Al-Qaeda volunteer David Hicks will leave Guantanamo soon to serve a nine-month prison term in his native Australia after pleading guilty to a terrorism charge and recanting allegations he was abused by US authorities.
Hicks will head out of the Guantanamo detention camp within two months and serve out his sentence in his home country as part of a plea deal revealed late Friday at a US military tribunal.
In return, Hicks renounced his earlier statements that he suffered abuse at the hands of US authorities before or after his arrival at the controversial camp at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
He also agreed not to speak to the media about his Al-Qaeda experience for a year and to cooperate with US and Australian intelligence agencies.
"Today is the first day in over five years of David Hicks's life that there's actually some certainty," his defense lawyer, Colonel Michael Mori, said afterward. "It's certain that David Hicks should be back in Australia no later than the 29th of May of this year."
The outcome was a stunning reversal of fortune for the former horse trainer and kangaroo skinner, who spent more than five years at the Guantanamo and whose case became a cause celebre in Australia.
The United States had come under heavy pressure over the case from Australia's conservative government, which had been slammed at home for allegedly failing to protect the interests of one of its citizens.
Hicks's father, Terry Hicks, said Saturday it was a bittersweet result, and insisted his son had been abused while in US hands despite his statement Friday.
"The Americans made David sign a paper to say he was never abused... when we knew he has been -- David told us," Hicks senior told the Australian Associated Press.
Human rights groups questioned the plea deal's requirement that Hicks refrain from speaking to the media for a year.
"If the United States had nothing to be ashamed of, it would not hide behind a gag rule that would be clearly illegal in our own courts," said Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Tribunal lawyers said the plea deal, kept secret until Friday, was worked out between Hicks's defense lawyers and the judicial chief of the new tribunal system, Susan Crawford, a retired judge appointed by the US defense secretary.
A panel of military officers recommended a seven-year sentence, but the secret plea deal barred Hicks from serving more than nine months.
Human rights monitors called the nine-month prison term a suspiciously convenient timetable for Australia's government to ensure Hicks will be behind bars and out of the spotlight before an election expected later this year.
"It might just be a coincidence but if it is, it's an amazing one," said Lex Lasry, independent observer for the law counsel of Australia, who watched the proceedings.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister John Howard lashed out at critics he said had tried to turn David Hicks into a "hero."
"The bottom line will always be that he pleaded guilty to knowingly assisting a terrorist organisation," Howard told reporters.
The Hicks case marks the first conviction by the new military tribunals and the first conviction in a US war crimes trial since World War II.
The tribunals, or commissions, operate outside of regular US courts and even Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the tribunal trials may lack credibility abroad.
The chief prosecutor, Colonel Morris Davis, said the outcome showed the tribunal system operated in a fair way and was not skewed in favor of prosecutors.
"I think David Hicks is very fortunate, he's getting a second chance," said Davis.
Hicks, who remained subdued throughout the hearing, earlier pleaded guilty to attending Al-Qaeda training camps and volunteering to fight in support of the Taliban regime during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
During the sentencing hearing rival military lawyers had portrayed Hicks as either a harmless "wanna be" soldier who never attacked US targets or as a dangerous "enemy" loyal to Al-Qaeda.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
U.S. Says Al-Qaeda Using Chlorine Gas Against Civilians In Iraq by Matthew Borghese
The U.S. Department of Defense says local police intercepted a truck carrying 5,000 gallons of chlorine and 2 tons of explosives in Ramadi which would have been used against innocent civilians in Iraq.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, Joint Staff deputy director for operations says that while the people of Iraq were lucky enough to stop that bombing, only days later two trucks carrying chlorine exploded in Fallujah, injuring 14 U.S. troops and 57 Iraqis.
The weapons were built by terrorists with al-Qaeda in Iraq and have been used as the latest tool to sabotage the efforts of the majority of Iraqis who are looking to find an end to the sectarian violence, says the Pentagon.
General Barbero explains, "I strongly believe that this use of chlorine should not be dismissed simply as a new tactic or an emerging trend."
"Chlorine is a poison gas being used on the Iraqi people. Before these attacks, the last time poison gas was used on the Iraqi people was by Saddam Hussein."
Furthermore, the U.S. says children are still being used as suicide bombers among other things; an act deplored by any civilized nation.
General Barbero says an Iraqi police officer was killed after his vehicle "drove past a 12-to 14-year-old boy riding a bicycle. A bomb in the boy's backpack detonated, killing him instantly."
"These acts - the use of poison gas and the use of children as weapons - are unacceptable in any civilized society and demonstrate the truly dishonorable nature of this enemy."
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, Joint Staff deputy director for operations says that while the people of Iraq were lucky enough to stop that bombing, only days later two trucks carrying chlorine exploded in Fallujah, injuring 14 U.S. troops and 57 Iraqis.
The weapons were built by terrorists with al-Qaeda in Iraq and have been used as the latest tool to sabotage the efforts of the majority of Iraqis who are looking to find an end to the sectarian violence, says the Pentagon.
General Barbero explains, "I strongly believe that this use of chlorine should not be dismissed simply as a new tactic or an emerging trend."
"Chlorine is a poison gas being used on the Iraqi people. Before these attacks, the last time poison gas was used on the Iraqi people was by Saddam Hussein."
Furthermore, the U.S. says children are still being used as suicide bombers among other things; an act deplored by any civilized nation.
General Barbero says an Iraqi police officer was killed after his vehicle "drove past a 12-to 14-year-old boy riding a bicycle. A bomb in the boy's backpack detonated, killing him instantly."
"These acts - the use of poison gas and the use of children as weapons - are unacceptable in any civilized society and demonstrate the truly dishonorable nature of this enemy."
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Record exec: Mobile industry could learn from Apple by Marguerite Reardon
The wireless industry needs to borrow a page from Apple's playbook if it expects to exploit the huge potential in mobile music, EMI Group's chief executive said on Wednesday.
In 2007 the mobile music market is projected to generate $13 billion, and it is expected to grow to $32 billion in revenue by 2010. But in a keynote address at the CTIA Wireless trade show, EMI's Eric Nicoli warned the industry that it would not reach its potential if mobile operators, handset makers and content providers don't work together and put the customer first. He said they need to make sure that every product they develop for consumers is one that people want, is easy to use, and provides value at an affordable price.
"We will not reach our goals if we carry on as we have been doing," he said. "Not to diminish what we have achieved so far, but there are important challenges to address if we want to take this business to the next level. And that means we must put the customer at the forefront."
Nicoli pointed specifically to the iPhone, Apple's music-playing phone set to debut in the U.S. on AT&T's wireless network in June. Announced in January, the iPhone has created a stir and buzz not achieved by any other handset maker in the industry. And the company isn't even showing off the device at the CTIA trade show. During a keynote on Tuesday, Randall Stephenson, AT&T's COO, said the company had heard from more than 1 million customers who wanted more information about the phone.
"Apple makes stuff that people love to own," Nicoli said. "They love the simplicity and user-friendliness of the iPod and iTunes. Apple doesn't employ any sorcery or dark magic to achieve this. They listen to what consumers want. And that shouldn't be Apple's unique privilege."
Nicoli also touched on the issue of digital rights management. He said that his company's experiment with selling a select catalog of unprotected music by a few of its artists has already had some interesting and promising results. He did not say whether EMI might expand or abandon this practice.
Digital rights management, or DRM, has been an explosive topic for years as copyright owners, device makers and music distributors grapple with how to protect content that is distributed digitally online or over the airwaves.
Earlier this year, Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, ignited a firestorm when he urged the record industry to abandon DRM technologies. Music executives lashed out in response. At the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February, Warner Music Group's CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. called for more DRM interoperability rather than a ban on the technology.
At the end of the day, EMI seems willing to try different models to see which one fits the best. But in Nicoli's view, one thing is already clear: the industry needs to make changes now.
"The status quo is not an option if we hope to exceed our goals," he said. "We have in our grasp an incredible opportunity to create a colossal business through mobile. But we only have a chance to achieve this if we work together in a more thoughtful way."
In 2007 the mobile music market is projected to generate $13 billion, and it is expected to grow to $32 billion in revenue by 2010. But in a keynote address at the CTIA Wireless trade show, EMI's Eric Nicoli warned the industry that it would not reach its potential if mobile operators, handset makers and content providers don't work together and put the customer first. He said they need to make sure that every product they develop for consumers is one that people want, is easy to use, and provides value at an affordable price.
"We will not reach our goals if we carry on as we have been doing," he said. "Not to diminish what we have achieved so far, but there are important challenges to address if we want to take this business to the next level. And that means we must put the customer at the forefront."
Nicoli pointed specifically to the iPhone, Apple's music-playing phone set to debut in the U.S. on AT&T's wireless network in June. Announced in January, the iPhone has created a stir and buzz not achieved by any other handset maker in the industry. And the company isn't even showing off the device at the CTIA trade show. During a keynote on Tuesday, Randall Stephenson, AT&T's COO, said the company had heard from more than 1 million customers who wanted more information about the phone.
"Apple makes stuff that people love to own," Nicoli said. "They love the simplicity and user-friendliness of the iPod and iTunes. Apple doesn't employ any sorcery or dark magic to achieve this. They listen to what consumers want. And that shouldn't be Apple's unique privilege."
Nicoli also touched on the issue of digital rights management. He said that his company's experiment with selling a select catalog of unprotected music by a few of its artists has already had some interesting and promising results. He did not say whether EMI might expand or abandon this practice.
Digital rights management, or DRM, has been an explosive topic for years as copyright owners, device makers and music distributors grapple with how to protect content that is distributed digitally online or over the airwaves.
Earlier this year, Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, ignited a firestorm when he urged the record industry to abandon DRM technologies. Music executives lashed out in response. At the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February, Warner Music Group's CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. called for more DRM interoperability rather than a ban on the technology.
At the end of the day, EMI seems willing to try different models to see which one fits the best. But in Nicoli's view, one thing is already clear: the industry needs to make changes now.
"The status quo is not an option if we hope to exceed our goals," he said. "We have in our grasp an incredible opportunity to create a colossal business through mobile. But we only have a chance to achieve this if we work together in a more thoughtful way."
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
“Islam will enter every house and will spread over the entire world,” says Hamas leader Al-Zahar by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook
While the Hamas goal of destroying Israel is well known, its aspiration for Islamic subjugation of the entire world is just as basic to Hamas dogma. Both aims appear in the Hamas Charter as God's irrepressible will, and both aims were reiterated this week by senior Hamas leader and former PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud Al-Zahar.
At a mass rally in memory of Hamas founder Ahmad Yassin, Al-Zahar said that the Quran promises the "liberation of all of Palestine," meaning the destruction of Israel. He went so far as to challenge the Islamic faith of those who deny this goal: "No one can deny it. One who denies it must check his faith and his Islam.”
Regarding the Hamas religious goal of Islamic world domination, he said: “Islam will enter every house and will spread over the entire world.”
Below is the translation of Al-Zahar’s speech:
[Mahmoud] Al-Zahhar spoke at the mass rally held on the memorial day for Sheikh Ahmad Yassin…
Al-Zahhar emphasized that the Islamic Movement’s [Hamas'] position concerning the problem of the liberation of Palestine is clear and known, and said: "We have two important foundations: One is Quranic and the other is prophetic. The Quranic: The divine promise made in the ‘Al-Israa Sura’ [Chapter 17] is that we will liberate the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, 'and we will enter it as we have entered it the first time.' [paraphrasing Sura 17 (The Night Journey), verse 7]. And the prophetic foundation is the message of the prophet Muhammad, that Islam will enter every house and will spread over the entire world."
And added: "Our position is the liberation of Palestine, all of Palestine. This is the final and strategic solution for us. There is a Quranic message for us, that we will enter the Al-Aqsa mosque, and the entrance to the mosque means the entrance into all of Palestine. This is the message, no one can deny it. Anyone who denies it must check his faith and his Islam.” [Al-Ayyam, March 25, 2007]
At a mass rally in memory of Hamas founder Ahmad Yassin, Al-Zahar said that the Quran promises the "liberation of all of Palestine," meaning the destruction of Israel. He went so far as to challenge the Islamic faith of those who deny this goal: "No one can deny it. One who denies it must check his faith and his Islam.”
Regarding the Hamas religious goal of Islamic world domination, he said: “Islam will enter every house and will spread over the entire world.”
Below is the translation of Al-Zahar’s speech:
[Mahmoud] Al-Zahhar spoke at the mass rally held on the memorial day for Sheikh Ahmad Yassin…
Al-Zahhar emphasized that the Islamic Movement’s [Hamas'] position concerning the problem of the liberation of Palestine is clear and known, and said: "We have two important foundations: One is Quranic and the other is prophetic. The Quranic: The divine promise made in the ‘Al-Israa Sura’ [Chapter 17] is that we will liberate the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, 'and we will enter it as we have entered it the first time.' [paraphrasing Sura 17 (The Night Journey), verse 7]. And the prophetic foundation is the message of the prophet Muhammad, that Islam will enter every house and will spread over the entire world."
And added: "Our position is the liberation of Palestine, all of Palestine. This is the final and strategic solution for us. There is a Quranic message for us, that we will enter the Al-Aqsa mosque, and the entrance to the mosque means the entrance into all of Palestine. This is the message, no one can deny it. Anyone who denies it must check his faith and his Islam.” [Al-Ayyam, March 25, 2007]
Four-year-old girl vows to be suicide terrorist in Hamas TV dramatization by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook
Hamas TV broadcast today a video dramatization of the four-year-old daughter of female suicide bomber Reem Riyashi singing to her dead mother and vowing to follow in her footsteps. The video clip ends as the little girl picks up sticks of explosives from her mother's drawer.
The Al Aqsa TV children's program shows a child actress playing the daughter, watching Riyashi preparing the bomb and asking her mother, "Mommy, what are you carrying in your arms instead of me? A toy or a present for me?" She later sees a TV news story about her mother's suicide mission and death, and realizes her mother had been carrying a bomb.
"Only now, I know what was more precious than us . . . " she sings of the bomb.
Although she misses her mother, she vows to follow in her footsteps. The video ends as she opens her mother's drawer and picks up the sticks of explosives her mother had left there.
Background:
Reem Riyashi killed four Israelis and wounded seven at the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel in 2004. She gained the sympathy of the Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint by telling them that she had a metal plate in her leg that would trigger the metal detector. After she was taken to a room to be searched privately, she detonated the bomb hidden under her clothes.
Click here to see the video clip
The following is the text of the song that Duha, Reem's daughter, sings to her mother:
[Daughter sees mother preparing explosives sticks]
"Mommy, what are you carrying
in your arms instead of me?
[Mother turns to hide bomb]
A toy or a present for me?...
Mommy Reem!
Why did you put on your veil?
Are you going out, Mommy?...
Come back quickly, Mommy
I can't sleep without you,
unless you tell me and Ubaydah [her brother] a bedtime story.
[Daughter sees mother's picture and news story about bombing on PA TV]
My mother, my mother,
Me and Ubaydah are awake and waiting for you
to come to put us to sleep.
Me and Ubaydah, oh Mommy,
still need you to wipe our tears...
Instead of me you carried a bomb in your hands.
Only now, I know what was more precious than us...
May your steps be blessed,
and may you be flawless for Jerusalem.
Me and Ubaydah wish we were there with you.
[Images of her mother's grave and the graves of other terrorists,
including Aayat Al-Akhras, 17-year-old female suicide terrorist]
Send greetings to our Messenger [Muhammad] and tell him:
'Duha loves you.'
My love will not be [merely] words.
I am following Mommy in her steps.
[Finds explosives that mother left in her drawer,
picks up stick of explosives]
Oh Mommy, oh Mommy."
The Al Aqsa TV children's program shows a child actress playing the daughter, watching Riyashi preparing the bomb and asking her mother, "Mommy, what are you carrying in your arms instead of me? A toy or a present for me?" She later sees a TV news story about her mother's suicide mission and death, and realizes her mother had been carrying a bomb.
"Only now, I know what was more precious than us . . . " she sings of the bomb.
Although she misses her mother, she vows to follow in her footsteps. The video ends as she opens her mother's drawer and picks up the sticks of explosives her mother had left there.
Background:
Reem Riyashi killed four Israelis and wounded seven at the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel in 2004. She gained the sympathy of the Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint by telling them that she had a metal plate in her leg that would trigger the metal detector. After she was taken to a room to be searched privately, she detonated the bomb hidden under her clothes.
Click here to see the video clip
The following is the text of the song that Duha, Reem's daughter, sings to her mother:
[Daughter sees mother preparing explosives sticks]
"Mommy, what are you carrying
in your arms instead of me?
[Mother turns to hide bomb]
A toy or a present for me?...
Mommy Reem!
Why did you put on your veil?
Are you going out, Mommy?...
Come back quickly, Mommy
I can't sleep without you,
unless you tell me and Ubaydah [her brother] a bedtime story.
[Daughter sees mother's picture and news story about bombing on PA TV]
My mother, my mother,
Me and Ubaydah are awake and waiting for you
to come to put us to sleep.
Me and Ubaydah, oh Mommy,
still need you to wipe our tears...
Instead of me you carried a bomb in your hands.
Only now, I know what was more precious than us...
May your steps be blessed,
and may you be flawless for Jerusalem.
Me and Ubaydah wish we were there with you.
[Images of her mother's grave and the graves of other terrorists,
including Aayat Al-Akhras, 17-year-old female suicide terrorist]
Send greetings to our Messenger [Muhammad] and tell him:
'Duha loves you.'
My love will not be [merely] words.
I am following Mommy in her steps.
[Finds explosives that mother left in her drawer,
picks up stick of explosives]
Oh Mommy, oh Mommy."
Why Iran Seized British Marines by Christopher Isham
Iran's seizure of the 15 British sailors was a carefully planned retaliation for the arrest of five Revolutionary Guard Quds Force officers from the Iranian consulate in Irbil, Iraq, by U.S. forces on Jan. 11, according to Western intelligence sources.
The decision to abduct the British marines in that location was apparently calculated to exploit the nebulous and often disputed international border between Iran and Iraq that runs through the Shat al Arab.
Iran has claimed that the sailors had ventured into Iranian waters, a claim that British officials deny. A local fisherman, who witnessed the officers on the Revolutionary Guard patrol boats detain the British sailors, supports the British claim that the sailors were in Iraqi waters.
The London based daily Asharq al-Awsat reported that the decision to detain the British sailors was taken on by the regime's Higher Defense Council in light of reports that the detention of the five officers as well as the disappearance of three other senior Iranian officers could seriously compromise ongoing operations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force.
The Quds Force is the arm of the Revolutionary Guard responsible for conducting operations outside of Iran, including the training of militias in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Officials are concerned that the detention of the British sailors could lead to protracted and difficult negotiations in which the Iranians are expected almost certainly to demand the release of the detained Iranians.
The decision to abduct the British marines in that location was apparently calculated to exploit the nebulous and often disputed international border between Iran and Iraq that runs through the Shat al Arab.
Iran has claimed that the sailors had ventured into Iranian waters, a claim that British officials deny. A local fisherman, who witnessed the officers on the Revolutionary Guard patrol boats detain the British sailors, supports the British claim that the sailors were in Iraqi waters.
The London based daily Asharq al-Awsat reported that the decision to detain the British sailors was taken on by the regime's Higher Defense Council in light of reports that the detention of the five officers as well as the disappearance of three other senior Iranian officers could seriously compromise ongoing operations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force.
The Quds Force is the arm of the Revolutionary Guard responsible for conducting operations outside of Iran, including the training of militias in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Officials are concerned that the detention of the British sailors could lead to protracted and difficult negotiations in which the Iranians are expected almost certainly to demand the release of the detained Iranians.
Two US, one French aircraft carrier in Gulf region by R.
The United States and France have bolstered their naval presence in the Gulf region to three aircraft carrier groups to support operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, US and French naval sources said on Monday.
The USS Stennis carrier strike group arrived in late February with an additional 6,500 sailors to join the USS Dwight D Eisenhower carrier strike group.
‘The Stennis is in the region, in the Arabian sea outside the Gulf and Eisenhower is inside the Gulf,’ said Lieutenant-Commander Charlie Brown, a spokesman for US Naval Central Command in Bahrain.
‘Having a second strike group here is to support ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and to reassure our regional partners of our commitment to the area,’ he said.
Strike groups are typically deployed with four to five frigates and destroyers and one submarine, but are then split up between different coalition task forces on arrival, he said.
The French aircraft carrier group Charles de Gaulle arrived in the Arabian Sea in mid-March for operations relating to Afghanistan, a spokesman for the French naval forces in Paris confirmed.
He said the carrier deployed with an air-defence frigate, two anti-submarine frigates, a supply ship and a submarine.
Lieutenant Commander Bertrand Bonneau, chief of press for the French navy, said the carrier group would be restricted to actions over Afghanistan.
He said the carrier’s deployment had ‘nothing at all’ to do with exerting pressure on Iran. Tensions are high between the West and Iran over Teheran’s nuclear programme.
Bonneau said the carrier would only enter Gulf waters at the end of April for a port call in Abu Dhabi.
Asked if the carriers, the Stennis and Charles de Gaulle, were within easy reach of the Gulf, the US Navy’s Brown replied: ‘I don’t know about easy reach of the Gulf...They are here to fly missions over Afghanistan.
‘You can’t fly missions over Afghanistan from the Gulf because you’d have to fly over Iran.’
Iran’s southern coastline stretches into the Gulf of Oman and into the Arabian Sea.
On Sunday Iran said it would limit cooperation with the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog and resolved not to halt its atomic work after the Security Council voted to impose new sanctions.
The USS Stennis carrier strike group arrived in late February with an additional 6,500 sailors to join the USS Dwight D Eisenhower carrier strike group.
‘The Stennis is in the region, in the Arabian sea outside the Gulf and Eisenhower is inside the Gulf,’ said Lieutenant-Commander Charlie Brown, a spokesman for US Naval Central Command in Bahrain.
‘Having a second strike group here is to support ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and to reassure our regional partners of our commitment to the area,’ he said.
Strike groups are typically deployed with four to five frigates and destroyers and one submarine, but are then split up between different coalition task forces on arrival, he said.
The French aircraft carrier group Charles de Gaulle arrived in the Arabian Sea in mid-March for operations relating to Afghanistan, a spokesman for the French naval forces in Paris confirmed.
He said the carrier deployed with an air-defence frigate, two anti-submarine frigates, a supply ship and a submarine.
Lieutenant Commander Bertrand Bonneau, chief of press for the French navy, said the carrier group would be restricted to actions over Afghanistan.
He said the carrier’s deployment had ‘nothing at all’ to do with exerting pressure on Iran. Tensions are high between the West and Iran over Teheran’s nuclear programme.
Bonneau said the carrier would only enter Gulf waters at the end of April for a port call in Abu Dhabi.
Asked if the carriers, the Stennis and Charles de Gaulle, were within easy reach of the Gulf, the US Navy’s Brown replied: ‘I don’t know about easy reach of the Gulf...They are here to fly missions over Afghanistan.
‘You can’t fly missions over Afghanistan from the Gulf because you’d have to fly over Iran.’
Iran’s southern coastline stretches into the Gulf of Oman and into the Arabian Sea.
On Sunday Iran said it would limit cooperation with the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog and resolved not to halt its atomic work after the Security Council voted to impose new sanctions.
The David Hicks Case Riles the Australians by Michael Kraft
The dispute over David Hicks, the Australian one-time kangaroo skinner who pleaded guilty in Guantanamo today on charges of providing material support to Al Qaeda, is a good example of two friends looking at each other through the different ends of the telescope.
And it raises caution flags over how the unintended consequences of the U.S. Government’s treatment of terrorists suspects rounded up in Afghanistan can strain relationships with even our best allies.
I recently returned from Australia where I found that the Hicks case loomed large this year in the Australian consciousness and political scene, especially as the five year mark approached that Hicks was held without trial. It was a major topic of conversation and fuel for anti-American feeling and letters to the editors claiming that the U.S. ignored the principles of fair justice.
In downtown Melbourne, a large banner “Justice for David Hicks” draped a landmark church. Australian Prime Minister Howard, already under attack for his commitment of Australian military forces to Iraq and Afghanistan, was on the defensive for allegedly not doing enough for Hicks despite his close relationship with President Bush. Nearly half of the members of the Australian Parliament signed letters to the U.S. Congress on behalf of Hicks, 31-year old convert to Islam from a checkered personal background. Hicks is believed the only Australian believed to be currently among the several hundred prisoners held in Guantanamo and the first terrorist suspect to face prosecution under the new Military Commission rules established by the Bush Administration after the Supreme Court ruled that the other procedures for dealing with captured terrorist suspects were unconstitutional.
He pleaded guilty today amid reports that he would go for a plea bargaining arrangement. According to press reports the judge ordered the prosecutors and defense lawyers to draw up a plea agreement, which is expected to spell out his sentence.There had been growing speculation before the commission hearing that Hicks may agree to a deal to plead guilty to a charge of providing material support to terrorism in exchange for a reduced sentence.
While the case has aroused Australian emotions and letters to the editor accusing the U.S. of acting arrogant, it has aroused relatively little attention in the United States. The claims by Hicks that he was abused and beaten while under custody, and the turmoil in the court today over who should be his lawyers, added fuel to the controversy Down Under.
It is another example of how issues, such as trade disputes over lamb or timber exports often loom large in the view of our close allies such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada but are virtually unknown to Americans. Their end of the telescope makes U.S. actions look large. We barely see the impact on our best friends.
This is not to pass judgment on the merits of the Hicks case. I do not profess to have any insights into the evidence that prompted the U.S. Government to detain and charge him. However some of my Australian friends, even those critical of the long detention, say that by going to Afghanistan and linking up with Al Qaeda, he was not on the typical innocent “walkabout” that many young Australians and New Zealanders undertake for a bit of overseas experience before settling down.
The length of the Hicks case, his lack of access to counsel of his choice and questions raised by holding prisoners for so long without a trial of any kind or constitutional protections was, however, an irritant in the usually good relations with one of our best allies. It is an example of how what is perceived as lack of due process hurts the U.S. image.
The fact that Hicks pleaded guilty, presumably for a lighter sentence, will not undo the damage with our best friends -- let alone our antagonists -- caused by the long delays in trials, accesses to lawyers, and developing a better procedure for dealing with terrorist suspects in the post-9/11 environment. It is another example of the difficulties caused by not thinking through the long term implications of the short term methods used in the “War on Terrorism.”
If there is any good outcome to this case, it will be if the legal community, the Executive Branch and Congress come together to develop better procedures – ones that are seen to be more fair -- than the existing civil or military processes used for dealing with terrorist suspects captured in a military situation.
And it raises caution flags over how the unintended consequences of the U.S. Government’s treatment of terrorists suspects rounded up in Afghanistan can strain relationships with even our best allies.
I recently returned from Australia where I found that the Hicks case loomed large this year in the Australian consciousness and political scene, especially as the five year mark approached that Hicks was held without trial. It was a major topic of conversation and fuel for anti-American feeling and letters to the editors claiming that the U.S. ignored the principles of fair justice.
In downtown Melbourne, a large banner “Justice for David Hicks” draped a landmark church. Australian Prime Minister Howard, already under attack for his commitment of Australian military forces to Iraq and Afghanistan, was on the defensive for allegedly not doing enough for Hicks despite his close relationship with President Bush. Nearly half of the members of the Australian Parliament signed letters to the U.S. Congress on behalf of Hicks, 31-year old convert to Islam from a checkered personal background. Hicks is believed the only Australian believed to be currently among the several hundred prisoners held in Guantanamo and the first terrorist suspect to face prosecution under the new Military Commission rules established by the Bush Administration after the Supreme Court ruled that the other procedures for dealing with captured terrorist suspects were unconstitutional.
He pleaded guilty today amid reports that he would go for a plea bargaining arrangement. According to press reports the judge ordered the prosecutors and defense lawyers to draw up a plea agreement, which is expected to spell out his sentence.There had been growing speculation before the commission hearing that Hicks may agree to a deal to plead guilty to a charge of providing material support to terrorism in exchange for a reduced sentence.
While the case has aroused Australian emotions and letters to the editor accusing the U.S. of acting arrogant, it has aroused relatively little attention in the United States. The claims by Hicks that he was abused and beaten while under custody, and the turmoil in the court today over who should be his lawyers, added fuel to the controversy Down Under.
It is another example of how issues, such as trade disputes over lamb or timber exports often loom large in the view of our close allies such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada but are virtually unknown to Americans. Their end of the telescope makes U.S. actions look large. We barely see the impact on our best friends.
This is not to pass judgment on the merits of the Hicks case. I do not profess to have any insights into the evidence that prompted the U.S. Government to detain and charge him. However some of my Australian friends, even those critical of the long detention, say that by going to Afghanistan and linking up with Al Qaeda, he was not on the typical innocent “walkabout” that many young Australians and New Zealanders undertake for a bit of overseas experience before settling down.
The length of the Hicks case, his lack of access to counsel of his choice and questions raised by holding prisoners for so long without a trial of any kind or constitutional protections was, however, an irritant in the usually good relations with one of our best allies. It is an example of how what is perceived as lack of due process hurts the U.S. image.
The fact that Hicks pleaded guilty, presumably for a lighter sentence, will not undo the damage with our best friends -- let alone our antagonists -- caused by the long delays in trials, accesses to lawyers, and developing a better procedure for dealing with terrorist suspects in the post-9/11 environment. It is another example of the difficulties caused by not thinking through the long term implications of the short term methods used in the “War on Terrorism.”
If there is any good outcome to this case, it will be if the legal community, the Executive Branch and Congress come together to develop better procedures – ones that are seen to be more fair -- than the existing civil or military processes used for dealing with terrorist suspects captured in a military situation.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Al Qaeda leader, two aides arrested in Baghdad by D.P.A.
Iraqi security forces on Monday confirmed the arrest of an Al Qaeda leader and two of his aides in western Baghdad, according to a report by the Voices of Iraq news agency.
‘A force from 3rd Brigade raided Abu Ghraib area and arrested Ahmad Farhan and two of his close associates last Tuesday,’ Baghdad security plan spokesman Qassem Atta told a press conference in the city.
Atta played video footage showing Farhan, an emir (leader) of the international terrorist network, confessing to his ties with a wanted man called Abu Omar Al Baghdadi.
‘I receive support from Syria and Jordan and have got four groups with an emir and 25 members for each,’ Farhan said in the videotaped confession.
Atta said Farhan acknowledged his direct responsibility for 300 killings and 200 kidnappings, adding 17 hostages were freed and four kidnappers were arrested in Abu Ghraib.
‘Seventy-one wanted terrorists were arrested and ammunition seized in the area of Al Latifiya (south-east of Baghdad),’ Atta added.
Reviewing the achievement of the Fard Al Qanoun or Law Enforcement security plan for the period March 21-26, Atta said: ‘130 terrorists were detained, 227 suspects arrested, 25 hostages freed and large amounts of weapons seized.’
Also Monday, the Iraqi security forces found 430 anti-tank mines, reportedly ready for use, in a house in Jamila area in the mostly Shia Sadr district in eastern Baghdad.
Iraqi military spokesman Qasem Al Mawsouwi told a press conference that sectarian violence in Baghdad had decreased by 21 per cent in the last week.
Meanwhile, five US soldiers were killed and four wounded, the Aswat Al Iraq news agency reported Monday, citing US military sources.
Four of the soldiers died in a bomb attack Sunday in the province of Diyala, while a fifth was killed on the same day in north-western Baghdad.
Meanwhile, the US military command in the western city of Ramadi reported that Iraqi and US soldiers had begun a joint offensive against members of the Sunni terrorist group Al Qaeda in Iraq.
‘A force from 3rd Brigade raided Abu Ghraib area and arrested Ahmad Farhan and two of his close associates last Tuesday,’ Baghdad security plan spokesman Qassem Atta told a press conference in the city.
Atta played video footage showing Farhan, an emir (leader) of the international terrorist network, confessing to his ties with a wanted man called Abu Omar Al Baghdadi.
‘I receive support from Syria and Jordan and have got four groups with an emir and 25 members for each,’ Farhan said in the videotaped confession.
Atta said Farhan acknowledged his direct responsibility for 300 killings and 200 kidnappings, adding 17 hostages were freed and four kidnappers were arrested in Abu Ghraib.
‘Seventy-one wanted terrorists were arrested and ammunition seized in the area of Al Latifiya (south-east of Baghdad),’ Atta added.
Reviewing the achievement of the Fard Al Qanoun or Law Enforcement security plan for the period March 21-26, Atta said: ‘130 terrorists were detained, 227 suspects arrested, 25 hostages freed and large amounts of weapons seized.’
Also Monday, the Iraqi security forces found 430 anti-tank mines, reportedly ready for use, in a house in Jamila area in the mostly Shia Sadr district in eastern Baghdad.
Iraqi military spokesman Qasem Al Mawsouwi told a press conference that sectarian violence in Baghdad had decreased by 21 per cent in the last week.
Meanwhile, five US soldiers were killed and four wounded, the Aswat Al Iraq news agency reported Monday, citing US military sources.
Four of the soldiers died in a bomb attack Sunday in the province of Diyala, while a fifth was killed on the same day in north-western Baghdad.
Meanwhile, the US military command in the western city of Ramadi reported that Iraqi and US soldiers had begun a joint offensive against members of the Sunni terrorist group Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Things that Show Color in the Night by Hiawatha Bray
The world's a colorful place for most of us -- but not for a soldier peering through night-vision goggles, or a colorblind traveler using a computerized weather map. A company on the docks of South Boston is helping both kinds of people see the world in all of its hues.
Tenebraex Corp., which has developed vision protection systems for the military since 1992, is about to introduce color night-vision goggles. The technology, called ColorPath, combines a standard scope with a pair of rotating filters that vary the intensity of light coming from different colored objects. The brain interprets these variations as differences in color, enabling the viewer to recognize red and blue objects obscured by the green glow of today's night scopes.
For those born color blind, Tenebraex offers eyePilot, a $35 software program that sorts out the information contained in color-coded computer graphics.
Former professional photographer Peter Jones co founded Tenebraex with former Polaroid Corp. advertising executive Dennis Purcell.
"Dennis and I are very aggressive generalists," said Jones. "We try and know a little bit about a lot of things."
As a result, Tenebraex has tackled a variety of technical problems related to vision.
"It helped us not to know how it was supposed to be done," said Purcell.
The company's biggest success came with the development of an anti reflection device that fits over military lenses, like riflescopes and binoculars. Most such lenses are coated with a material that protects soldiers' eyes by reflecting laser light. But this coating is so shiny that its reflection can give away a soldier's position.
Tenebraex created a shield made of a honeycombed composite material in 1992. Light can enter the lens through the honeycombs, but the material blocks reflections from the lens . Today, the company sells its shields by the thousands -- some to civilian hunters to shield the scopes on their rifles. But most go to the military. The Tenebraex office is adorned with photos of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan peering through Tenebraex-shielded scopes.
Now Tenebraex has come up with a new way to help the troops -- if it can persuade the Pentagon to invest in some of the ColorPath scopes, priced at around $6,000.
"We developed it with our own money, not government money," said Jones, and Tenebraex will have to swallow the loss if it can't make the sale.
The first ColorPath scopes will be available this summer. Jones plans to make the rounds of military procurement trade shows in an effort to sell the technology. He's aiming at a vital niche market -- Army medics. They've told him that it's tough to insert intravenous tubes or treat some kinds of wounds if you can't see colors properly.
With monochrome night vision, "blood is the same color as water," Jones said.
Some medics think a color night-vision goggle will help them treat wounded soldiers faster and better.
"That's what we hope this is going to do," said Jones, "to help people do a better job of assessment and treatment."
If Tenebraex can make the sale to medics, Jones said he hopes that the technology will make its way into other military groups, such as special operations units.
The company's other product, the eyePilot software, addresses a problem that's grown worse for the color blind as more information on the Internet comes in the form of colorful charts and maps.
"An enormous amount of information is available to you, and a lot of it is color-coded," Jones said.
For example, weather websites routinely use colored maps to show areas of rain, snow, or dry weather. Public transit maps identify subway lines by color. Such maps can be indecipherable to the color blind.
"It's more information blindness than color - blindness," said Jones.
EyePilot looks like a transparent screen laid over the colored image. It lets the user highlight particular colors. For example, a weather map may use red to indicate storms. The user can click a button marked "Red" and all red areas on the map jump into sharp relief. Now the user can see the stormy areas at a glance, even if he or she can't see red.
Harry Rogers , a color blind semiconductor engineer in Andover, used to serve as a selectman in Brookline, N.H. During town meetings, he'd have trouble understanding the PowerPoint presentations with their colored graphics and charts.
"I would have to sit down in confidence with someone," said Rogers, "and say what color is this line? What color is this bar?"
Rogers learned about eyePilot during a visit to the website Craigslist. Now during technical teleconferences, he can easily decipher the charts and graphs displayed on his laptop.
"I'm able to now run eyePilot and actually make sense of what's going on," he said.
Jones said he hopes to make eyePilot even more useful by embedding the software in camera phones. A user could then identify colors in an object or a paper document by pointing and clicking.
Jones said that eyePilot has been "moderately successful" for the company since it went on sale last year. He said he hopes that sales will pick up as more color blind people learn about it.
And since eyePilot works well even for people without color - blindness, Jones said he hopes the product will appeal to anyone who uses a lot of color-coded data.
Tenebraex Corp., which has developed vision protection systems for the military since 1992, is about to introduce color night-vision goggles. The technology, called ColorPath, combines a standard scope with a pair of rotating filters that vary the intensity of light coming from different colored objects. The brain interprets these variations as differences in color, enabling the viewer to recognize red and blue objects obscured by the green glow of today's night scopes.
For those born color blind, Tenebraex offers eyePilot, a $35 software program that sorts out the information contained in color-coded computer graphics.
Former professional photographer Peter Jones co founded Tenebraex with former Polaroid Corp. advertising executive Dennis Purcell.
"Dennis and I are very aggressive generalists," said Jones. "We try and know a little bit about a lot of things."
As a result, Tenebraex has tackled a variety of technical problems related to vision.
"It helped us not to know how it was supposed to be done," said Purcell.
The company's biggest success came with the development of an anti reflection device that fits over military lenses, like riflescopes and binoculars. Most such lenses are coated with a material that protects soldiers' eyes by reflecting laser light. But this coating is so shiny that its reflection can give away a soldier's position.
Tenebraex created a shield made of a honeycombed composite material in 1992. Light can enter the lens through the honeycombs, but the material blocks reflections from the lens . Today, the company sells its shields by the thousands -- some to civilian hunters to shield the scopes on their rifles. But most go to the military. The Tenebraex office is adorned with photos of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan peering through Tenebraex-shielded scopes.
Now Tenebraex has come up with a new way to help the troops -- if it can persuade the Pentagon to invest in some of the ColorPath scopes, priced at around $6,000.
"We developed it with our own money, not government money," said Jones, and Tenebraex will have to swallow the loss if it can't make the sale.
The first ColorPath scopes will be available this summer. Jones plans to make the rounds of military procurement trade shows in an effort to sell the technology. He's aiming at a vital niche market -- Army medics. They've told him that it's tough to insert intravenous tubes or treat some kinds of wounds if you can't see colors properly.
With monochrome night vision, "blood is the same color as water," Jones said.
Some medics think a color night-vision goggle will help them treat wounded soldiers faster and better.
"That's what we hope this is going to do," said Jones, "to help people do a better job of assessment and treatment."
If Tenebraex can make the sale to medics, Jones said he hopes that the technology will make its way into other military groups, such as special operations units.
The company's other product, the eyePilot software, addresses a problem that's grown worse for the color blind as more information on the Internet comes in the form of colorful charts and maps.
"An enormous amount of information is available to you, and a lot of it is color-coded," Jones said.
For example, weather websites routinely use colored maps to show areas of rain, snow, or dry weather. Public transit maps identify subway lines by color. Such maps can be indecipherable to the color blind.
"It's more information blindness than color - blindness," said Jones.
EyePilot looks like a transparent screen laid over the colored image. It lets the user highlight particular colors. For example, a weather map may use red to indicate storms. The user can click a button marked "Red" and all red areas on the map jump into sharp relief. Now the user can see the stormy areas at a glance, even if he or she can't see red.
Harry Rogers , a color blind semiconductor engineer in Andover, used to serve as a selectman in Brookline, N.H. During town meetings, he'd have trouble understanding the PowerPoint presentations with their colored graphics and charts.
"I would have to sit down in confidence with someone," said Rogers, "and say what color is this line? What color is this bar?"
Rogers learned about eyePilot during a visit to the website Craigslist. Now during technical teleconferences, he can easily decipher the charts and graphs displayed on his laptop.
"I'm able to now run eyePilot and actually make sense of what's going on," he said.
Jones said he hopes to make eyePilot even more useful by embedding the software in camera phones. A user could then identify colors in an object or a paper document by pointing and clicking.
Jones said that eyePilot has been "moderately successful" for the company since it went on sale last year. He said he hopes that sales will pick up as more color blind people learn about it.
And since eyePilot works well even for people without color - blindness, Jones said he hopes the product will appeal to anyone who uses a lot of color-coded data.
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