Hicks sought more than thrills

OPPOSITION Leader Kevin Rudd needs to take a crash course in political management if he wants to project an aura of credibility into the next federal election.

Speaking from Sunshine Beach, Queensland, on Thursday, he attacked Prime Minister John Howard for not fronting the Australian media after George W.Bush released America's new Iraq strategy. Problem was, Howard was holding a press conference in Sydney at exactly the same time as Rudd was banging on about him being in hiding. Anyone from the Canberra press gallery could have told Rudd that, far from ducking for cover, Howard had alerted the media he would be responding to Bush's remarks as soon as the US President had spoken. It's utter nonsense for Rudd to run off charging that "Howard's refusal ... to talk to the Australian media'' was further evidence the Iraq war was not being won and that a radical redirection of strategy was necessary. Such a lack of basic political intelligence could be totally destructive if it occurred at the height of the election campaign. As it is, it makes Rudd and his team look as if they don't know what they're talking about, which is probably closer to the mark. Certainly the ALP's call for al-Qaeda recruit David Hicks to be returned to Australia on bail and placed under a control order, as announced by shadow attorney-general Kelvin Thomson, would indicate it hasn't done its homework on that either. Like the ABC, which makes the false claim that Hicks has never been charged, Labor should sit down and think through the issue. Whether Thomson is capable of connecting the legal dots required in his role as shadow attorney is another matter altogether. Hicks' supporters have tried to portray the eager jihadist as a misguided youth seeking adventure on the old Silk Road. But as the chief military prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, Colonel Morris Davis, pointed out in an interview with AM, he was 26 years old when picked up in Afghanistan, he had left two children in Australia to attendal-Qaeda's combat and terrorism training courses - and he had fought in Kosovo and Kashmir. After 9/11, Hicks reported back to al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan - a trip his fans claim was made to pick up personal belongings. Davis dismissed that claim, saying: "Well, unless his personal possessions were an AK-47 and a sack of grenades, I'd take exception to that.'' Much has also been made of Hicks' accommodation, but according to Davis, his Guantanamo cell at Camp 5 is virtually identical to cells in theUS federal prison system. Davis said the truth was that David Hicks was held in a clean, safe, humane facility where he received food, medical care and privileges that surpassed what many US inmates received. He said that in March, 2006, a Belgian representative from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said Guantanamo Bay was a model prison, where people were better treated than in Belgian prisons. The ongoing publicity Hicks hasreceived has also grated with David Nary, the father of SAS warrant officer Russell Nary, who was killed during a training exercise in the Middle East in 2005. In a moving letter to the Prime Minister last year, Nary senior said he was sure that during his time with al-Qaeda, Hicks would have been aware the Australian Defence Force was "engaged in military activities against this terrorist group''. "I believe David Hicks has forfeited any right he may have had to lead a normal life in our country by his self-admitted training with al-Qaeda and his involvement with their terrorist organisation,'' he wrote. "I can, however, understand his father's wish that he be allowed to return to Australia for trial, rather than remain in the US for trial and possible imprisonment/punishment. "He, and others of the same ilk, have been responsible for thedeath and injury of thousands of innocent people, (including) Australians. "For me to think that David Hicks may one day be a free citizen of our country, while my son is no longer with us, would be a massive burden for me to have to carry.'' Howard replied: "Due to our bedrock belief in the rule of law, and in particular the presumption of innocence, we cannot accept the indefinite detention of a person without trial, no matter how heinous the allegations. "I am especially mindful, however, that many Australians would find it hard to accept that a person who had knowingly trained with a terrorist organisation against whom Australians were subsequently engaged in battle, was not fully brought to justice. "You, above most Australians, have a right to require that the Government properly balances these considerations. I shall do my best to ensure it does.'' Nary senior told me that if his son had a chance to do it all over again, he would have done exactly the same thing. Russell Nary died while serving his country. David Hicks, of course, was captured serving those who want to subjugate it.