Julian Assange describes Obama as 'wolf in sheep's clothing'

Speaking from his room in London's Ecuadorian embassy, WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, says he sees no reason to celebrate the reelection of US President Barack Obama.

Talking to AFP from his room, 41-year-old Assange said, “Obama seems to be a nice man, and that is precisely the problem.” 

“It's better to have a sheep in wolf's clothing than a wolf in sheep's clothing,” he said. “All of the activities against WikiLeaks by the United States have occurred under an Obama administration.”

He further said that he expected the US government to continue attacking WikiLeaks.

Assange also criticized the Republican party, saying it “has not been an effective restraining force on government excesses over the last four years.” Adding that, "There is no reason to believe that will change – in fact, the Republicans will push the administration into ever greater excesses." 

Referring to Bradley Manning, who was a young intelligence analyst with the US Army in Baghdad, Assange urged the US government to free the whistleblower. 

Manning has been held in solitary confinement in a military prison for over two years, after being accused of leaking a large cache of classified military documents, plus the "collateral murder" video showing the slaughter of both civilians and journalists, to WikiLeaks.

Assange said, "The re-election of Barack Obama coincides with the 899th day of Manning's confinement."

Asked about the diplomatic problems being experienced between the UK government and Ecuador, Assange said that there had been "no formal progress" in recent weeks, but said WikiLeaks' strategy on ending the stalemate was "moving from defense to offense".

When asked what that means, he said: "It will become clear in the coming months."

Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June, when he applied for, and eventually received, political asylum in Ecuador. He wished to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning on alleged sexual charges, which he denies. He fears that should he set foot in Sweden, he would then be sent on to the US to face espionage charges for the sensitive diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks which have both embarrassed and enraged the US Government.

Assange apparently sounded hoarse during the interview, but refused to comment on his health. Ecuador last month requested a meeting with UK officials to discuss claims that Assange is losing weight and suffering vision problems. Video of the WikiLeaks founder addressing the UN General Assembly in September, showed him as looking pale and rather gaunt.

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