Just because CIA believed Assange was in that flight, that Morales would help him escape.
EDIT: My mistake, that was for Snowden, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales_grounding_incident
The governments of most of Western Europe have geopolitical interests strongly allied to the US.
> Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian
So, all members of SIGINT Seniors Europe except Portugal.
https://www.dw.com/en/austria-angry-at-germany-over-enormous... https://www.thelocal.de/20170622/germany-spied-on-the-white-...
"Allied" can mean a lot of things, but it can also be forced upon populations, have them dragged into wars for your side's interests, and so on. Not everything is what it writes on the tin.
The governments of most of Western Europe have a long history of selling out their national interests (especially the weak bureaucrats and career politicians put in place past the 80s, not someone like De Gaulle). In exchange they get US support for their campaigns, handouts, and some trinkets for their peoples. In lesser countries, e.g. Balkans, periphery, etc, stability guarantees are also given ("you wouldn't want something bad to happen between you and your neighbors now, would you?", or "You'd like to have those investments keep coming in, right?").
And when some larger countries try to get out of this stronghold, e.g. trying to buy the cheapest oil from where they want (even if the US doesn't like it), or pay in Euros as opposed to dollars, they are quickly shown their place...
Not the same issue as Assange of course, unless, as Assange claims, this too is the long arm of the US secretly trying to get whistleblowers extradited. I'm not sure that's the case here, though; I think the Swedish rape allegations have merit, and unlike Snowden, I don't think Assange has broken any US laws for which he can be extradited; he's just doing journalist work. Sloppily and with grandstanding megalomania, perhaps, but that's not illegal and thus no basis for extradition.
I'm no expert in Swedish law, I trust their legal system, and the legal system in the UK to respond to the demands of the EAW
> and unlike Snowden, I don't think Assange has broken any US laws for which he can be extradited;
If he could, the U.S. could have just as easily extradited him from the UK
Sorry if I didn’t use the right terminology.
They dropped the investigation and the arrest warrant, not the charges. The investigation can still be reopened and he can still be questioned and charged if he returns to Sweden before the statutes of limitations run out.
There is a sealed indictment of Assange in US district court that was inadvertently leaked when some documents were improperly redacted. [1]
There were later reports based on chat logs that Assange solicited or participated in hacking attempts to obtain email documents during the 2016 political campaign.[2]
Active solicitation of or participation in illegal hacking is a crime in US law and there is no exception for 'journalists'.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/us/politics/julian-assang...
[2] https://emma.best/2018/11/15/sealed-files-show-assange-and-w...
We need to be more vigilent, more aware, stronger and never forget.
They can do that to Bolivia but just try to force Air Force One to land...
For seven years, Assange was protected by nothing but paper, so it does seem to have some heft.
I guess Assange obnoxiousness is more powerful than a US carrier group. The former finally got it done when the latter couldn't.
Now, a covert operation in a third country when there are no cameras around, on the other hands...
Just another example of the US bullying other countries, and Americans get all pissy with the GDPR.