US President George Bush is pledging to do all he can to speed up David Hicks' trial, promising the Australian will be "first in line" to get his day in court. Mr Bush made the promise to Prime Minister John Howard during a telephone call this morning, in which he vowed to "do everything he could to make sure the process was pushed along". "He said that Hicks was the first in the line, and he understood very much the concerns that I had," Mr Howard said.
Source: Bush pledge to Howard over Hicks - National - theage.com.au
I think Johnno is missing the point. While it is more than a concern that DH has been in Guantanamo for over 5 years with out any charges, it is even WORSE that it is a US "special" military court.
If Hicks were a US soldier facing a Court Martial, the case would have been dismissed according to US military legal folks. And, if Hicks were a US citizen, he would not be allowed to be tried by the court at Guantanamo because the US courts have ruled that the trials at Guantanamo are unconstitutional and deny basic legal rights and process.
So, if Johnno wants to impress us, he should be trying to STOP the trial and demanding that DH be return to Australia, not demanding he be tried ASAP in a court that even the US wouldn't let their people face.
Anyway, aside from that, the article goes on to say that our evil Justice overlord, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has raised the issue of how Hicks might feel if he was brought home before getting a chance to clear his name.
What a joke! Hicks' US military lawyer, Major Michael Mori, said: "David Hicks won't complain if they bring him home (and) he didn't get to clear his name."
When reminded that many in government had not always presumed Hicks innocent (news terrorist adds: The whole freaking Johnno Howard axis of evil), Mr Ruddock said that he, as principal law officer, always had. "I have never asserted guilt," he said.
Does anyone need proof that Philip Ruddock is really a closet Darth Vader cross-dresser?
Technorati Tags: David Hicks - Guantanamo - John Howard - War on Terror
10 comments:
Hicks has by his own admission trained with and fought for terrorist organisations, he was captured on the field of battle not wearing a uniform or insignia; under article three of the Geneva convention this makes him an unprivileged belligerent who could have been subject to summary execution.
You make the usual mistake of ignoring the fact that he should at the very least expect detention until the end of hostilities if he is to be treated in a similar manner to a regular POW even though he does not meet the specifications of one. His is not the case of someone who has committed civil crimes but the case of a man who wanted to play at Jihad and who got caught.
Iain, that is way too "The Australian". I assume you don't read wider? :)
If he were a government soldier in an organised country with an army THEN one might expect a uniform. He wasn't wearing a uniform or insignia because he was in no army. Afghanistan then, and now is a chaotic country of over 50 warlords and fiefdoms. There was no friggin government. The Taliban I suppose were the closest thing to a government, but it would be a stretch to call them that. Hicks was told to stand by a tank and guard it by some Taliban official, so he did, as anyone did what the Taliban told them to do. He didn't shoot at or threaten any one.
He has been imprisoned for over 5 years without charge in conditions that do NOT meet Geneva convention standards, or any other worls human-rights standard (that is why it is in Cuba). Your defence of the indefencible is incredibly amusing. Are you serious? You're not John Bolt under a pseudonym are you?
Do you mean "Andrew Bolt" by any chance? But no I am I and I post under my own name :)
As you correctly point out Hicks was not in uniform but what you ignore is that to enjoy the protections of the Geneva Convention wearing a uniform or insignia is actually required.
If you check out my blog you will find the schedule of http://iainhall.wordpress.com/2007/02/05/the-alegations-against-david-hicks/ and they are far more extensive that his just guarding a tank.
I may be an Australian but my reading is far wider than The Australian 8)
Yes, sorry I meant Andrew Bolt. John Bolt is a guy in New Zealand, who was a good guy, but now deceased.
You are correct of course about the technicalities of the Geneva Convention. It seems appropriate though that it be applied considering the Taliban were the closest thing to a government Afghanistan had, and so legitimate fighters I would have thought, uniform or not.
I'll check the allegations and come back later....
I have read the US allegations on your blog, sourced by Australia's most hated "journalist" Andrew bolt, and I agree completely with Ollie, Adrien, Bridgit Gread, and PKD. These intelligent commentators on that post have summed up the argument wonderfully.
Actually NT,
Andrew bolt is by no means as hated as many Lefties would have you believe. By the chattering classes maybe, but by the people at large definitely not. :)
Hey Iain. You are my favourite right-winger!
I don't know anyone here in VIC that is a Bolt fan, or even thinks that he is a good journo. Does News Corp publish edited versions of his articles up there?
I am sure that the fact that you do not know anyone who likes Andrew Bolt is no measure of his popularity :)
His columns do appear in our Sunday Mail but I don't buy that paper. His blog does have a much wider readership though.
If I am your favorite Right winger please feel free to add me to your blog roll and I will be happy to return the favor.
You strike me as the sort of chap who likes to be challenged by a contrary point of view which is a quality I appreciate ,especially in a lefty :grin:
Hey Iain!
Yes I do enjoy I good debate. I alway feel everyone is entitled to their opinion, and am in no way upset if they don't agree with me, as long as they have listened!
I have created (!) and added you to my blogroll!
It has inspired me to finally make a list of the people I read, and thereby publicly declare my bias!
Favour returned ! and I look forward to commenting on some of your other posts but right now I have to get my daughter ready for school :grin:
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