Austrailian David Hicks Pleads Guilty!
Well that proves it. He says he’s guilty then he must be. This proves that Gitmo is relevant as a tool for finding terrorists, that it should stay open indefinitely. This proves that the president was right all along, and that we should stay the course. Right?
Except for a few minor details:
One of his Australian lawyers, David McLeod, had said on Sunday that Hicks was convinced he will not get a fair trial. "He expected that he would be convicted even if he defends the charges," McLeod told reporters on Sunday. Hicks has said he was sodomized, beaten, and subject to forced injections while in U.S. custody, allegations the military calls untrue and nonsense.
"He’s really changed a lot in three years," said (his father, Terrence) Hicks, who had last seen his son at the 2004 hearing.
No shit. The last guy to get released after years of Guantanamo incarceration suffers severe mental disorders. And he was found innocent. It seems that after three years of US hospitality, Mr. Hicks will say anything to be back home, even if home will be another prison. It can’t get much worse that what he’s already endured.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Quite the contrary to the bullshit comment above. Australian David Hicks in Guantanamo, who has recently pleaded guilty to one count of aiding terrorism. I find it hard to believe that Mr. Hicks’ attorneys have the audacity to question the fairness of our courts.
Mr. Hicks has acknowledged that he was willing to fight and die to discredit and destroy the US Government and our society. He was preventing from doing so, only because he was late in making his trip to Afghanistan and had difficulty in getting the Taliban to take him seriously. Even with these set-backs, he was at the front lines with the Taliban Military and armed with Grenades and an AK assault rifle when the Americans captured him. Hicks now expects and is demanding that our political and social system he wanted to destroy, now treat him with fairness and understanding.
The war on terrorism is not “Cowboys and Indians” where we can declare that we are tired and mom is calling us for dinner, so the game has to be delayed until tomorrow. But rather wars of attrition that will require the participants fully commit their future to their cause. The US military personnel that I know personally have done just that. However, this sideshow currently being played out in Guantanamo by Hicks’ and his lawyers, smacks of childish games where Hicks is not willing to accept responsibility for his actions.
Hicks is willing to take up arms in favor of an antiquated society that would not think twice of killing him outright if he violated one its many rules. These rules that require death or maiming of an individual for offenses that by our standards would be considered minor have been in practice for hundreds of years and don’t hold the standards for requiring fairness as does ours, which are currently being questioned by Mr. Hicks. When “Wannabe” terrorist such as Mr. Hicks is caught and tried before a court, why not offer them the same court system that they are willing to fight and die for rather than our system that they seem to think is unfair.
“Hicks’ defense lawyers and human rights groups say the new system, approved by the U.S. congress last year, is also flawed because it does not offer the same protections as the U.S. courts.” “At the first session in Monday’s hearing, Hicks asked for more lawyers to help defend him, but Kohlmann instead ordered two civilian attorneys to leave the defense table, leaving the defendant with one attorney.” One of Hicks’ lawyers, Mr. Dratel said he refused to sign an agreement to abide by tribunal rules because he was concerned the provisions did not allow him to meet with his client in private. Sounds like the sideshow and childish games being played by Hicks and his lawyers have backfired on them. Hicks’ stated that “I’m shocked because I just lost another lawyer.” When will these “Wannabes” realize that rules are made for them also and that “Daddy” is not always there or able to change the rules for them.
Lawmakers have also questioned the detainees’ lack of access to U.S. courts. With all of this going on, these terrorists, wannabe terrorists, and their lawyers would like to use the U.S. court system to assure their fair and impartial treatment. Why are they not requesting the court system used in Afghanistan by the Taliban, Iran by the Ayatollah, Saudi-Arabia by the Royal Family, or any of the other antiquated legal/court systems that have grown out of the Moslem Religion and which they claim to be willing to fight and die.
Let’s find out if they are serious about their new found religion, values and legal system or if they are playing “cowboy’s and Indians” and hoping for “Daddy” to come save them from the calvary. Let’s give them the opportunity to practice their religion and through that, their legal system. Let’s use the legal system that currently exists in any of the above places and have them tried, sentenced and punished according to those values and legal systems. I submit that they would really object since it would almost assuredly guarantee their demise.
Therefore, I have surmised that Mr. Hicks is a punk kid playing games, without the balls to live his convictions or that he has no convictions at all.
March 31st, 2007 at 6:39 am
Thanks for your insightful comment on tannishblog. I appreciate the time you took to correct my viewpoint and especially that you did so in a calm and civil manner. Too much of that is missing from all parties in these terrible times.
As I read this and other defenses of the war on terror, I can’t help but to hang my head at the state of affairs we find ourselves in. I ponder how bad it would be, or how different, if the US had acted in a less rash and juvenile manner toward the problem.
Alas, we didn’t , and so we have what we have.