David Hicks is luckier than some

President Clinton is said to regret, as his worst decision, not arresting bin Laden on a flight to Afghanistan. He did this on FBI advice that the charges would not stand up in a US court only because the evidence would have been inadmissible.

That such evidence can be considered by a military commission is neither unusual nor outrageous. This sort of evidence can be considered here by a Royal Commission or in a coronial inquest, and, incidentally, in criminal trials from Paris to Tokyo. And just because evidence is admitted, this does not mean it will be decisive. The commission will weigh its value. For those who predictably say they will all be US officers, pray tell, just what is Major Mori?

If he wishes to be home soon, Hicks would be well advised, once he sees the new charges, to try to negotiate a plea bargain. In return for a plea of guilty he would seek a reduced sentence with the period of his detention taken into account. It could make his stay in an Australian prison very short.

He may try to have the Americans agree not to make public any of the evidence against him. This would be against the public interest - Australians are entitled to know what he was doing in Afghanistan. And Hicks will probably tell his own story - for a profit. (If he does he should have to refund the vast sums the taxpayer has spent on him.)

The Americans would be well advised to require he agree not to test the legality of any imprisonment served here through a habeas corpus application. The reduction of a higher sentence could be conditional on this. (If he breached this and were successful, he would be well advised to rule out any international travel.)

What is most unfortunate about this case is the vilification of our close ally and the use of untruths and the suppression of fact to achieve that. The United States is not perfect, but among the powers that count, and have counted over the last century, there is none more generous, more respectful of the law, nor more loyal to her friends.