The Americans gave the Afghani soldiers who took Hicks prisoner $1000.00 so they could take him to Gitmo and question him on terrorism and how he fit into that system. The Americans have stated on numerous occasions that Gitmo was set up for secure detention of terrorist captured for the sake of intelligence gathering.
If this was a war defined by uniformed nations at war Hicks would have been paroled or traded back in exchange or released as a condition of no longer being considered a combatant. Not something one can do with a committed terrorist.
Prisoners of war or adventures or how ever one chooses to view Hicks participation and acts of terrorism (firing blindly into a town full of innocent civilians) are not given trials. In this instance there is no formal way of releasing Hicks and for the U.S. to officially finish with Hicks detention as a terrorist. The Trial was the solution. It is nothing more than a formality absent in dealing with terrorist captured during a time of war. This is why Civil Courts hearings were out of the question. Hicks was not a civil matter. The Tribunal puts paid to Hicks and he can now come home.

He is a terrorist full stop.

He was an aussie muslim, who loved the ideals of Jihad and went over there with the intention to pursue these ideals and help the cause.

No ifs, no buts, him and Jihad Jack should have had whatever thrown at them. They came from this western society into the barbaric taliban regime with the intention of helping destroy this same society that gave them the choice to choose their own ideals.

Leave both of them over there, just a shame Jack you got off scot free.

I dont agree with his 5 yrs without a trial etc, but at the end of the day if he was to get 20 years anyway, who cares. Im sure he dont, and he knows what he has done.

I think the media needs another beat up story to milk so people like you and me can read about it, watch it and gain our interest for the next few years. We are the dumb ones for getting on the bandwagon. He turned his back on Australia and even his family, he did not bother contacting them, so we should do the same to him. He should be banned from Australia, we taxpayers dont want to fund his incarceration.

An adventurist? A hero? Not in my book. David Hicks irresponsibly abandoned his children to become a disciple of militant Islam, training with the enemy with the intention to kill westerners and jews.

Most countries are permitted to suspend habeas corpus during a national emergency.

There are many of our own prisoners of war who were treated far worse than this traitor.

And there are many innocent dead, resulting from the 9/11 atrocities perpetrated by Hick's maniacal terrorist buddies.

Now that procedures have commenced (a result of America's free legal counsel), the bleeding hearts are excusing Hick's plea of guilty, as one made from desperation. Next they'll be proclaiming his innocence.

Luckily for Hicks et al, it appears that a guilty plea will restrict the real evidence of his actions, which would have been made public during a trial.

Nevertheless, it's commendable that people are objecting to the long-term incarceration of Hicks.

It is not commendable that Hicks, aka Mohammed Dawood, has become the darling of the zealots on the left.

No doubt the militant Islamists will be delighted with these zealots who have contributed, no less, to their pursuit for global dominance.

there are a great many people on this planet whose government is a brutal dictatorship created or supported by the usa. many others were in such case, but chucked the yanks and their puppets out.

consequently, there is no shortage of people eager to strike the usa and some of them have the means. the americans are finally beginning to be on the receiving end of "as ye sow, so shall ye reap".

before you defend the yanks, learn a little bit of history. pay close attention to:

the conquest of north america
the liberation of the phillipines
the vietnam war

from the day of independence from britain, the usa has used any method to get what it wants from weaker societies, mass murder of women and children included. the yanks are vaguely conscious of their character, so refuse to join the international criminal court convention. even so, kissinger must be careful where he puts his foot, for spain was brave enough to indict him in absentia. that was for mere assassination, the bureaucrats and generals who prosecuted the vietnam war would all hang if they found themselves in front of the nuremburg court.

in general, if you look at the background to 'terrorism', you may discover that a terrorist is someone who resists american foreign policy. it's a handy label for someone whose land or resources you want. the yanks used to rage against "red devils" when they were taking america from the people who lived there and the same simple technique gathers support from the ignorant or naturally sycophantic.

ALL YOU DEAF IDIOTS OUT THERE! THIS IS NOT ABOUT DAVID HICKS !

It's about the wilful destruction of our civil rights (since we have no Bill of Rights, presumably we have none). This liberal government has systematically re-engineered Australia to strip the laws of any privilege we have as free citizens. The anti-terrorism laws we NOW have are amongst the most draconian in the Western World. Wanna test it? Just go to Pine Gap and start taking a few photos. You'll be arrested and incarcerated for an indeterminate time before you can say "defence counsel". (BTW - you aren't entitled to one!)

DEMOS: You are spot on!
The USA is the most brutal and destructive Empire on the planet of all time. It has butchered and killed more people, with more Weapons of Mass Destruction, that at any time in the history of mankind. Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin's adventures were a Sunday school picnic compared to the psychopaths run by Goerge Dubya !

Demos. I am no fan of the USA, however, you should not restrict your historical accounts of criminality to America.

Other powerful countries were just as culpable in times gone by.

Your criticisms have little to do with the growing adulation now afforded to Hicks whose prime intention was to become a terrorist.

You are very quick to denounce the USA but seemingly also quick to support Hicks whose democratic rights were severely compromised when he chose to take up arms against his own people.

Are you saying it's Bush and Howard's fault that he chose to plot and train with Al Qaeda, one of the most oppressive regimes on earth?

It was Hicks and Al Qaeda who wanted your blood, not the USA.