It may be true that the world is facing a threat from terrorism, but when we act as barbarically as the terrorists we lower ourselves to their level. The United Kingdom has negotiated the release of its citizens, but Australian David Hicks, who is a prisoner at Guantanamo, has been virtually abandoned by the Australian government.The reaction to this Supreme Court decision has been swift. George Bush and other administration officials have indicated that they intend to go to the US Congress to remedy the setback, possibly drafting laws that overcome the impasse. Unfortunately, the administration retains the right to imprison "enemy combatants" for as long as deemed necessary, and there is no requirement in the Court decision to close down Guantanamo Bay. This travesty of justice lives on, as the reputation of the United States suffers world-wide.
Major Michael Mori, appointed to represent David Hicks by the US Military, has been a tireless advocate for returning David to Australia and has fought relentlessly against the legality and unfairness of the military commissions. Recently Major Mori stated that "[i]t's time for Australia to stick up for an Australian citizen". PM John Howard disagrees, and uses the argument that "[i]f he's brought back to Australia he can't be effectively charged because the crimes he committed were not, according to Australian law, crimes at the time he committed them". Howard, in claiming powerlessness, of course, is fobbing off any bad public opinion to the US.
OK, David Hicks is an idiot and no angel. He is charged with aiding the enemy and attempted murder. Yet no evidence has been released to support these charges, and under the rules of the now-illegal military commissions, any evidence could be deemed "classified" and never released at all. That is simply no way for a civilised country to bring the law against someone captured in a foreign country. There should be transparency, and above all justice. Any charges should be supported fully by evidence, and presented in the full light of day, in front of the world, the media and the courts.
The US's reputation has been sullied greatly by Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and the recent murder charge against 12 US Servicemen in a civilian massacre at Haditha in Iraq. Yet there is no indication from Washington that the administration "gets it". In Europe, a majority of the population believes that the US is a greater threat to world peace than Iran, North Korea or China. In Australia and New Zealand, support for the US has fallen and continues to do so. In the South Americas, a left wing revolution led by Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro is threatening US interests in the region. And in Asia, Russia, China and Iran are pursuing common interests that preclude the US.
So, has this War on Terror of Mr Bush's been successful? I would have to say no. Osama bin Laden is alive and hiding, purportedly in Pakistan. The threat of civil war in Iraq is escalating. The Taliban have reformed and are again threatening Afghanistan. And now Israel, the US's protectorate in the Middle East, has captured virtually all the legally elected officials of the Palestinian government with its military, in revenge for the capture of one soldier by the Palestinian militants. If the noble purpose of bringing "freedom and democracy" to the Middle East is achievable at all, it's hard to see how invasion and occupation will ever bring it about.
North American wheat farmers to sue AWB
In the latest news, I noticed that US and Canadian wheat farmers are preparing to sue Australian wheat exporter AWB for US$1bn damages, under a US RICO law class action, for its part in paying illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq during UN sanctions. Undoubtedly this is just deserts for the AWB, which has acted unethically and illegally, but is another negative outcome from the Iraq war. To have allies fighting over the scraps of a torn and brutalised nation is totally undignified. The world watches and thinks even less of all our countries, their primary motivations and their obvious greed.
