Julian Assange, Founder of WikiLeaks, Grants Interview with 60 Minutes

Sunday, January 30, 2011 - In a rare, extensive interview on Sixty Minutes, Julian Assange, founder of the infamous WikiLeaks, calmly but cagily answered Steve Kroft's questions about his recent WikiLeaks activities and the resulting fall out. Although WikiLeaks has been disseminating information that some people would rather have kept private since 2007, it was only when they began leaking secret United States Pentagon documents that Julian Assange's problems really began.

But who is Julian Assange? His caginess gives him a mysterious air, making one unsure whether to trust him. Is he a traitor? A cult leader in the making? A freedom fighter? An unbiased journalist?

Accused of being anti-American, Julian Assange claimed that WikiLeaks only publishes what whistle blowers send them, regardless of what Country it may pertain to. "We don't 'go after' anybody," he said. On the contrary, the Australian Julian Assange claims to believe fervently in the core values of America as laid down by the founding fathers. The first amendment, both free speech and freedom of the press, are what he claims to uphold.

Julian Assange says that WikiLeaks is based on the belief that the abuses in government and corporations can only be exposed by insiders who realize the abuse exists but have no avenue to right the wrongs. Those people, he claims, are the ones who decide what information to send his group at WikiLeaks, and they don't do it for money or fame.

In turn, Julian Assange says WikiLeaks publishes the information with out comment and lets the people who read it decide whether it is truly abuse of power or a necessary process for the government to take, and whether or not it jibes with what the government or corporation in question is saying publicly. Truly free press, he says, gives the information to the people and lets them decide how to handle it.

Well, a lot of what he has to say resonates with any disgruntled American. Most of us are sick of the media, and the government, for that matter, treating us like children that they control instead of citizens that they answer to. The media has decided that we don't need to know anything they don't care to tell us. Furthermore, they want to tell us what to think about the information we are privileged to receive from them. Furthermore, they have far too much to lose to report the truth anymore as they lie in bed with the government, enjoying power, prestige and riches, compromising their honesty in reporting in an unbiased way.

Julian Assange claims to be a Libertarian who is guided by the people, a true journalist. Actually, though, Julian Assange is an enigma. His pale, almost albino, looks and narrow, shrewd eyes are reminiscent of someone cast to play a brilliant but psychopathic bad guy in a thriller. His smooth charm savors of the type of charisma that cult leaders possess. His claims to be pure in a sea of corruption gives that aura of the cult leader as well, sort of a "join me as one of the few intelligent people who are truly in the know, and far superior to the ignorant masses."

Sometimes Julian Assange's answers were a little too shrewd, almost slick, in dismissing any stain of wrong about anything he might choose to do. For instance, when discussing his beginnings as a thirteen year old hacker, he claimed that this was actually a healthy thing for him to do, a way to prove himself like any other young man. Like skateboarders, for instance, showing their daring and skill. What he failed to realize was that skateboarding is not illegal.

On the other hand, the corruption, real or perceived, in the American press certainly makes people like Julian Assange appealing, sort of a vigilante journalist that will take information from the rich reporters and governments and corporations, and give it to the poor citizens who rely on the truth when deciding who to trust with their government and their money.

Under the threat of lawsuits and the arrests of some of his sources, Julian Assange has begun to cooperate with the mainstream media, as evidenced by this interview with Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes, but Julian Assange claims this is so that the vast store of information WikiLeaks still plans to release won't be impeded even if WikiLeaks is stopped. This is actually a clever strategy in legal defense of Julian Assange as well. The mainstream media cannot resist a scoop, and already The New York Times published some of the leaked information, weakening the court case against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.

Traitor or purist, Julian Assange is a fascinating man with ideas that are stirring a much needed debate about the true and necessary role of a free press with unbiased journalists. As an American, I would appreciate the opportunity to make up my own mind. Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, at least, feel that I have that right and are willing to put themselves on the line to provide it. Whether that is a good thing or just a dangerous thing remains to be seen. But it is certainly an American thing.

Sources: 60 Minutes on CBS - Interview with Julian Assange by Steve Kroft