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Now what do they say?.....

"Colonel Lawrence Wilkersin, former US secretary of state Colin Powell's chief of staff, described the investigations into Hicks' and similar abuse claims as "a farce".

"I know this kind of abuse happened," he told the ABC. "I've talked to people who participated in it - CIA, military and contractor."

Asked about Hicks' plea bargain agreement that he had never been illegally treated while in US custody, his civilian lawyer Joshua Dratel said it had to be taken "at face value".

"That's all I say," he told the ABC. "It's in the agreement, and he has - he has made that statement in the agreement."

Meanwhile, Col Wilkersin said respected military officers had told him the interrogations at Guantanamo had revealed "virtually nothing" in the way of useful intelligence.

"And that is just damning. If that ever comes out, that we really didn't get very much meaningful intelligence from these people," he told the ABC."

So reports this The Age this morning. It seems like the US ambassador is either delusional, ignorant or lying [see earlier posting] and those Australian ministers like Downer and Ruddock and PM Howard also ignorant or lying, yet again. It seems hard to discredit Wilkersin.

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