WikiLeaks released some 400,000 classified government documents over
the weekend that shed light on many atrocities committed during our
nation’s war with Iraq — widespread civilian death, torture and
misleading body counts.
Naturally, WikiLeaks’ founder, Julian
Assange, has been feeling the heat in the wake of the release — but not
from the government, as you might think. No, this time Assange is being
smeared by the media, with various “establishment” outlets raising
doubts about his mental health status and spreading tabloid-style
rumors.
The
New York Times has published
one
notable hit piece on Assange, focused on “every tawdry, scurrilous
tabloid rumor about him,”
as
Slate’s Glenn Greenwald puts it, rather than the shocking
facts of the Iraq war documents.
“Erratic and
imperious behavior.” “Delusional grandeur.” “Imperious.” “A vendetta
against the United States.” “Not in his right mind.” [Times reporter
John F.] Burns didn’t even bother to break into Assange’s
psychiatrist’s office to smear the whistle-blower as a psychologically
ill, America-hating subversive and paranoid narcissist. He just passed
on snide rumors and accusations from disgruntled associates and —
presto — the Nixonian smear job is complete.
CNN
also did a number on Assange, inviting him to do an interview that
Assange thought would be about the WikiLeaks documents, but ended up
being all about personal matters. Assange walked out of that interview,
and, as
The Nation’s Greg Mitchell
tweeted,
that just put the media into more of a frenzy over his mental state:
“Now [CNN's] Kurtz says Julian Assange proved he’s ‘delusional’ by
walking off CNN interview because of repeated queries on personal
matters.”
Intelligence community reporter Tim Shorrock took to his
Twitter
feed to astutely contrast Assange’s situation with that of
Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in the early 1970s and
was subsequently dragged through the mud by President Nixon and Henry
Kissinger: “When Dan Ellsberg leaked [the] Pentagon Papers, Nixon’s
henchmen tried to destroy his reputation. Today w/Wikileaks &
Assange, media does the job.”
Posted by
Lauren Kelley
