This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
On April 12, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, in an address to the D.C. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, openly threatened WikiLeaks. He made the astonishing claim that, "[Julian] Assange [makes] common cause with dictators."
Astonishing, because he has no evidence, classified or otherwise, to that effect. Astonishing, because shortly after his appointment he was in Riyadh bestowing on the Saudi Arabian dictator-to-be (Crown Prince Muhammed bin Nayef) one of the CIA's most cherished awards. Astonishing because CSIS, his audience, is funded by despotic regimes from UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan. Astonishing, because last week the president hosted and praised Egyptian tyrant Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
A free press would've responded to Pompeo with scornful laughter.
But his address was reported without comment. Are the leading news outlets asleep or just happy that they aren't the targets of these particular threats?
Sheldon Kirkham
Taylorsville