Why did the #US #Imperium go after Julian #Assange? What did he do?

As Chris #Hedges writes on #Substack in a sermon he gave on August 20 in Oslo entitied “The Crucifixion of Julian Assange”: they came after him because he told the truth - again and again!

[Full disclosure: I’m an atheist but I am also a great admirer of Hedges’ writings & his passionate opposition to the criminal, warmongering ruling classes!]

“They came after Julian because he exposed the more than 15,000 unreported deaths of #Iraqi civilians;

because he exposed the torture and abuse of some 800 men and boys, aged between 14 and 89, at #Guantánamo;

because he exposed that Hillary #Clinton in 2009 ordered U.S. diplomats to spy on U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other U.N. representatives from China, France, Russia, and the U.K., spying that included obtaining DNA, iris scans, fingerprints, and personal passwords (part of the long pattern of illegal surveillance that included the eavesdropping on U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in the weeks before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003);

because he exposed that Barack #Obama, Hillary Clinton and the #CIA backed the June 2009 military coup in #Honduras that overthrew the democratically elected president Manuel Zelaya, replacing him with a murderous and corrupt military regime;

because he exposed that George W. #Bush, Barack Obama and General David #Petraeus prosecuted a war in Iraq that under post-Nuremberg laws is defined as a criminal war of aggression, a war crime;

that they authorized hundreds of targeted assassinations, including those of U.S. citizens in #Yemen, and that they secretly launched missile, bomb, and drone attacks on Yemen, killing scores of civilians;

because Julian exposed the contents of the speeches Hillary Clinton gave to Goldman Sachs for which she was paid $675,000, a sum so large it can only be considered a bribe, and that she privately assured corporate leaders she would do their bidding while promising the public financial regulation and reform;

because he exposed how the hacking tools used by the CIA and the National Security Agency [#NSA] permit the wholesale government surveillance of our televisions, computers, smart phones and anti-virus software, allowing the government to record and store our conversations, images and private text messages, even from encrypted apps.

Julian exposed the truth. He exposed it over and over and over until there was no question of the endemic illegality, corruption and mendacity that defines the global ruling class And for these truths they came after Julian, as they have come after all who dared rip back the veil on power.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/chrishedges/p/the-crucifixion-of-julian-assange?r=27oltk&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

ℹ Retired 4⭐ General David #Petraeus is a veteran of nearly four decades in the U.S. Army, commanding U.S. forces in #Iraq and #Afghanistan before serving as director of the #CIA in 2011-12.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Georgian Service, #Petraeus argues that #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine is "about as clear a right-versus-wrong as we've seen in our lifetime." He also talks about the "staggering failure" of Russia's military leadership.

https://www.rferl.org/a/petraeus-interview-ukraine-russia-putin/32369104.html

Was wären die Folgen, sollte 🇷🇺 taktische #Atomwaffen einsetzen?

Ex-General #Petraeus: "Die #USA könnten mit konventionellen Mitteln alle 🇷🇺 Truppen auf 🇺🇦 Boden ausschalten und sämtliche Kriegsschiffe im Schwarzen Meer versenken. Das wären für 🇷🇺 katastrophale Folgen." #Ukraine https://twitter.com/lena4berger/status/1660943956983570434?s=12&t=N13y1eYGJ4UCp5MLPfYcuA

This summer, Ukrainian forces will be able to push back Russian forces even further, depending on weapons supply and strategy.
This was expressed by the former director of the #CIA, General David #Petraeus, in an interview with CNN.
"It is possible to make the enemy collapse, and that is possible this summer, at least locally. And hopefully enough to cut that land bridge that Russia has established that allows them to connect with #Crimea along the southeast coast of #Ukraine. (United24Media)

#Petraeus on the #Russia - #Ukraine end game

"Bergen: (…) For the war in Ukraine: How does this end?

Petraeus: I think it ends in a negotiated resolution, when #Putin recognizes that the war is unsustainable on both the battlefield (…) and on the home front (…).

Also when Ukraine reaches the limits of its ability to withstand missile and drone strikes, getting a Marshall-like plan (…) to help rebuild the country, and gaining an ironclad security guarantee (…)."

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/14/opinions/petraeus-how-ukraine-war-ends-bergen-ctpr/index.html

#petraeus ovvero gli #AltissimiProfili d'oltre oceano però con gli #occhiditigrli: ovvero le sudice porcate dei #ValoriOccidentali

RT @ItalianPolitics@twitter.com

Diciamo francamente che quella di Petraeus è una solenne ipocrisia? Alla luce dei miliardi di armamenti, ultimi i Patriot, possiamo CERTAMENTE prevedere la "escalation". Poi c'è ieri il Segr. Blinken sul ritiro Usa dall'Afghanistan ad agosto 2021 preparatorio dell'Ucraina... https://twitter.com/Daniele_Manca/status/1606182836893097984

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/ItalianPolitics/status/1606193816331075584

Die #Ukraine hat im #Krieg mit #Russland schon am Wochenende eine #Gegenoffensive gestartet.
Dass das eine Wendepunkt im Krieg ist, wie das u.a. Ex #CIA Chef #Petraeus meint, sehen viele Experten, z.B. Ralph Thiele, ganz anders:
Mehr als einzelne taktische Erfolge sind für die #Ukrainer nicht drinnen, #Russland wird den Krieg gewinnen.
https://www.servustv.com/aktuelles/v/aay37p3gec4vb4llvwm8/

I'm looking around #TomDispatch for #TomEngelhardt's on #Rumsfeld's admission that reality wasn't an issue in the #IraqInvasion. Maybe it was #Petraeus that was confident they could create the desired #FactsOnTheGround . Either #HannahArendt or #SimoneWeil writes of the totalitarian's constant stream of facts and how contradictions don't matter just keep giving followers something to get excited about.
https://tomdispatch.com/whose-future-is-this-anyway/
#FictionBasedReality
#BetweenPastAndFuture #Arendt

4/La teoria essenzialmente rinomina l'esercito, espandendo la sua autorità e il suo finanziamento
Nel 2006, dopo che il gen David #Petraeus ha testato la teoria durante il suo "surge" in #Iraq, ha guadagnato un seguito irriducibile di think tank, giornalisti e ufficiali militari

RT @dmorgarranz
En 🇪🇸también tenemos Generales
#petraeus #mcchrystal