Dumb Dumb Move

In what has to be one of the most nonsensical diplomatic moves in history, the British government has just issued a warning to Ecuador that Britain will storm Ecuador's embassy and drag Julian Assange out of the embassy.

Assange has been holed up inside Ecuador's small embassy in London since June 19 due to an extradition case where he is wanted for questioning in Sweden due to 2 rape cases. Assange has consistently claimed that the Swedish case is merely an orchestrated plot to make him stand trial in the United States for releasing American secret cables on his website WikiLeaks. Although this is disputed by both Swedish authorities and the women involved, till now no case has went to the Swedish courts on the rape charges and Assange still has not been formally charged with any crime.

Let me be clear here; from day one, I thought the cases in Sweden were totally made-up. The Swedish authorities claim that they want to extradite Assange for “investigation” and “questioning”; well if that’s the case then you currently have no case right? Assange hasn’t even been charged yet but there’s an extradition order? It’s total nonsense but there were some who wish, rather foolishly in my view, to give the Swedes the benefit of the doubt.

If anyone had any doubts about it before, this threat by Britain to storm the Ecuadoran embassy had just settled it. How many countries you know would threaten to storm another’s country’s embassy due to an extradition order? Especially when the man in question hasn’t even been charged with anything yet? The bottom-line is that the British is going to storm the embassy to get a man wanted for questioning for allegations of misdemeanor sexual contact. The British are going to storm an embassy over a case of misdemeanor sexual contact?

Frankly if I’m Julian Assange, I would be thanking the British Foreign Office right now. They have just proven to the world that the extradition case to Sweden is only a pretext for the US to get their hands on him.