Tapsearch Com EditorDavid Hicks the terrorist
March 29th 2007 04:13
It's funny, all of us living in Australia have been listening to the ongoing saga of David Hicks and his captivity at Guantanamo over the past five years, and now he's been found guilty.
The Australian media has portrayed the story of Hicks as one of unjustice, cruelty and an unwillingness by the Howard government go up against the US.
I couldn't tell you if Hicks was a terrorist or not. I read some articles about it when the whole story initially unfolded, but not much has been reported over the years. Hicks has been presumed innocent, it seems, by the Australian media.
When news broke this week of his guilty plea, it was very quickly underlined that the guilty verdict was given solely to get him away from US military captivity. Who could blame the guy, right? If it was me, I'd have pleaded guilty to anything as well.
The Australian media has even gone so far as to show file photos of Hicks from many years ago, not the original photo of Hicks holding a grenade launcher. The other favourite is of Hicks in Guantanamo in shackles. Or if it is the 'grenade launcher' photo shown, it's an extreme close up which cuts out most of the weapon berthed on Hicks' shoulder.
So I was very amused when I received my daily email from the NY Times. The headline read
"Plea of Guilty from Detainee in Guantanamo"
First off, I was really impressed that Hicks made the headline news. However the reason for this was due to this being the first military tribunal result out of Guantanamo, not because it was Hicks.
But my favourite was the storie's lead sentence:
"GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba, March 26 — In the first conviction of a Guantánamo detainee before a military commission, an Australian who was trained by Al Qaeda pleaded guilty here Monday to providing material support to a terrorist organization."
... who was trained by Al Quaeda!!!
The article portrayed a very different picture to the Australian press. The US media say this is a BAD GUY. Not a vicitim of US injustice! Fair to say, since he did plead guilty, the Times was well within their right to state this as fact.
It was a great example of how we view the issues in the world through the eyes of the media that feeds us our fodder. If I was an Aussie living in America, I would feel Hicks is the enemy, not some guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The article also lead me to wonder where the truth lies. Book deals are already being discussed. Time will tell which story wins over masses.
More interesting quotes from the article:
"The guilty plea is sure to be seen by administration supporters as an affirmation of its efforts to detain and try terrorism suspects here, although the government’s detention policies still face significant legal and political challenges.
"... Earlier the military judge had surprised the courtroom with unexpected rulings that two of Mr. Hicks’s three lawyers would not be permitted to participate in the proceedings, leaving only Maj. Michael D. Mori of the Marine Corps at the defense table.
"After several acrimonious sessions in which Major Mori claimed that the judge, Colonel Ralph H. Kohlmann of the Marines, was biased, the judge insisted that he was impartial and the hearings came to a close.
"Mr. Hicks, a stocky 31-year-old former kangaroo skinner who has been held at the prison for five years....
"That charge described Mr. Hicks’s stay in a Qaeda training camp where, it said, he learned kidnapping techniques and was trained in how to fight in an urban environment. Prosecutors have said that Mr. Hicks, who was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001, had never shot at Americans there but that he had taken part in other activities, including collecting intelligence on the American embassy there.
"The Hicks case has drawn particular criticism in Australia, where Mr. Hicks, a high school dropout, turned to Islam after unsuccessfully trying to join the army and then joining an evangelical church.
See the NY Times article in full here
Is he a terrorist who should be despised by all democracy loving citizens? Or is a victim of heinous US vengeance??
How the US media portrays Hicks
How the Aussie media portrays Hicks
The Australian media has portrayed the story of Hicks as one of unjustice, cruelty and an unwillingness by the Howard government go up against the US.
I couldn't tell you if Hicks was a terrorist or not. I read some articles about it when the whole story initially unfolded, but not much has been reported over the years. Hicks has been presumed innocent, it seems, by the Australian media.
When news broke this week of his guilty plea, it was very quickly underlined that the guilty verdict was given solely to get him away from US military captivity. Who could blame the guy, right? If it was me, I'd have pleaded guilty to anything as well.
The Australian media has even gone so far as to show file photos of Hicks from many years ago, not the original photo of Hicks holding a grenade launcher. The other favourite is of Hicks in Guantanamo in shackles. Or if it is the 'grenade launcher' photo shown, it's an extreme close up which cuts out most of the weapon berthed on Hicks' shoulder.
So I was very amused when I received my daily email from the NY Times. The headline read
"Plea of Guilty from Detainee in Guantanamo"
First off, I was really impressed that Hicks made the headline news. However the reason for this was due to this being the first military tribunal result out of Guantanamo, not because it was Hicks.
But my favourite was the storie's lead sentence:
"GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba, March 26 — In the first conviction of a Guantánamo detainee before a military commission, an Australian who was trained by Al Qaeda pleaded guilty here Monday to providing material support to a terrorist organization."
... who was trained by Al Quaeda!!!
The article portrayed a very different picture to the Australian press. The US media say this is a BAD GUY. Not a vicitim of US injustice! Fair to say, since he did plead guilty, the Times was well within their right to state this as fact.
It was a great example of how we view the issues in the world through the eyes of the media that feeds us our fodder. If I was an Aussie living in America, I would feel Hicks is the enemy, not some guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The article also lead me to wonder where the truth lies. Book deals are already being discussed. Time will tell which story wins over masses.
More interesting quotes from the article:
"The guilty plea is sure to be seen by administration supporters as an affirmation of its efforts to detain and try terrorism suspects here, although the government’s detention policies still face significant legal and political challenges.
"... Earlier the military judge had surprised the courtroom with unexpected rulings that two of Mr. Hicks’s three lawyers would not be permitted to participate in the proceedings, leaving only Maj. Michael D. Mori of the Marine Corps at the defense table.
"After several acrimonious sessions in which Major Mori claimed that the judge, Colonel Ralph H. Kohlmann of the Marines, was biased, the judge insisted that he was impartial and the hearings came to a close.
"Mr. Hicks, a stocky 31-year-old former kangaroo skinner who has been held at the prison for five years....
"That charge described Mr. Hicks’s stay in a Qaeda training camp where, it said, he learned kidnapping techniques and was trained in how to fight in an urban environment. Prosecutors have said that Mr. Hicks, who was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001, had never shot at Americans there but that he had taken part in other activities, including collecting intelligence on the American embassy there.
"The Hicks case has drawn particular criticism in Australia, where Mr. Hicks, a high school dropout, turned to Islam after unsuccessfully trying to join the army and then joining an evangelical church.
See the NY Times article in full here
Is he a terrorist who should be despised by all democracy loving citizens? Or is a victim of heinous US vengeance??
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Comment by Mrs M
Mum's Word
Any time I hear anything about David Hicks my old uni lecturer comes to mind. He would be having a field day about media and their agendas. And he's right.
I don't expect anything less from NY Times but to vilify Hicks.
And I'm not surprised that the Australian media has painted him as a victim.
It's an interesting point you make about the photo the US uses and the photo Australia uses. I'm not surprised.
Is he a terrorist? Maybe. Is he misunderstood? Maybe.
All I know is that I need to read far and wide and make up my own mind - knowing full well, on this subject, I'll never know the truth.
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Anonymous
Always good to hear from you! I agree, these days it takes a great amount of effort and a large library of daily publications to even get a glimpse of the 'real story'! Hopefully our vigilence will pay off, particularly in terms of keeping an open mind about the events that unfold in front of us.
Mish Pish