Gotta Admit... I'm Pretty Baffled By The Split And Depth Of Feeling Re:The Assange/WikiLeaks Story

[JDPriestly]

140. But, again, why does a foreign national like Assange have to follow US law

on matters pertaining to US secrecy?

He can't be a traitor because he is not an American and therefore cannot betray the US.

He can't be a spy because he simply accepted information dumped on his website and published it generally for the whole world and did not use it secretly to harm the US.

If he were an American, then I could understand that he should obey US law.

If an American were to obtain secrets from North Korea or Al Qaeda and publish them, would we allow the American to be prosecuted for violating the laws of North Korea or of Al Qaeda? (I know that is absurd, but you understand what I mean.)

I have pointed this out a number of times and never received any answer. I don't understand how people can't comprehend the concept of nationality and legal jurisdiction. Assange's actions affected American authorities, but he is not alleged to have committed any crime in the US and he is not American. Very odd.