Dear runner,

Sweeping generalisations don't do you any credit.
Please back them up with evidence.

Photo of Hicks on his 'holiday' and other inconvenient details,
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/anger-as-bill-shorten-claims-injustice-for-david-hicks/story-fni0cx12-1227226383616

<Anger as Bill Shorten claims ‘injustice’ for David Hicks
DANIEL MEERS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH FEBRUARY 20, 2015 12:00AM

DAVID Hicks trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and described Osama bin Laden as a brother — and yet Opposition Leader Bill Shorten labelled what he did as “foolish” and said he suffered an “injustice”.

With the terror alert at its highest level, Mr Shorten leapt to the defence of the man who former PM John Howard yesterday declared “revelled in jihad”.

Mr Shorten’s comments were also slammed by Liberal MP Andrew Nikolic, who served as a brigadier in the Australian Army in Afghanistan.

“I am appalled by Mr Hicks’ ­actions,’’ he said. “I am also troubled by the failure of the Leader of the ­Opposition to call him out on it.”

Mr Shorten said yesterday: “David Hicks was probably foolish to get caught up in that Afghanistan ­conflict, but clearly there has been an ­injustice done to him.”

Mr Nikolic, who served as a ­brigadier in the army, said: “By his own admission, David Hicks trained and fought with Islamic terrorists such as al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

“Why is Bill Shorten giving ­succour to David Hicks as someone who he says was merely ‘foolish’ to get ‘caught up’, as if he was some ­wide-eyed innocent abroad rather than a trained terrorist?”>

Hicks is legally innocent of any crimes in or against Australia or America but not, perhaps, morally and if it could be proven that he fired on Indian troops then, there may be a case for their country to seek his extradition on a charge of attempted murder, which is a crime that attracts serious punishment in India.

I seriously can not believe the do-gooders position here as this guy joined and trained with an Islamic terrorist group who's motives were to rein terror on innocent law abiding citizens.

The guy is a thug and in my opinion he has not served his time as there is no such thing in my book as forgiveness for terrorist activity.

As for Bill Shoreten, what is it with our pollies of late who are all of a sudden going out on a limb for those who's motives were always to cause gross harm to others.

Antony Loewenstein points out that - it is perfectly
legitimate to ask David Hicks tough questions about
his background and his beliefs. But none of this
justifies long-term jailing, torture, and psychological
abuse. Amnesty International maintains that David Hicks
was illegally detained without being charged and without
a fair trial for years. And when he did have a trial - the
military commissions he appaeared before never met
International standards for fair trials.

Loewenstein tells us that - this didn't stop Australian
Commentators from baying for blood.

In 2011 News Limited's Miranda Devine dismissed any critics
of Guantanamo's detention practices as whingers. Those
thinking that "suspected terrorists" being "smacked around
a bit" constituted overly harsh treatments were naive, she
wrote. In other words, Hicks deserved what he got.

When Hicks was still in Guantanamo Bay in 2007, Devine also
referred to him as a "well-trained terrorist" and for years
David Hicks was primarily referred to in the corporate press
as a "terrorism supporter" by Murdoch columnists such as
Tim Blair. Fair trial be damned.

In his article Loewenstein continues to tell us that
Repeat government smears against individuals deemed suspect
is nothing new...

Therefore in the "war on terror" we see a new generation of
journalists who blindly re-hash propaganda dressed-up as facts
about ever illegal detention and intelligence.

He states that there is documentary evidence suggesting that
in 2007 former PM John Howard asked the US to manage the
Hicks case. Colonel Morris Davis, the former Chief Prosecutor
of Military Commissions told US journalist Jason Leopold in 2011
that he had concerns about the Bush Administration charging
Hicks. There was "no doubt in my mind", David added that
"this issue was an accommodation to help Howard by making the
David Hicks case go away (in an election year)."

Loewenstein stresses that - justice for Hicks through a
formal apology and legal re-address is vital to restore a
modicum of Australian credibility...

Accountability and a Royal Commission with a
full judicial review about the David Hicks case would
finally put this matter to rest - and restore dignity
and credibility.

But Foxy he did train with terrorists and he was a terrorism supporter. So why on earth should anyone be feeling sorry for him when the group he followed and belonged to were committed to kill innocent people.