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David Hicks’ Guantanamo Memoirs Are Self-Serving

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David Hicks’ Guantanamo Memoirs Are Self-Serving, Profiteering And A Cracking Read: Extracts

DAVID Hicks has had his memoirs published in a tome called ‘Guantanamo: My Journey’, published by Random House.

Hicks is the Australian who spent five years in Guantanamo Bay, first in the rudimentary Camp X-Ray then in Camp Delta. He was sentenced to seven years jail for “providing material support for terrorism”. Upon release from the Cuban jail he was despatched to Adelaide’s Yatala Prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. In 2007, he was released.

Hicks is able to write his own history. From being a terrorist supporter he appears to be the unlucky victim of circumstance:

What began as an effort to help the Kashmiri cause for independence took a tragic turn when David found himself trapped within Afghanistan as the Northern Alliance bombs began to fall in response to the September 11 attacks. His life in constant danger, David eventually managed to find a safe haven in the house of a shopkeeper, Mustafa, in Kunduz.

His recollections fill 456-pages. Random House has a best seller.

Other highlights are:

“An armed member of the Northern Alliance approached and attempted to engage me in conversation. Not knowing Farsi, I didn’t attempt to answer him. After yelling directly into my ear, he took me by the hand and began to pull me away. I went to resist, but he made a gesture to go for his gun.

“I stole a glance at the young guy I had followed, who was still talking with taxi drivers. He saw what was happening and turned his back, leaving me on my own. With dread, I resigned myself to the situation and allowed myself to be led away. This was the beginning of six years of hell.”

Hicks was sold by the Northern Alliance to the US.

In Guantanamo:

“He entered the cage first, slamming the detainee, pinning him to the cement floor with the shield, while the others beat him in the torso and face.

“The last to enter the cage was a military dog handler with a large German shepherd. The dog was encouraged to bark and growl only centimetres from the Afghani’s face while he was being beaten.”

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Posted: 16th, October 2010 | In: Reviews | Comments (3)