Take your foot out of your mouth Alex

In the last week I had the alarming experience of finding myself agreeing, in general principals, with three positions being taken by Federal Liberal politicians. First, and most disturbing, was agreeing with Amanda Vanstone over Taj Aldin Alhilali comments on Egyptian morning television over Australia. Basically if you don't like the countries values, and you are not willing to engage in the process of representative democracy, then why the hell are you here?

Now I don't think that someones disagreeing with the government is a reason to ban them from the country, but Alhilali statements in Egypt certainly damage whatever minimal ground he gained with his apparently heart felt apologies over the "meat out for cats" statement. And on morning television, I mean really. Its like making major policy announcements on Kerry Ann.

Second Minister was the Environment Minister (and his youthful ward) banning Japanese Whalers from Australian ports. Excellent! 'Bout bloody time, but excellent.

Finally I found myself cheering Guy Barnett, arch-conservative from Tasweja who is getting pretty het up over David Hicks. Given Guys voting record, i suspect me cheering for him is as disturbing for him as it is for me. But every voice raised to bring David Hicks to trial – and back to Australia, even if he is imprisoned – is a voice I will support.

Fortunately the Libs and be depended on to not maintain a streak of left leaning, namby pamby, human rights cry baby, tree hugging behaviour for too long. And of course it would be the likes of Alexander Downer who changed things back to "normal".

If you haven't been following the news Alex, referred to by a former Prime Minister as the "Idiot son of the Adelaide aristocracy", decided to go public on a comment passed to him by an anonymous visitor† to Guantanamo Bay.

Showing his signature epilady sharp wit, Mr Downer told ABC radio from New York that "There was no suggestion that he [David] was suffering from mental illness, though no doubt he doesn't like being in Guantanamo Bay but that would, I suppose, be a definition of mental illness".

MWAH HA HA HA HA – my sides are splitting. Hilarious to make light hearted jokes about someone trapped in a detention centre for 5 years with no trial. Particularly since Mr Downer is no doubt staying somewhere nice and comfy in New York.

But is just gets better. Mr Downer refused to tell who had passed on this assessment, just that it was from a representative from another country. At the time I thought it was probably somewhere tiny, like Tobago or something, but most likely it was from the the UK. Imagine my jaw dropping surprise when it turned out to be from Public Affairs Officer with the US Embassy in Canberra.

So lets all pause for a moments embarrassed silence – the kind that follows someone at a black tie event proclaiming loudly that they just soiled them selves and giggling in a high pitched and arrhythmic way.

Cough. Shuffle.

So thats the background, but whats it going to mean? In my book we are increasingly seeing a turning of the tide in Australia and that Mr Teflon, aka John Howard, may not be able to dodge these bullets for much longer. Australia position on David Hicks is becoming increasingly untenable and even the most hardened Liberal Supporter is starting to question the policies that have gotten us, and David here.

Because its NOT about David, he is just the case in point. Its about Australia's place in the world. Are we the sort of country to leave one of our people trapped in a black box facility, in solitary, and with no access to a legal system that gives him a fair chance of defending himself?

If the situation was reversed, the Americans wouldn't have stood for it. If their popular culture is to be believed, they would have stormed where ever their citizen was being kept and forcibly taken him home by now.

Why cant David, at the very least, come back to Australia to wait trial? In almost 6 years surely he has no more intelligence of relevance. Its not like he was in command or a position of authority, he was a foot soldier for Christs sake. Whatever his crimes, the poor man and his family deserve some resolution.

You can read more about Davids case or about  the details of the new US Tribunal system and make up your own mind on the substance of the matter, but he has been there for nearly 6 years without a trial, isn't that long enough? If you haven't written to your local member, please do so now. If you haven't signed a petition, please do so now.

If conservative liberals like Guy Barnett are starting to publicly question the policy around David Hicks, now is the time to raise your voice.

† Anonymous to the public, one presumes that the folks at Guantanamo knew who it was, unless they were doing the whole French Lieutenants Woman thing with the big hooded robe. Highly unlikely since that would just be impractical in Cuban heat