Guantanamo Bay
Just for a minute, imagine if David Hicks was charismatic, brilliant, eloquent, and truly, truly remorseful. He came across as precisely none of those things on ABC TV’s David Hicks special on Australian Story last night. But if he had, would Australia forgive him?
We’ll never know. Because what we saw was an unconvincing charade. And some irrelevant shots of Hicks on a motorbike, his wife in soft focus, and his mate making a cup of tea.
The former Guantanamo Bay detainee, by blaming his childhood and talking about his way forward, seems to be seeking some sort of forgiveness. ‘Closure’, even.
Continue reading "David Hicks is a sinner, sinned against, but no martyr" »
In her excoriating review of David Hicks’ memoir My Journey, ABC reporter and author Leigh Sales begins with the following assessment of the blame-shifting psychology of the former Taliban recruit:
“A sentence near the end of this controversial book encapsulates David Hicks’s attitude to his stay at Guantanamo Bay on terrorism-related charges:‘Any and all inconvenience . . . was brought about due to my incarceration and treatment and that was at the hands of others.’
“In other words, Hicks eschews personal responsibility. Guantanamo: My Journey is a flawed memoir, chiefly because of an astonishing lack of self-reflection.”
Continue reading "Maybe Dave just shouldn’t have joined the Taliban" »
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Dolores Neilley says:
Hicks has not been convicted by any court, he has just been trialled by shonky “MEDIA”. If I have to be honest, between the Taliban and the Liberal Party under wild Abbott there is not such a big difference….If you need a new candidate, corrupt enough to be the leader… Read more »
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Helen says:
David Hicks was with Muslim troops in the breakup of Eastern Europe, but has his first role of jihadist been forgotten. He was even dimwitted enough to send photos to his mates in Australia. Afghanistan was his second military posting, this time with Al-Qaeda. Once isstupidity, twice is serious commitment… Read more »
Late Sunday night it was revealed on Twitter - by a well-known TV presenter whom I assume approved - that David Hicks had just received a standing ovation at the Sydney Writers’ Festival.
I wanted to know what they were cheering and tweeted: “Fact he abandoned wife and kids? Fact he thought OBL terrific bloke?”
There was no answer, but soon after another tweet arrived, from a complete stranger, saying: “God I am so glad you said that… I am no right wing jerk BUT I draw the line.”
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Kristanna says:
Wham bam thank you, ma’am, my questions are answeerd! Read more »
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Jack Thomas says:
Simon you’ve ruined my day by saying I don’t stand a chance of being one of your heroes. Well, I nearly snorted my coffee out my nose laughing when I read your post anyway. For me, a hero has minimum requirements, basic things like maybe courage and bravery, decency, and… Read more »
Like Peter denying Jesus after the arrest, as dawn was breaking and the cock was getting ready to crow, Australia is given a third chance to acknowledge its inconvenient associations. Will we, like Peter, deny any association with or responsibility with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the detainees in Guantanamo? We probably will. We denied our own citizens in Guantanamo until the opinion polls started to turn dirty.
Australia, through the support of the Howard government for the actions of the Bush Administration’s war on terror, has as much responsibility for the Uighurs, who were found to have been wrongly detained, as does the US and the Bush Administration.
We should accept the Uighurs as refugees and permanent residents. If they are returned to China, they face certain persecution and, possibly, death. To do otherwise would display a flaw in our national character.
Continue reading "Haneef lawyer: Guantanamo inmates should come here" »
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Les says:
If these people are found to be innocent then they should be compensated by America and then returned to wherever they had been first detained. Read more »
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Sam says:
James - these people are not criminals. They have not been found guilty by a military tribunal let alone any civilian court that follows established rules of evidence etc. I’m constantly perplexed by a (seemingly) persuasive belief that any person who is arrested or interviewed by the police is guilty.… Read more »
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