IHT article on Hicks Worrying on Two Levels

Raymond Bonner's article in the IHT is disturbing on two levels.

First, obviously, is his reporting of the abuse/torture Hicks claims to have faced:

"....beatings and other abuse included being thrown on the ground along with other detainees and walked on by soldiers, being stripped naked, having all his body hair shaved, and being subjected to injections....white plastic was forcibly inserted in my rectum for no apparent reason."

Second, is the indication that the chief prosecutor of the military commission, Colonel Morris Davis, may well be seeking to put undue pressure on Major Michael Mori - the lawyer for Hicks.

It seems that Davis is pushing the judge who is in charge to reprimand Mori for a violation of Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Art 88 prohibits an officer from "using 'contemptuous language' against the president, vice-president, secretary of defense and other senior officials."

Davis, Bonner writes, "cited numerous statements by Major Mori on his trips to Australia, which would be considered insulting, rude or disrespectful."

Bonner goes on to note that "A copy of the e-mail, from Colonel Davis to Judge Susan Howard, was provided to the New York Times by a person who supports Major Mori and who likened Davis's attacks to the removal by the Justice Department of several U.S. Attorneys."

Significantly Bonner suggests that Colonel Davis is actively seeking to minimize the harm caused by the Hicks case to Australian PM Howard's election campaign.

So - in addition to a further erosion of U.S. moral credibility on the global stage, it seems that high ranking U.S. officials are further compromising justice standards (vigorous defense for the accused) to protect a perceived political friend running for election in another country....it just gets worse.