Enemy of the State !

The world is getting an ongoing lesson on exactly what is involved when an individual citizen of any nationality draws the ire of the United States of America - and one citizen in particular happens to be Australian.

Julian Assange embarrassed the United States when a serving member of that county's defence force introduced blank discs into the transmission equipment he was using and scooped up secrets that were released to the world  by WikiLeaks, Assange's news service.  The matter revealed was extremely embarrassing to the United States government.

Assange travelled the world as an international celebrity, ever looking over his shoulder for CIA intervention.  In Sweden he was accused of possible rape by two young women of his acquaintance and the Swedish government demanded he come to Sweden to answer this charge.   He ignored this demand,  believing the moment he stepped on Swedish soil the US would issue a deportation arrest warrant and drag him before an American court.

In London, he was served with a deportation order by Sweden and went through all legal channels to avoid arrest. He skipped bail and was given sanctuary by the embassy of Ecuador which sheltered him under its immunity in its London embassy, where he has remained since mid 2012.

The British government has spent millions of pounds ringing that embassy with police to guard against Assange's escape.  That has become an event that draws tourist crowds when Assange regularly appears on a balcony - just a metre from watching police - and makes public statements. These Swedish rape charges have been long dropped, but the Brits maintain this costly siege on the laughable grounds of that skipped bail incident.

Now the matter has notched up the diplomatic ladder with Ecuador granting Assange citizenship and proposing to install him in a diplomatic role.  Embassy staff enjoy immunity from arrest and this would allow him to legally leave Britain, but the Brits have put obstacles in the way.  New diplomats must first present their credentials to their host government and Assange would not be officially recognised until that happens - and he would be arrested the moment he leaves the embassy to comply.

Such is the power of the United States to force independent nations to comply with its wishes.  Those women in Sweden were surprised to find that a casual enquiry morphed into an international rape charge at US instigation and Britain is pursuing a mundane bail matter with the zeal which would normally apply to the apprehension of a mass murderer.

Strangely, the military person who actually stole America's secrets has faced court, served prison time and been released - and is now pardoned and has undergone a sex change.  In her new role as a civilian woman she is fast becoming a celebrity.

The US is determined to make Assange pay a price for revealing events that caused them embarrassment, and the time factor is unlimited.  This harks back to the days of the cold war when a Catholic priest was given many years of sanctuary in an American embassy to prevent arrest by a vengeful soviet government.

This reads like an ongoing spy novel.  The only difference is that we read the next chapter in the news sector of our daily newspaper !