Hicks revelations: Ruddock in damage control
by Kingfisher Friday, Apr 27 2007, 3:15pm
national / injustice/law / opinion/analysis

American military prosecutors admit David Hicks was no threat whatsoever, he would have been a “total liability” to Al-Qaeda prosecutors admitted to Australian journalist Leigh Sales. This information flatly contradicts the ‘dangerous terrorist’ image of Hicks sold to the Australian public by Howard and his ministers, Downer and Ruddock! The already beleaguered Howard has suffered another major blow to his and his government’s credibility and ‘integrity’. Howard’s appalling dereliction of duty to Hicks has been openly exposed by his closest ally, America! Perhaps our ‘fearless’ leader should have thought twice prior to ceding the nation to the Yanks. The only one not heeding the very clear message that he is yesterday’s man, is Johnny himself, but as stated previously the genus of rodent clings to survival to the last dying twitch.

Read it and demand accountability -- arrest Howard!

On the face of it, it would seem that Howard’s fate has already been sealed by the US and media mogul, Rupert Murdoch. Everyone ‘in the know’ knows that it's over for Howard, but the champion of Iraqi holocaust denial seems to be in total denial of the reality that faces him personally. However, dogged persistence in dreamland may also be symptomatic of the dread experienced at the prospect of facing criminal charges for involvement in the illegal invasion of Iraq – Kevin Rudd may spare you but others are not so inclined! As always, it’s the devil you don’t know that destroys you.

Fearing consequences, the Attorney General Philip Ruddock immediately sprang into damage control after revelations of Hicks as foolish/dull and harmless adventurer was published in the local print media, “whether he had diminished capacity or otherwise to make judgements doesn't in any way undermine the seriousness of the matters that the military commission dealt with. The ‘Australian public’ regard them as serious issues. That is why they are offences under our law," Ruddock told Sky News. We would draw the Attorney General’s attention to the fact that it is not ‘the matters with which the [questionable] military commission deals’ it was/is Hicks and his apparent “diminished capacity” that is/was the issue. It is an irony that Attorney General Ruddock introduces the terms, “diminished capacity” as diminished capacity/responsibility is often used as a defence in criminal proceedings. However, the travesty and injustices of the Hicks ‘trial’ are widely known and require no further elaboration here.

Regardless of any excuses the derelict John Howard and his band of questionable colleagues may offer, the principal issues of illegal detention and the assault on human rights remain. The prosecution of known war criminals and others responsible for the horrendous civilian death toll in Iraq would directly confront the major issues of our time. In Australia the process begins with the arrest of Howard, Ruddock and Downer for complicity in the Iraq debacle and for implementing draconian foreign (US neo-conservative) policies in Australia.

http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=377258