As if you could count on the US to keep its word... They've lied about basically everything. Lobbying the US would not only be extremely naive, it could be quite dangerous for Julian Assange if he believes any 'assurances' that the US would back off. They may not 'technically' extradite him to the US but choose to detain him indefinitely in Sweden under some bogus law that they draft up for that purpose. Look at everything they've pulled so far, all of it outside the 'rule of law'. The US, Britain, Sweden, and Australia are clearly working together like a wolf pack on this case. And don't expect to collar them any time soon.

If not simply a naive article, this sounds like a face-saving strategy for the US, as clearly it has lost the battle for hearts and minds, and can't pursue its ends just through fear and intimidation.

I wish I could believe that the North American government are as reasonable and honourable as this article.
To break the impasse I suggest
(a) any investigations into sexual allegations be conducted by the Swedish authorities with Julian Assange's witness or other statement made by him via Skype video link from the Ecquadorian Embassy. Similar video evidence is often taken in court cases in a large number of jurisdictions worldwide. Is this practice used sometimes in Swedish cases?
(b) In the circumstances a public announcement by the Swedish prime minister needs to be made that he will not consider, or accede to any formal, or covert request from the US to hand over Julian Assange until at least the sex allegations investigation and any resultant court case is completed.

"But what the supporters and critics do not seem to realise is that most of them share a common ground. Very few of Assange’s opponents, aside from a handful of rabid right-wing commentators, believe WikiLeaks should be prosecuted for its involvement in publishing classified documents." ~ Ryan Gallagher.

What absolute nonsense Ryan Gallagher, nice try though, i.e., attempting to lump together the majority of Assange's critics and supporters on the pretence that only "rabid right-wing commentators" would want to see wikileaks prosecuted.

Obviously you are attempting to fuddle some sort of centrist foundation point upon which to base your wimp out article, which of course is desinged to construct another 'Go easy on Assange' message.

Personally, for the record I do hope wikileaks is prosecuted. PS., I do not consider myself rabid. Please stop pretending you speak or write for the majority Gallagher, or are you yet another phoney journalist like Assange himself?

The US is happy so long as Assange is neutralised, whether inside a gaol cell or Equadorian embassy. There will be no assurances coming from the US that JA is safe from extradition. This also gives it time to both discredit JA via media hit pieces and to continue its investigations with a view to producing charges that will see him handed over to American prosecutors. It doesn't matter what the charges will be, as long as he is behind American bars.

But what I want to know is something no one has mentioned the yet. Assange has not been charged by Swedish prosecutors because they have insufficient evidence after nearly two years of investigation. Supposedly, they need to question him first (which they have already done) and have him self-incriminate himself to produce sufficient evidence in order to lay charges. Unless they intend to torture a confession out of him, how do they suppose that he will not simply refuse to talk or perhaps even lie to them? What purpose does it serve so-called Swedish justice to have him locked up with no prospect of charges ever being laid?

And lastly, I think it's worth noting that the US would prefer to extradite him from Sweden than the UK in order to avoid the political embarrassment it would cause to the UK . Assange has far more supporters in the UK than Sweden and the prospect of an extradition from there would be far less certain given their more robust legal system. Put simply, Sweden rolls over for the US more easily than does the UK. Just look at how long the appeals process has taken for a dicky little EAW. A US extradition request on the UK would result in a very awkward situation between the two counties.

A sad example of how taking freedom for granted

caixa,caixa economica,caixa economica federal

It's sad what is happening to Julian Assange right now, and that goes the same for the rest of the world, too. I'm glad he's able to seek asylum but I don't think this is going to hold up for long. Why can the US get Julian from Sweden, rather than UK?
------ Matt Pope.

Yawn. The worst thing that can happen to him is that he spends a few years in a luxurious prison playing table tennis with Anders Breivik. It's not as if they have real jails in Sweden. And the Swedes won't extradite to anywhere with the death penalty.

A sad example of how taking freedom for granted, as if it were a habit rather than an exercise, is the first step to its loss.

The fact that neither the US nor Swedish governments are willing to give these assurances speaks volumes about the hordes of sudden converts to women's rights, most of whom seem, at best, indifferent to the rights of the murdered women and children whose bodies are being obliterated by US terror drones every day of the week. If what the US is currently doing has neither radicalised youth, NGOs and the world nor undermined Obama, then how would arresting and secretly trying Assange cause more than a bit of wet, liberal bleating? There was little protest when the US Vice-President, Biden, called Assange a "hi-tech terrorist" and even less said when his own PM, Gillard, not to be outdone, declared him "guilty". Your faith in the liberal press is misplaced.

As a supporter of Mr Assange, I would say we have been lobbying the US government for some time now and continue to do so; this is really not a new concept. Considering the renewed calls for Mr Assange’s prosecution by Sen Feinstein this weekend, it seems obvious that getting any concessions from the US government is not looking promising. This whole sorry episode would have been over if the Swedish Prosecution Authority had done its job properly and interviewed Mr Assange in Sweden.