Wikileaks: cock-up or conspiracy?

Which might it be? I tend to favour the cock-up theory because recent history is incontrovertible proof that our leaders arrived from Planet Looney. Who would have thought that rational leaders would have gone to war against the only non-Islamic state in the Gulf that had already been monstered once and posed no military threat to the West? Who would have thought that we would be waging a bloody conflict against the Taliban in Afghaniscam when the casus belli was to destroy Al Qaeda which has since decamped to Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia?

Now I am inclined towards the conspiracy theory because it beggars belief that this flood of documents could be easily extracted from US security. What strengthens my belief is that when Gary the Hacker got into the Pentagon with apparent ease and told them what he had done and how, so that they could put it right, they immediately issued a warrant for his arrest and an extradition notice under Blair’s odious extradition treaty which requires no evidence that an offence has been committed. No such warrant or extradition notice was issued against Asanje although he is known to be in the UK.

Some of the leaks certainly add to the gaiety of nations, such as the following press extract

"The disclosures in the cable, posted online by the British newspaper The Guardian, will complicate Rudd's already testy personal links with China after his reported reference to Chinese negotiators as ''rat f***ers'' during the Copenhagen climate change conference."

Some are a cause of great anger, such as the comments by US authorities that the British forces in Afghaniscam were not up to the job – this from a military that ‘rescued’ a British hostage from the Taliban by chucking a fragmentation grenade at her instead of a stun grenade. Maybe some good will come of this if it strengthens the campaign to get out of this ridiculous, pointless and unwinnable conflict. British casualties are approximately at the same level on a per capita basis as WW2, and would be higher if it were not for the extraordinary skill and courage of the medical teams (Our Dear Leaders should read ‘The Great Game’ to understand that you cannot win in Afghanistan). When I was a young Army officer we had in our mess an ageing Major who wore the medal of the Waziristan Campaign which was fought on the Afghan border in the 1920s. Plus ca change

Some are more than a little worrying. One from the US Ambassador to Germany about the Passenger Name Recognition Initiative for exchanging data about travellers is a clear example of bureaucratic stupidity and latent authoritarianism. Included in the information requested by the US, and so far rejected by Germany, are ethnic origin, political opinion, religion, trade union membership and sexual orientation. Political opinion in Germany is that the data transfer agreement would collect pointless information about travellers that would be of dubious value to law enforcement agencies, and that German commercial interests could be damaged by leaks of information about German business travellers to US competitors (a near certainty, I would think) .

Can anybody explain how it would be actually possible to collect such information from travellers? Would we have to fill in a form when applying for a visa? ‘Are you now or have you ever been a serial suicide bomber?’ Do you now have or have you ever had carnal relations with a camel?’ ‘Are you now or have you ever been a member of militaristic organisations such as the Salvation Army or the St John’s Ambulance Brigade?’ And if this is collected can anybody explain what earthly use it would be in catching a terrorist?

Be that as it may, Asanje has put his hands up and is now a guest in the bridewell. So what happens next?

The arrest is under the odious EWA which enables you to have your collar felt at the whim of a corrupt court in Eastern Europe on trumped-up charges for something that is not a crime in the English jurisdiction, a theme to which I will return. The case stated against A is alleged to fail to specify either the precise charges or the prima facie evidence, according to his brief. In the event that the lower court finds against him he is setting up the grounds for appeal. This will go to the Court of Appeal, and if he loses there, he will take it to the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords (as the Supreme Court is properly titled). If he loses there he will take it to the ludicrous kangaroo court known as the ECJ on human rights grounds.

The sex charges strike me as trumped up. In the good old days complaints of rape had to be made within a very short time of the offence before the medical evidence was lost. Not anymore, so it is one person’s word against the other’s, so quite simple to set up a spurious charge. The obvious intention is to get him in the collar so that the US can ‘rendition’ him.

I will have shuffled off this mortal coil before there is result.

So what is the conspiracy?

It has all the hallmarks of the sinister, shadowy group known as ‘The Family’. This is a secret consortium of extreme Evangelical Christians of extreme right-wing views who have infiltrated the very highest echelons of US politics, public service and business (and before some numpty calls me paranoid, read the book of the same name). The conspiracy is to destabilise O and Hillary and the whole Democratic Administration – and it’s working because it exposes O as being long on rhetoric but very short on leadership. It has Cheney’s fingerprints all over it.

Conclusion?

Having threatened to release information that would create another Lehman Bros bank melt down, he exposes himself as an arrogant megalomaniac who is prepared to use cyber-terrorism to remould the world to his liking regardless of the effects on millions of decent ordinary people.

I hope they throw the key away.