Bring Omar Khadr Home
Steve, to paraphrase a not very great man, ‘You’re either with us or you’re with the evildoers’.
About six years ago Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen then fifteen years old, was captured by American troops in Ayub Kheyl Afghanistan. After dropping five-hundred pound bombs on the house in which he and others were hiding, Khadr was shot three times in the back.
An American soldier prepared to murder him, but was restrained by a superior.
An American died in the previous fighting, and as Khadr was the only ‘insurgent’ survivor, it became convenient to blame him for the killing, although no evidence of this was forthcoming.
Under international law and convention, a fifteen year old cannot be considered a soldier (much less an ‘unlawful combatant’ which has no legal standing whatsoever), and cannot be held or tried for war crimes.
Nevertheless, Mr. Khadr was imprisoned first at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, then at Quantanamo in Cuba.
Over the six year period of his confinement, Mr. Khadr has undergone numerous forms of torture. These include but are not restricted to:
Being hung from a doorframe for hours in spite of his wounds;
Being ‘short-shackled’ in painful positions for hours;
Being sleep-deprived for twenty-one days in preparation for interrogation by Canada’s own CSIS (which then turned over information it gained to the Americans);
Being held in solitary confinement for long periods;
Being repeatedly threatened with rape.
He was interrogated by Joshua Claus who was removed after killing another prisoner named Dilawar. He beat him to death. Dilawar was later found to be completely innocent.
As far as a fair trial is concerned, the Department of Justice already directed that there be no not-guilty findings. Even military lawyers on both sides have described the process as a sham that makes Stalin’s show-trials look positively fair. The government has admitted that in many cases there will never be a hearing, and the prisoners will never be released. Better to bury them than admit to mistakes.
Steve, other civilized nations such as Britain, Australia, Germany, etc. have intervened with the US to save their citizens from America’s illegal deadly clutches. Children have been raped with various implements by American troops, CIA, or mercenaries.
Children have been taken and held as hostages, and sometimes tortured. Many other people have been tortured to death or otherwise murdered. In some cases prisoners were tortured for long periods so that their screams would serve to sleep-deprive others. Two birds with one stone, so to speak, good ol’ American ingenuity. If some poor soul manages to end his misery by committing suicide, it’s considered ‘an asymmetrical act of war’. We know, and even the Americans admit that many of the people imprisoned at known sites (and this includes an estimated 2500 children as young as nine) are completely innocent. It would follow that innocent people are also being held at the so-called ‘black’ sites. In spite of all this and the atrocities at Quantanamo Bay, your government has steadfastly refused to intervene in Mr. Khadr’s case, even when being urged to by Amnesty International, UNICEF, the Canadian Bar Association, and others. You even tried to blame the previous government for Mr. Khadr’s predicament. That was pretty unconvincing, and even cowardly.
As with so many people caught up in America’s self-induced hysteria, Mr. Khadr’s imprisonment is illegal. His torture is not only illegal, but despicable, and offends and threatens every value we hold dear as Canadians.
Steve, to paraphrase a not very great man, ‘You’re either with us or you’re with the evildoers’. In trying to wash your hands of the imprisonment and torture of Omar Khadr, an innocent Canadian, you’ve made it clear who your friends are. History may judge harshly. I hope so. A Prime Minister who countenances illegal detention and torture because his ‘friend’ is the perpetrator is one who has abdicated his responsibility, and does not represent me.
Have a nice day.
An American soldier prepared to murder him, but was restrained by a superior.
An American died in the previous fighting, and as Khadr was the only ‘insurgent’ survivor, it became convenient to blame him for the killing, although no evidence of this was forthcoming.
Under international law and convention, a fifteen year old cannot be considered a soldier (much less an ‘unlawful combatant’ which has no legal standing whatsoever), and cannot be held or tried for war crimes.
Nevertheless, Mr. Khadr was imprisoned first at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, then at Quantanamo in Cuba.
Over the six year period of his confinement, Mr. Khadr has undergone numerous forms of torture. These include but are not restricted to:
Being hung from a doorframe for hours in spite of his wounds;
Being ‘short-shackled’ in painful positions for hours;
Being sleep-deprived for twenty-one days in preparation for interrogation by Canada’s own CSIS (which then turned over information it gained to the Americans);
Being held in solitary confinement for long periods;
Being repeatedly threatened with rape.
He was interrogated by Joshua Claus who was removed after killing another prisoner named Dilawar. He beat him to death. Dilawar was later found to be completely innocent.
As far as a fair trial is concerned, the Department of Justice already directed that there be no not-guilty findings. Even military lawyers on both sides have described the process as a sham that makes Stalin’s show-trials look positively fair. The government has admitted that in many cases there will never be a hearing, and the prisoners will never be released. Better to bury them than admit to mistakes.
Steve, other civilized nations such as Britain, Australia, Germany, etc. have intervened with the US to save their citizens from America’s illegal deadly clutches. Children have been raped with various implements by American troops, CIA, or mercenaries.
Children have been taken and held as hostages, and sometimes tortured. Many other people have been tortured to death or otherwise murdered. In some cases prisoners were tortured for long periods so that their screams would serve to sleep-deprive others. Two birds with one stone, so to speak, good ol’ American ingenuity. If some poor soul manages to end his misery by committing suicide, it’s considered ‘an asymmetrical act of war’. We know, and even the Americans admit that many of the people imprisoned at known sites (and this includes an estimated 2500 children as young as nine) are completely innocent. It would follow that innocent people are also being held at the so-called ‘black’ sites. In spite of all this and the atrocities at Quantanamo Bay, your government has steadfastly refused to intervene in Mr. Khadr’s case, even when being urged to by Amnesty International, UNICEF, the Canadian Bar Association, and others. You even tried to blame the previous government for Mr. Khadr’s predicament. That was pretty unconvincing, and even cowardly.
As with so many people caught up in America’s self-induced hysteria, Mr. Khadr’s imprisonment is illegal. His torture is not only illegal, but despicable, and offends and threatens every value we hold dear as Canadians.
Steve, to paraphrase a not very great man, ‘You’re either with us or you’re with the evildoers’. In trying to wash your hands of the imprisonment and torture of Omar Khadr, an innocent Canadian, you’ve made it clear who your friends are. History may judge harshly. I hope so. A Prime Minister who countenances illegal detention and torture because his ‘friend’ is the perpetrator is one who has abdicated his responsibility, and does not represent me.
Have a nice day.
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 12:00 AM
3 Comments:
I'm the author (John S. Hatch) of the article in question. Records will prove that the article was posted on Orato (www.Orato.com) one day BEFORE the video was released. An editor later added the video to the article.
The point is, that under Geneva and other international conventions to which the US is a signatory, a fifteen year old cannot be prosecuted as a combatant,and certainly cannot be tortured, as Khadr certainly has been.
America has now sunk to tortuing children and to the status of a despised rogue nation with no regard for law or life.
A Muslim defending this is just too stupid and pathetic for words.
John, do you really believe that if some idiot claims that "Geneva and other international conventions to which the US is a signatory, a fifteen year old cannot be prosecuted as a combatant" or "tortured, as Khadr certainly has been", it becomes true?
Why is that every moron confuses his opinion with a fact?
America has now sunk to tortuing children and to the status of a despised rogue nation with no regard for law or life.
Amen
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