Julian Assange interviews Hezbollah leader on talk show premiere

Julian Assange made his debut as talk show host Tuesday as the first episode of "The World Tomorrow" aired on Russian TV channel RT. Assange's first guest was a bit of a "get": Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah militia. The leader of the Syrian-backed group, which is classified as a terrorist organization in the U.S. and Europe, rarely gives interviews outside of the Lebanese Al-Manar TV channel, which is closely affiliated with Hezbollah.

The Associated Press reports that the half-hour interview was conducted via videolink, with Assange under house arrest at an undisclosed location in England and Nasrallah at his own undisclosed location, speaking through a translator.

The topics? Israel, Lebanon, Syria and theology. In true talk show style, Nasrallah even managed to get in a joke, telling Assange that Hezbollah frequently uses Arab farm slang in order to throw off Israeli code-breakers.

"That's not going to do you any good in WikiLeaks, by the way," Nasrallah said.

The interview is the first in a series of 10 conversations Assange will record with "key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries from around the world," according to the WikiLeaks website.

Assange continues to fight extradition to Sweden where he's alleged to have been involved in sex crimes and remains under house arrest until the English courts reach a verdict.

New York Daily News

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