It's pretty likely that the govt will go after Hicks if he looks like making a fortune off this. Just this week the government has taken out an injunction stopping the Corby family spending the proceeds of book and TV deals after Schapelle Corby's drug conviction in Bali. There are a lot of parellells between the two cases.

David Hicks to be a free man by the end of this year. His astoundingly light sentence means he'll walk out of an Adelaide jail on new years eve.

Col. Davis had originally wanted a 20-year jail term. Hicks was given a seven-year sentence but six years and three months were suspended as part of a plea deal.

The US must hand him over to local authorities within two months to serve the rest of his term in Australia.

He is expected to be flown home by the US.

"Really, at this point everything is in place except for typing up a record of trial, which could be done in two days," Maj Mori said.

"The convening authority's action could be done very quickly. It could be done by the end of this week," he said.

Asked what al-Qaida would take from the sentence, Col. Davis said: "I don't know. I guess I take a broader view . . . We afforded an al-Qaida terrorist a full and fair trial. David Hicks is very fortunate. He is getting a second chance. I hope he's learned a lesson from this."

Prosecutors were told the plea deal meant they could ask only for a seven-year term with a suspended sentence even though the maximum penalty was a life sentence.

More here

Where's the *tsk tsk tsk* smiley when you need it?