The deal nonetheless leaves a bitter taste. It is widely granted that Assange is a stubborn and prickly character, whose personal loyalty might leave something to be desired. In other words, he was not an easy individual to support, even as the causes that he came to represent — of free speech and publication of classified information in the public interest — cast him as a political prisoner. 

His freedom may also have its limits. He will doubtless be barred from the US and perhaps the UK, which is where he made his life. He will go down as a spy in the US, and the question of whether the revelations he published cost lives will remain open. In the end, the balance sheet is probably as even as it could realistically be, and the diplomats and lawyers who had the imagination to pull it off deserve more recognition than they will probably ever receive.