Sacrificing David Hicks

[Violet_Crumble]

David Hicks must surely be the most celebrated Adelaide bogan ever. All that ink, all that air time, all the legal work done on his behalf. The protests, such as the mock prison cage set up on a Manhattan street. The high-level diplomatic representations. Now, even the loftiest jurists in the world's most powerful nation, the members of the US Supreme Court, have, by extension, considered his fate.

Many among us have, to varying degrees, made a mess of our lives. But Hicks has earned the right to be the poster boy for that particular subset of humanity. He could have evaded capture by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan in late 2001 by staying out of that country. Instead, having taken off earlier, he went back in to get his meagre belongings.

That's when he was nabbed and eventually handed over to the United States. And his life, bad enough before - with his poor schooling and ridiculous, possibly murderous adventures with al-Qaeda and the Taliban - has been an utter nightmare ever since.

There can be no doubt that Hicks is the chief author of his own misfortune, which was to be consigned to a dismal existence in detention at Guantanamo Bay, and so much more. But he is not the sole creator of his own story.

It was Hicks' bad luck to hail from a country whose elected political leadership not only does not give a stuff about him or his legal rights, but appears to actively want his life to be broken as some sort of example or sacrifice. Or something.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/shaun-carney/sacrificing-david-hicks/2006/06/30/1151174388930.html

[Matilda]

1. That's a very good article, thanks for posting it.

One of the major reasons for the delay in bringing him to trial is
probably that the US is trying to figure out how to put somebody on trial for stupidity.

In spite of Howard and Downer's certainty that Hicks is guilty of dreadful crimes, I find it incredible that anybody could believe that
Osama and friends would have put their trust in him. I doubt he was
ever anything more than just a pathetic little foot soldier.

He should be freed and sent home along with all the other detainees
who are guilty of nothing much more than misplaced idealism.

[Esra Star]

2. I just received a pdf of the charge sheet.

Are you interested to see it?

[Violet_Crumble]

3. I wouldn't mind seeing it n/t

[Esra Star]

4. Is an email addy possible?

[Violet_Crumble]

5. I'll send you a PM with my email addy n/t

[Esra Star]

6. Hokay.

[Matilda]

7. I'll also send you my email addy,

if you wouldn't mind forwarding it to me as well.

[Esra Star]

8. Do you just want to PM me?

[Djinn]

9. Whatever moral authority the US used to hold

it has now lost. It only held that authority for the ignorant, as educated people know about Operation Phoenix, SOTA and the overthrowing of numerous democratically elected governments but the ignorant make up a large proportion of the west.

Many more people's eyes have been opened by the US Gulag Archipelago which stretches from the Middle East to Cuba.

The US should be made an international pariah for it's abuse of the rule of law.