnerable. How could a nondescript website get into the vaults and coffers of a superpower with the help of few junior officials and smuggle every bit of information out while pretending to listen to Lady Gaga. This has the very similar psychological impact on the establishment as a bunch of terrorists striking the safe cityscapes considered to be far from the foreign wars. That is why the familiar connotations are invoked to describe those behind the leaks.
And finally, it undermines the personal credibility of those in the positions of power. It makes them look like the ordinary people squabbling with each other and scrambling to get ahead. It takes out the façade of humanitarian concerns and ideological commitment s and shows the workings of unadulterated power politics. They are afraid of Julian Assange for the dangerous dissidence he represents. For he uses, free speech and open government, some of the favorite catchphrases of the Western leaders to undermine their credibility.

Therefore, all the familiar tactics are employed to quell the dissidence. Shoot the messenger or get him trapped in unfavorable circumstances. Brand him the public enemy and enemy of the state, an anarchist who is playing into the hands of terrorists. Meanwhile, all the sermons on the freedom of expression are kept for another day.