The problem is that we’ll never know if his claims are legitimate or not. It’s quite likely that some claims are at least exaggerated, but who can say with certainty when details aren’t release by the Bush administration and they’ve succeeded in destroying all their credibility

I agree, this is the real problem- he could say anything and right now the rest of the world would probably believe him because of our tarnished reputation.

I find it ironic the agreement allows him to keep silent for a year – he’ll be able to speak up just in time for 2008 elections.

This plea deal was a bargain for his silence, not his cooperation, nor his good behavior.

Which means we have a lot that needs to be covered up. Especially since the official policy is we do not torture. Where is John McKain now, who spoke out so forcefully on this issue? His continued silence in the face of the violations of the Geneva Conventions, is causing me to lose even more respect for him.

Please take into account that many of these claims are false and were planned prior to interrogation.

Unfortunately, we can no longer take that for granted. We know that the U.S. has engaged in torture. In fact, we know that it was the policy of this government to engage in torture. The U.S. now has no credibility on this point. David Hicks may be the worst villian to ever emerge from Australia, but we’ll always have reasonable doubts because of the foolish way this has been handled.

This plea deal was a bargain for his silence, not his cooperation, nor his good behavior.

Right.

That’s why a condition of the deal was that Hicks can’t talk about his ‘interrogation.’

Holly, can you name one claim that’s been found to be false? Names, please.

I have said it before: the way the U.S. is treating terrorism suspects is hurting the Global War on Terrorism.

You need to finish the thought. The reason that it is hurting the GWOT is because it is hypocritical (as in the case of Hicks) and profoundly extralegal (in the case of just about everyone else.)

I myself have said this before: The ultimate irony is that the GWOT is being fought to protect the very American values that the Bush administration has sought to destroy.

“I have said it before: the way the U.S. is treating terrorism suspects is hurting the Global War on Terrorism.”

You are not the only one. In fact, as I like to point out, every US intellience agency has said the world is less safe thanks to the actions taken by the Bush administration.

Prisoners in Guantanamo Bay are offered a diet of up to 5000 calories a day, 2½ times the recommended daily intake for Americans.

David Hicks’ father, Terry, has criticised the food his son has been given while in captivity.

David Hicks has put on weight while in the prison and at Monday’s hearing observers were surprised by his chubby appearance – he looked nothing like the photos that had become familiar to Australians.

The US military on Thursday showed off the selection of meals that it offers the prisoners in an attempt to show how well it treats suspected terrorists.

Prisoners could choose regular, vegetarian, vegetarian with fish, bland (with no salt or seasoning), high fibre, or “soft” food meals. There were also fruit juices (but no straw, because of concerns about self harm), fruit and nuts. And to eat these meals they get a plastic “spork”.

Mark Coultan
Sydney Morning Herald

This won’t be the end of it. There will be more cases where we compromise on justice in order to cover our own tracks. I wonder if these prisoners aren’t doing almost as much damage to American power and prestige as detainees as they did as active terrorists. An utterly unecessary self-inflicted wound.