Canada Prof calls for Wikileaks Assassination!

University of Calgary Professor Tom Flanagan has openly called for the assassination of Julian Assange, of Wikileaks on CBC Television yesterday.

From the interview:

                                  "Well I think Assange should be assassinated actually. I think Obama should put out a contract and maybe use a drone or something."


Flanagan, is a well known senior advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He is credited as being the architect of the successful Conservative election campaign in 2006. He is also the author of a book on his time on Harper's staff.

Flanagan was so instrumental to Harper's success that Walrus Magazine call him "The Man Behind Stephen Harper".

Now this Professor and senior advisor to Harper has a new, and dubious, honor to tack onto his resume' . He  has joined the ranks of Sarah Palin, who has called for Assange to be "hunted down" just like the US military is hunting down Al-Qaeda. A dubious honor indeed.

Do we have to remind Flanagan that Canada doesn't have a death penalty? What about the right to a fair trial and due process? You know, that annoying concept of innocent until proven guilty.

Do we need to remind him that whistle blowers have, throughout history, been responsible for keeping power and greed in check?

I think he does need a reminder, and some context.

In 1972, five men were arrested for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC. The White House, from President Nixon on down denied knowledge and involvement in the affair. That is until two brave journalists, Bob Woodward and  Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post, famously published information from anonymous sources claiming knowledge of the break-in and attempts to cover it up came directly from the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA and the White House.

The source was referred to as Deep Throat in the reports. Only in 2005 was it revealed that Deep Throat is in fact Deputy Director of the FBI William Mark Felt Sr. It is he who met secretly with Woodward. Without both their courage none of this would have been uncovered. The scandal ultimately resulted in the impeachment and resignation of President Nixon as a result of his involvement in the affair.

Would the illustrious Professor call for the assassination of Bob Woodward? I think not.

It's really a shame that one of the most senior advisors to the head of the Canadian government is espousing opinions that are so decidedly un-Canadian.

Not only should he not be an advisor to the PM but his position at the, publicly subsidized, University of Calgary should be reviewed. Do we want our tax dollars to pay people like him to teach our best and brightest?

I'm not sure, that's why I will give him the benefit of the doubt and ask for a review. That's much more than he is giving Mr. Assange...

U Calgary - Political Science - Head of Dept: David Stewart dstewart@ucalgary.ca
U Calgary - Dean: Kevin McQuillan  kevinmcq@ucalgary.ca