Wikileaks Founder Named In Interpol Warrant - US Governmant Smear Tactic?

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has recently been the subject of an Interpol 'red notice' regarding charges of alleged rape and sexual molestation in Sweden. This red notice is effectively an arrest warrant, requesting that a participating country detain and extradite the individual named in the warrant as soon as possible. Mr Assange is at the time of writing residing in the United Kingdom; however, Scotland Yard have not recieved any specific request to arrest him, and it has been put forward that the issuance of this red notice is in fact politically motivated, and is at the behest of the United States, angry at the publishing by Wikileaks of huge numbers of leaked secret and confidential documents.

A Swedish judge originally ordered Assange to be detained on November 18th, prior to which the former hacker had been given permission to leave the country, from where he proceeded to the UK. He has been living openly somewhere in the southeast of that country, leading some to speculate that the timing of the Interpol red notice, and indeed Interpol's very involvement, are a direct or indirect result of pressure from the US. This has in turn left the Obama administration open to accusations of using smear tactics to attack Mr Assange, as they are currently unable to prosecute him for publishing the leaked information - they are only able to pursue the source or sources of the leaks, rather than the publisher himself.

Additionally, the Wikileaks website has been under attack by a hacker or hackers, and has had to 'move house', possibly more than once. The perpetrator of these denial of service attacks has come forward as an ID-disguised private individual using a Russian email address, but sources claim that this is, again, the actions of a government department, be it the US or some other affected nation.

Dreadnought in no way condones the crimes alleged to have been commited by Mr Assange, and suggests that he return to Sweden freely and of his own accord to face the allegations. At the same time, however, we find that the tactics said to have been used by the US government smack of state bullying, and rather tarnish the reputation of the American people.

This is not the way to run a nation which boasts, with good cause, of being the best qualified to lead the way this century.

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