NEWS: Bush Helps The Terrorists

POLITICS: Bush Helps The Terrorists

David Hicks is the most glaring example of how poorly the Bush administration is handling their War on Terrorism. The Australian was captured in December 2001 in Afghanistan and was accused of conspiracy to commit war crimes; attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent; and aiding the enemy. The US believed Hicks had attended al-Qaeda terrorist training courses at different camps in Afghanistan.

During his imprisonment Hicks enjoyed some delightful treatment by his US torturers. He was beaten while blindfolded and handcuffed, had his head rammed into asphalt, was medicated against his will and beaten while sedated, he was forced to run in leg shackles which ripped the skin his ankles, he was deprived of sleep, he endured death threats at gunpoint, anal penetration with objects and witnessed dog attacks on other prisoners. Over his imprisonment he lost 30 pounds, even though he was physically fit when captured. Hicks became suicidal. In an affidavit, Hicks offered to provide many other instances of abuse he suffered but said he would need a “substantially longer document.”

Hicks' trial was originally to be held on January 10, 2005 but in November 2004 a Federal Court ruled that the military commissions of Guantanamo prisoners were “neither competent nor lawful.” After over a year of appeals, the Supreme Court ruled on June 26, 2006 that the military tribunals were illegal under US law and the Geneva Conventions. Hicks’ lawyers then began to pressure the Australian government to force the US to adhere to international standards for prisoners or release him.

In February 2002 Donald Rumsfeld described the prisoners who were being held at Guantanamo as "the worst of the worst." Last month, Hicks became the first Guantanamo Bay prisoner to be convicted by military tribunals. Prosecutors claimed he was a highly trained and dangerous Al Qaeda operative.

A panel of officers recommended a sentence of seven years but Hicks only received nine months. Why? Because he had already reached a plea agreement due to the idiotic and illegal actions of the Bush administration. The chief prosecutor, Air Force Col. Morris Davis, said that the lenient sentence was negotiated without his input. Oh, Hicks will also serve his sentence in his hometown in Australia.

So, now we know how our government takes care of “the worst of the worst.” They get a brutal nine-month sentence and have to serve it in their home country, in the same town they grew up in. Take that, you murderous bastard.

But the real motivation behind the sentence is revealed in the gag order. Under the agreement, Hicks was forced to state that he had never been “illegally treated” and he had to promise not to sue the US officials or ANY American citizen. These two agreements totally undermine any credibility the military tribunals ever had and any statement the Bush administration has ever made about the threat of “terrorists” being held at Guantanamo. But that is what will happen when you give a "terrorist" a light sentence to keep quiet.

The way the Bush administration has played this, they are either totally inept at prosecuting terrorists or they have botched prosecutions by torturing and thereby undermining any cases they could have made. Either way, it is a colossal fuck up by “The War President” and another reason why his love of torture is undermining the security of our country.

it's also worth considering that Hicks may not actually be the worst of the worst. if someone who was innocent, or even relatively innocent, got tossed into Gitmo, i doubt the administration would go to any length to clear that unlucky person's name. they'd probably offer him a really good deal, where he gets a slap on the wrist in return for 'confessing' to whatever.

I am happy to say I finally support bush in something.
Oh man I don't think he could of done any better then anyone else!
FUCK YES GOOO BUSH!!!

If by "worst of the worst" you mean misguided, naive and foolish, then, they're right. he's awful.

I'm glad Reaper's following this story. I used to post about the Hicks trial to the newswire back in the day.

another fantastic example of the Bush administration's excellent handling of their War on Terror, is the five year imprisonment of Bisher al-Rawi for carrying one of those dangerous battery chargers.

The best FearTheReaper article to date, which admittedly isn't saying much, but I admit this is actually a good story.

Geneva what?

Given the history of former Guantanamo detainees returned to their home countries, I would be monumentally unsurprised if Hicks serves less than a full nine months back in Australia.

Granted, everyone else released to date has been without charge, but still ...

Hmm, lets capture someone, torture them for 5 years, put them on trial and then send them home with a 9 month sentance. If he wasn't a terrorist before, I bet he wants to be now.

This was a very good article, FTR.

I dont know if it means anything, but of lte, your articles have ebcome very readable and Im glad youve put to bed the super sarcastic approach you used to use in your stories. This shows that you can use sarcasm and still write in a very readable style. So basically. kudos, your writing is something I enjoy now

The Australian government is caught in a bind here ... one of their own making. They've gone along in lock-step with Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld on Hicks being amongst the "worst of the worst", but the US have persistently refused to charge him in any kind of hurry, or arrange a proper trial. Quite recently there has been a groundswell of popular sentiment against the PM, that I think has followed the low popularity of Bush at home. Hicks' continued incarceration has become more of a flashpoint than it ever was before.

So they want to get him home now, keep him locked up in a way that indicates "See? We told you he was a bad man! Bad men get nine months! Seriously! Nine!!!" And the 12 month gag order lasts until after the next election. Convenient.

If they let him out early, that'd make them look ... like he never really did anything that bad in the first place.

The other Australan Gitmo inmate, Mamdouh Habib, was released without charge earlier.

Honestly, how can you support a man as seperate from reality as Bush?!?!

The current pro-Bush government in Australia is facing a tough general election some time in the next nine months. Having Hicks showing his bruises to every reporter in the country isn't going to help them.

This is bullshit.

Australia is like a kid on the sidelines at a rugby match.

The american government wants to tourure an aussie cause he was in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Bollocks.

Look at the bigger picture.

Where is the fucking wreckage at the pentagon?
Show me evidnce that a plane hit the pentagon.... then I'll belive what you say.

The australian government need to wake the fuck up too!!!
They buy into this lie.

I agree... the next aus election should be intereting..

Aww, poor baby got bullied in Club Gitmo. He's lucky to still be alive to bitch about his treatment... If I were in charge he would simply disappear. as in, fed to the pigs gone. If you know what I mean.

You'd eat him?

dude, the kremlins that away.

GENEVA CONVENTION FTW!

Quit your fucking bullshit, half assed, one sided reporting. Theres enough bias reporting in the media. We dont need you to contribute.

Ooh. Schooled.

Awww, poor baby is being an idiot on the CE boards again.

It's definitely a good thing you AREN'T in charge then.

You can find this on the submit page if you ever pull your head out of your cunt.

No, NO, NO! First you feed him to the Dogs, then you feed the Dogs to the Hogs, then you eat the Hogs.

Damn youngsters can't get anything right. What are they teaching in school these days, anyway?

I'm gonna get me one of them "Burpin' Up David" t-shirts...

aww, i love it when you talk tough big man. Why don't you go shoot a gun at some ducks.