Mamdouh Habib - Australian Citizen

Mamdouh Habib. Before, and after.

ASIO, freaking that heads will roll in Australias's Federal Government when their bit-part in outsourced torture gets out-ed, wrote a report to speed cancellation of Mamdouh's passport. What better way to "contain" evidence of torture - keep Mamdouh and evidence (visible scaring of the psyche and body) local by canceling passport.

Basically if Mamdouh's case goes global, Australia's pact with the US to keep Mamdouh Habib's "experience" under wraps will be in tatters. Last thing proponents of liberational war need - another global torture scandal, on top of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

Which is why Howard is pretending not to notice while his backbenchers crawl all over the plot spinning fools gold from thistle stalks. Talk about pricked fingers, but nothing is really snow-white in Australia. Heck it's a desert out here. We hardly even have snow let alone "white". Unless you're talking about whitewash. Or certain other policies.

There never was and never will be any excuse for torture. At all.