By using their own moronic logic, the die-hard neocons who perpetuate the 'with us or against us' insult, are actively guilty of supporting the regimes of Robert Mugabe and Kim Jong-il by NOT invading Zimbabwe and North Korea to, as John Howard put it after not finding WMD's 'properly liberate an oppressed people'.

The neocons have gone the same way as their communist counterparts but lucky for us they didn't last as long.

So please dispense with the Hypocrisy Masterclass.

King Hazza is right, there are certainly more people deserving of support.

However, I wonder if the Bush family is allowed to keep the profits of any books they may write or any government leaders who instigate invasions based on false premises, greed or economic interests. I can see a Gaddaffi's Memoirs out soon on all bookshelves.

Governments have supported despots for various reasons including protecting their nation's interest without much weight given to the fate or treatment of citizens. There is so much hypocrisy in many of the human rights excuses used to invade countries to rid of supposed despots like Saddam Hussein whom the US government allowed to stay in power after Kuwait, in spite of a poor human rights record. Or ignoring pleas for help in countries like Rwanda.

Hicks is no hero but it is getting petty now. Hicks was held without trial for some years and did not earn an income during this entire period. Hicks never killed anyone nor did he commit an act of terror. Should we change the law to include acts a Person Of Interest might commit based on current behaviours. If that were the case our jails would be full of inmates who hadn't actully done anything.

Hicks's raised profile only came about by the failure of both the US Govt/judicial system and failures on the part of the Howard Government. It was the lack of due process in his very belated trial and the duplicity in backdating legislation to be able to charge him with something. Why not do that from the first. Lots of rotten apples and obfuscation in the whole affair.

The past is the past but something might be learned from the Hicks experience and those of other detainees who were found later to be completely innocent of wrongdoing and just swept up in the chaos of war.

Well my answers to those Pelican are

1- for our government to need to pass a referendum to allow itself to conduct any form of support for a foreign government- OR for participating in any way in an armed conflict- unless we are directly invaded. The chances of Bush's Iraq war passing a referendum are rather slim.

2- Extend the law to include unlawful participation with a banned army. We simply declare that to join a foreign army, the citizen must relinquish their Australian citizenship entirely- and this is automatic upon doing so. Then we make a (short) list of armies we DO consider legal; and any that are not on the list are therefore illegal in the eyes of Australian law. That way, anyone that joins the militant Jihad groups in Afghanistan or Pakistan are automatically criminals and stripped of their citizenship and thus not liable for our intervention- and are furthermore permanently barred from getting it back "terrorist" or not;

Thus, we become a neutral country that neither foolishly participates in other countries' dubious military campaigns, NOR do we allow jihadis who fight for the Taliban to use our legal system to enhance their own personal (ill-gotten) gains.

Certainly Hazza the legislation needs to be clearer ensuring similar events in the future won't be impeded by flaws in the judicial process. That way Australia could handle their own dissidents quickly under the Law.

I like the idea of referenda being used to go to war. Unless there is of course an invasion that would require immediate mobilisation. Referenda could appy to offshore war zones.

Revoking citizenship would make the process easier in theory. Who decides which armies or causes are legitimate? The Tamil Tigers were listed as a terrorist group until recently and are now seeking asylum in many countries including Australia and being accepted. Foreign policies change depending on information received and on diplomatic or other interests at any one time. In cases where governments amend their positions, would citizenship be restored? Sometimes it is difficult to tell who are the terrorists? But I guess someone has to draw a line and make a decision.

The Hicks affair highlighted many gaps in legislation pertaining to terrorism mainly because it was not such a big issue for Australia until after 9/11. One can only hope new legislation can deal with any number of possibilities.

Pelican- I would endorse if the government or courts could initially establish which armies they will consider legal/illegal, and allow CIR to list additional armies (or type of army).

Arjay: Jayb,look at the evidence.http://www.ae911truth.org/ The real terrorists exist in our Govts.
The biggest terrorist organisation on the planet is the banking ,military industrial complex.

Don't you read my posts Arjay. Here it is again.
You'll get no arguement from me there, Arjay.

I know full well what the Government is capable of. I have an F Security Clearence. When Diana died, with-in minutes, I rang a mate, His SC go a lot higher than mine, & asked the question. He said he would not like to think so but you can't have the mother of the future King of England (Princess Wales) married to a Muslim. Have you ever seen the movie "Apocalypse Now Redux" The Author was ordered not to release the book, he did, & died in an accident soon after. By the way the character of Marlon Brando's was based on 2 Captains, one an Australian, an ex Coy. Commander of mine. Barry Petersen "The Tiger Man of Vietnam" The other was sent back to America where he was doomed to play nuclear war games in the Pentagon until he retired. Both had prices put on their head by the CIA. When he did retire it was to Marwillumbah. The safest place in the world in the event of a nuclear war. The movie is about 60% accurate. I was there for some of it. I was in the cordon around the Hump, the 1st. part of Hamburger Hill where we lost Gillson & Parker. Ho Bo Woods the big Airborne Assault. My Chopper was 1st. on the ground. Op. Denver where they went into Laos to cut the Ho Chi Min trail & kill a group of AWOL Americans & Montanards that were fighting on their own & winning. The only time they used poisonous gas in Vietnam. We knew then something was wrong. I know a lot more as well. I know to well about Conspiracy & the Truth.
Hicks, whatever way you look at it is a traitor in more than one way. He gets no sympathy from me what-so-ever.