Yes, Julian Assange actually is a criminal
Glenn Greenwald took exception to my inclusion of the WikiLeaks founder in my list of scofflaws, claiming that Assange has committed no crime. Let me explain why I believe the campaign of Assange and his associates to obtain and publish vast amounts of classified material from the U.S. and other governments, as well as stolen private information from non-governmental organizations and individuals, is neither legal nor legitimate.
This controversy has nothing to do with views of current U.S. foreign policy. I denounced the Iraq War in advance in print, on the radio and on TV, and after it began in two books. I favor rapid disengagement from Afghanistan and a far more modest American military role in the world. And I agree with the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan that much, perhaps most, government secrecy is unnecessary and counterproductive. But everyone other than anarchists who oppose government of any kind must acknowledge the need for diplomats and military officers, as well as civilian officials, to be able to engage in confidential communications among themselves and with foreign governments without fear of unauthorized publicity. Even the government of an isolationist America would insist on that prerogative.