4 ms·

> He chooses not to as he is a coward It's pretty clear that the UK would arrest him the second he walked out the door and promptly turn him over to the US. Th

> He chooses not to as he is a coward It's pretty clear that the UK would arrest him the second he walked out the door and promptly turn him over to the US. The US has made it quite clear, vis-a-vis Manning, Drake, Binning, etc, that he would have a very bad time ahead of him, and possibly see everything he has attempted to accomplish shuttered and turned against him. In any case, his signal would surely be reduced to zero. Snowden likewise chose asylum. Are they both cowards? Perhaps an alternative narrative is that these new political asylum seekrs are both using their asylum as so many asylum seekers have: as a chance to amplify their signal.

rtpg 12y ago
>It's pretty clear that the UK would arrest him the second he walked out the door and promptly turn him over to the US How is this clear? A warrant for his arrest is for extradition to Sweden. In the case that the US wants to get him, he would then have to get the permission of the UK and of Sweden. Last I check Assange doesn't have a warrant for an extradition to the US
- revscat 12y ago
  Why on Earth would you think a lack of a warrant would matter? This is the US government we are talking about here. Absconding people to put them in Gitmo, or CIA black sites, or simply executed, are all techniques used regularly and without hesitation. Last I checked the U.S. does not care about warrants, especially against foreign nationals.
  - alex_hitchins 12y ago
    So why don't they enter the embassy and extricate him forcibly then?
    - revscat 12y ago
      My guess is because this is a highly visible incident, and doing so would violate the deeply entrenched norms regarding the sovereignty of embassies. The blowback would be severe. Assange is also white and not a Muslim.
  - notahacker 12y ago
    If Assange was trying to avoid being smuggled onto an illegal rendition flight or even assasinated, then being in Sweden, even remanded in custody awaiting trial would be a lot safer than the country he chose to fly to instead...
  - foldr 12y ago
    The US had plenty of opportunities to do this already when Assange was on bail in the UK.
- alex_hitchins 12y ago
  Exactly. He is wanted in Sweden. Also, Snowden is a whistle-blower. Assange is a politician, concerned with his image. Snowden AFAIK is more concerned with the truth and not his ego.

rtpg 12y ago

>It's pretty clear that the UK would arrest him the second he walked out the door and promptly turn him over to the US How is this clear? A warrant for his arrest is for extradition to Sweden. In the case that the US wants to get him, he would then have to get the permission of the UK and of Sweden. Last I check Assange doesn't have a warrant for an extradition to the US

revscat 12y ago
Why on Earth would you think a lack of a warrant would matter? This is the US government we are talking about here. Absconding people to put them in Gitmo, or CIA black sites, or simply executed, are all techniques used regularly and without hesitation. Last I checked the U.S. does not care about warrants, especially against foreign nationals.
- alex_hitchins 12y ago
  So why don't they enter the embassy and extricate him forcibly then?
  - revscat 12y ago
    My guess is because this is a highly visible incident, and doing so would violate the deeply entrenched norms regarding the sovereignty of embassies. The blowback would be severe. Assange is also white and not a Muslim.
- notahacker 12y ago
  If Assange was trying to avoid being smuggled onto an illegal rendition flight or even assasinated, then being in Sweden, even remanded in custody awaiting trial would be a lot safer than the country he chose to fly to instead...
- foldr 12y ago
  The US had plenty of opportunities to do this already when Assange was on bail in the UK.
alex_hitchins 12y ago
Exactly. He is wanted in Sweden. Also, Snowden is a whistle-blower. Assange is a politician, concerned with his image. Snowden AFAIK is more concerned with the truth and not his ego.