The Committee to Nuke Elysium

The calls for an all-out campaign against WikiLeaks are growing more shrill. Tony Shaffer of the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer, told Fox News that he would like to see military action against Assange: “I would look at this very much as a military issue. With potentially military action against him and his organization.” (While the Obama administration no longer uses the term “enemy combatant,” it claims (PDF) the authority to “detain” someone who has provided “substantial support” to enemies of the United States.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs today said: “WikiLeaks and people that disseminate information to people like this are criminals, first and foremost. And I think that needs to be clear.” That’s an indication the investigation has gone beyond WikiLeaks’ source to the group itself. He added, when asked against legal action against WikiLeaks and Assange: “We are looking at a whole host of things, and I wouldn’t rule anything out.” And syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer reportedly said on Fox News (I haven’t seen this segment myself yet) that journalists should be investigated: “To say that if you are unlike CNN and Wall Street Journal, who apparently turned down collaboration with WikiLeaks, and you collaborate, we are going to look into possible prosecution.”