8chan/8kun QResearch AUSTRALIA Posts (1)
#21114409 at 2024-06-30 11:01:46 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition
>>21114402
3/3
What happens next? Assange could turn his gaze towards how successive Australian governments have increasingly misused national security classifications to cover up political stupidity.
It has been a long time since the security classifications of "confidential", "secret" and "top secret" have been used, as intended, to control information of genuine ?national security significance.
The government failed to release a recent report by David Peever on innovation and the Defence Strategic Review by Stephen Smith and Sir Angus Houston, and they did so on spurious national ?security grounds.
Albanese has created a new role for himself as the bringer-home of incarcerated Australians. He does not mention the Islamic State ?jihadi brides and children returned in October 2022 in his roll call of success.
The good news for Albanese is that DFAT reports 318 cases of Australians imprisoned overseas in 2022-23, including 49 in China, 47 in the US and 30 in Vietnam. Will they all get a phone call from the Prime Minister upon return?
How about a private jet with Rudd and Smith in attendance? One hopes both these gentlemen are profoundly embarrassed by having to accompany Assange. That could only have been a prime ministerial call and was completely unnecessary.
On Thursday morning ABC Radio, Stella Assange asked only for privacy for her family in comments reminiscent of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, surely the only close competitors for such media attention. But I can't see ?Julian marketing his own brand of dog biscuits.
Instead, he may consider politics. In an election for half the Senate, a 14.3 per cent vote - a "quota" - lands a Senate position. With global name recognition, Assange will threaten the Greens for a Senate spot in any state in the country.
Assange previously ran for a Senate position for the WikiLeaks Party in 2013.
An early disturber of Assange's privacy might be a call from Adam Bandt who, presumably, would rather have Assange in the Greens tent than out of it. Bandt could see Assange as a political threat. There are plenty of inner metropolitan seats in Sydney and Melbourne where Assange would stand a solid chance off knocking off a Labor or Greens incumbent.
For the rest of us, including the thousands who maintain onerous security clearances, the image of Albanese's grinning phone call welcoming Assange home will ?linger.
Given the government's obsession with secrecy and information control, common decency and a touch of political astuteness would suggest the PM should give Assange a wide berth.
Assange was found guilty by our closest ally of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information. The man is no hero. The same action would put any Defence official in prison.
Albanese should acknowledge that, out of respect for the thousands of loyal Australians who ?uphold our national security.
Peter Jennings is director of Strategic Analysis Australia and was executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute from 2012 to 2022. He is a former deputy secretary for strategy in the Defence Department (2009-12).
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/forget-the-media-circus-julian-assange-put-our-brave-soldiers-lives-in-danger/news-story/d3ba0e7969ae53fcc8204bd035896248