. . . for the wild-eyed, spittle-flecked conspiracists bloggers—and Assange himself—the charges reeked of a U.S. government plot. And sure, one only need to read the Church Commission report to realize that such dirty tricks have a long pedigree in American intelligence circles. But even a cursory look at the case would suggest that while it appears that Assange’s name is being dragged through the mud, it isn’t by the CIA.
. . . Assuming that Assange knew the identity of his accusers when contacted by prosecutors, he nevertheless told any reporter within earshot that “we have been warned that the Pentagon, for example, is thinking of deploying dirty tricks to ruin us. And I have also been warned about sex traps.” After expressing skepticism that it was an American intelligence job, Harpers magazine nevertheless warned that “as this incident makes clear, the war on WikiLeaks will be fought with unconventional tools and those following the story are advised to accept nothing at face value.”
Amazingly, the bumbling fools in American intelligence managed to flip Anna Ardin, the left-wing feminist (often described in the Swedish blogosphere as a “radical feminist”) spokeswoman for Broderskapsrörelsen, the liberation theology-like Christian organization affiliated with Sweden’s Social Democratic Party (she is not, as I have seen written, a “Christian Democrat”). If any of these subliterate bloggers knew anything about the kristen vänster (but why should you know anything at all, when a simple, ideology-validating conspiracy is so much more satisfying?), they would probably have guessed that Assange's accuser was, as is common in Sweden, operating off of a very broad definition of rape and “sexual molestation.”
. . . Expressen is not a tabloid-style newspaper, but an actual tabloid. Nor is it, as Assange claimed, "right wing." So who would have leaked this information to Expressen? A bit of legwork here too would have revealed that Ardin interned for the editorial page of GT, the Gothenburg edition of Expressen. While there is no evidence to suggest that Ardin herself leaked the material to her former employer, it is certainly more plausible than fingering the Pentagon. But again, why bother doing any research when the sinister conspiracy is more ideologically satisfying?
Moynihan concludes with a well-advised caution about using Google Translate when passing on reports from foreign language news sources.
If you, like many of the conspiracists, are confused as to how the Swedish authorities could issue and then, in less than 24 hours, withdraw a warrant for Assange’s arrest, then you don’t know the Swedish authorities. Just ask the families of Anna Lindh and Olaf Palme for details. Indeed, when one prosecutor overruled the conclusions of another, more junior, prosecutor, she explained to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter that “My decision doesn’t mean that her decision was wrong.” And to Aftonbladet, she dug in her heels: “That I changed the decision doesn’t mean that her decision was wrong.” Translation? Amateur hour at the prosecutors office.
Sorry, conspiracy gang, it is not a Pentagon setup. It is a disagreement between individuals on the fringe.
If you want to see some serious tinfoil-hat action, peek at #WikiLeaks or #Assange on Twitter.Com.
I can't think of a single thing this ties into in any current Suki series story line and I don't plan anything like this either.
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