As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald today, "Prime Minister John Howard has criticised America's handling of the David Hicks' case as a handful of his backbenchers demanded the Australian terror suspect be returned home.Speaking to government members as parliament returned for the year, Mr Howard also acknowledged that community sentiment was changing about the Adelaide man who has been held without trial at a US military prison in Cuba for five years."The PM said he acknowledged the shift in community sentiment," a coalition spokesman said."He feels this hasn't been well-handled by the Americans."Mr Howard told his colleagues that the government had resolved to put a deadline on charges against Hicks and "would pursue the Americans on other timelines"."The prime minister said he was very uncomfortable the Americans had taken three years to get around to charging him," the spokesman said.Mr Howard continued to harden his line against the US as half a dozen backbenchers voiced their concerns about the way the Hicks case had been handled."
I wanted to reproduce the article because I have been saying all along that David Hicks is an idiot. He trained with the Taliban, was caught with the Taliban, was willing to kill Americans and Australians for the Taliban, so what do we do with this home grown terrorist? Bring him home so he can roam the streets and give him leave to chum up with his other terrorist buddies already in Australia? I think not. I wish they would take David Hicks out back and put a bullet in his head. That would save tax payers money and end all the boo-hoo lobbyists who don't care about their countrymen and countrywomen.
Do the crime, pay the time!
The problem we have with politicians all over the world is they cave into constituent pressure, right or wrong. You must really have to be weak to be a politician.