The Khadr Thread

[Kat Stevens]

The nearest mosque will scoop him up and have him back in Pakistan before the month is out.  A little R&R then off to join up with ISIL.

 

[GAP]

The nearest mosque will scoop him up and have him back in Pakistan before the month is out.  A little R&R then off to join up with ISIL.

If someone sees the opportunity presented, now that he is no longer in protected custody..... :camo:

 

[a_majoor]

In one sense, I would almost welcome this, if it means a great many people get to see the smirking face of evil up close and personal.

Of course, the very people who should be presenting the face of evil as a warning will instead by doing hand waves at almost the speed of light in order to present the "narrative", and facts be damned (yes, this is directed at the lurking journalists who read Army.ca.)

So the best COA would be to let him rot in prison for the next 40 years.

Second best, should an enemy mosque spirit him away to Pakistan (and anyone who does this or is complicit with such an act is indeed an enemy of Canada), is to ensure that he does indeed pay the full price for his acts, by catching some piece of western ordinance delivered with extreme prejudice.

 

[The Bread Guy]

The nearest mosque will scoop him up and have him back in Pakistan before the month is out.  A little R&R then off to join up with ISIL.

Unless a Christian school'll take him (albeit reluctantly)  ;D

A Christian university in Edmonton is offering admission to Omar Khadr, even though he is unlikely to ever set foot on its campus due to safety concerns.

Dan VanKeeken, the vice-president of King’s University, told CTV News Channel that the school would accept Khadr, 28, as a “mature student” if he is free on bail and able to come up with the tuition fee.

However, “for the safety of our students, we don’t see him coming on our campus for a long time, if ever,” VanKeeken said Friday ....

 

[jollyjacktar]

From CBC Radio Day 6.  Audio at link.  Day 6

Military interrogator and blinded solider react to Khadr bail decision

Almost 13 years after the firefight in Afghanistan that led to Omar Khadr's capture, an Alberta judge has granted him bail. The federal government says it will appeal the ruling. The 2002 firefight killed U.S. Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer and two Afghan soldiers, and badly wounded the 15-year-old Khadr.

Khadr was accused of throwing a grenade that killed Speer. The teen confessed to a military tribunal, was convicted and spent 10 years at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

In September 2012, Omar Khadr was transferred to a detention centre in Canada.

Day 6 has reaction to the Khadr bail decision from two U.S. military men who crossed Khadr's path: Sgt. Layne Morris who was blinded in the 2002 firefight that led to Khadr's capture, and Damien Corsetti — a former interrogator at the Bagram Air Base detention centre in Afghanistan where Khadr was held.

LAYNE MORRIS

Layne Morris, what is your reaction to this news from Edmonton that Omar Kadhr is being granted bail?

Well I I think it's a mistake for the long term security national security interests of both Canada and the United States and Western civilized society.

That's my judgment based on the things that I've read and my experience with him both at the trial and out in the field of combat and from the evidence that was presented at his trial.

But the Crown in Canada did not present any evidence that suggested that he was a threat. What do you think about that?

I think the Crown wasn't doing a very good job since Omar Khadr's done nothing to demonstrate that he's not a threat and I don't I don't understand this assumption that because a certain amount of time has passed they're no longer a threat based on no evidence whatsoever. He's already proven what he is capable of doing what he wants to do and I'd love for somebody to show me some evidence to the contrary. He was the acknowledged leader in Guantanamo. He was referred to at trial as having rock-star status.

He was leading the group in prayer on a daily basis and has demonstrated his willingness to die for his beliefs and an accomplishment of killing U.S. personnel that opposed him. So this is a young man who is set up to be a leader of radical Islamic groups wherever they are. And we've seen nothing as a demonstration of what he'd done to renounce that at all. He simply sits there quiet and lets people speak for him. His attorneys have very cleverly just instructed him and his entire family, the first family of terrorism in Canada, to simply be quiet and let other people speak on their behalf.

He was fifteen years old at the time of the firefight that injured you in July 2002. What do you say to those who say that he was a child and that he shouldn't be held accountable in the same way that an adult would be?

Well we hold children accountable for their actions all the time. Fifteen-year-olds are entirely capable of committing adult heinous crimes. They do so all the time and we punish them as adults all the time. And Omar Khadr is no different. That's what my opinion. I think terrorism is a bad thing and we have to fight terrorism any chance we can especially in our own countries. And to allow an admitted and accomplished terrorist to simply roam free in your country out of some misguided sense of he's been punished enough. That doesn't make any sense.

His convictions, in the military commission, may now be struck down with this appeal. That's what is pending, Khadr's war crimes convictions before the U.S. military commission. If that happens, if he's granted that appeal, what will you do?

I won't do anything different than I've always done, I guess. I don't lay awake at night thinking about Omar Khadr. I'll continue to live my life. I certainly hope that I won't wake up one morning and read a newspaper about how Omar Khadr has rejoined the battle and has taken Canadian lives American lives or whatever. That would be sad. So I hope that that doesn't happen.

DAMIEN CORSETTI

Damien Corsetti, Layne Morris makes the case that Omar Khadr remains a real threat to security. Do you think he's a threat?

Personally I have serious doubts if he's a threat. I can't say, after the time he spent incarcerated in Guantanamo and in the Canadian penal system, what his current state of mind is. But I would lean towards no.

Layne Morris also dismissed the notion that Khadr should have been treated as a child he was 15 at the time of the incident in Afghanistan. How would you respond to Layne Morris' claim that Khadr's age doesn't and shouldn't matter?

As far as my opinion on that matter is you either believe in international law or you don't. You can't only support it when it's convenient to the cause that you believe in. As far as international law is concerned, I believe that it says very clearly that Mr. Khadr should be treated as a child soldier.

Take me back to the first time that you saw Omar Khadr when he came into the Bagram Detention Center in Afghanistan. What was his condition?

The first time I actually came in contact with him was a field hospital at the Bagram Air Base. He was fresh off of the battlefield and there were nurses and doctors were doing what they could to save his life. At that time he had a very large wound in his chest. He looked pretty worse for wear.

Were you aware of how young he was?

No I didn't know that he was 15 but you could tell he was very young.

What was the impression that you were left with when you did realize how young he was, what was the conclusion you made?

The conclusion that I made was that he shouldn't be there based on his age and based on treaties that the United States has signed into on warfare concerning the treatment of prisoners

And was there anything about his behavior or the things that he said that indicated to you what his real age was?
       
Just the things that interested him like you know he was he was interested in car magazines. He liked to talk about video games in basketball and...not typical Jihadi conversations.

But back to what you said earlier that you thought that he wouldn't be a threat in the real world other. People who have been released from detention in Guantanamo have ended up in the battlefield again why would Khadr be any different?

Well I'd like to clarify...I would like to say that I don't I don't know if he's a threat and I don't know because I haven't spoken to Omar Kadhr since 2002. And so I don't know what being in Guantanamo and in a Canadian federal prison has done...it tends not to work wonders on most people, as far as their psyche and their beliefs. But my main issue with Khadr is not if he's radicalized, it's not did he do it. My issue with Omar Khadr is that it's a violation of international law to charge him for war crimes.

Did you think about Omar Khadr after he left Bagram?

I certainly do...I think about Omar Khadr a lot. I thank Omar Khadr because he definitely helped keep me, uh, I'm not going to say I was exactly a nice guy over there but he definitely kept me a lot kinder than I would have been had I not known him.

Why was that, what did he do...what did he bring to you that changed the way that you behaved?
   
Humanity. And that's a very rare commodity in a war zone. If it hadn't been for him I think I would have lost even more than I already did. He made me have compassion for someone who was the enemy. It is something that I value today.

If you had a chance to speak with Omar Khadr again what would you say to him?

I'd tell him I was sorry for having taken part in the U.S. campaign against him. For having anything to do with that. For not doing anything more, for not speaking up for him over there more than I did. I would just apologize to Omar Khadr and I would congratulate him if he is granted bail on his freedom however permanent or temporary it may be.

 

[FJAG]

Appeal a plea bargained conviction and sentence??  Why would the appeal courts consider it for a second? 

The following is a link to the the Court of Military Commissions Review list of cases. The one you want is titled "Omar Ahmed Khadr (13-005)". There are 92 documents in this file and there are several that will let you look at the jurisdictional issues which are being argued and discussed. Feel free to review them at your leisure.

http://www.mc.mil/Cases.aspx?caseType=cmcr

As to your question, suffice it to say that there are a number of jurisdictional arguments being brought by his lawyers and I won't waste a minute of my day analysing or interpreting the mountain of material here.

For me the issue is that 1) Khadr's lawyers had an expert allege that Omar a) has filed before the review court, b) that this filing constitutes an appeal in the US and c) that he has a high chance of success of winning his appeal AND finally 2) the fact that the crown appearing before the Alberta judge DID NOT CHALLENGE THIS EVIDENCE. My conclusion therefore is that, notwithstanding whatever feelings that I may have about Khadr, his family, his acts or his plea, the process within the US CMCR has been evaluated by our government's lawyers and found it to be unchallengeable (or at the least, difficult to challenge). In this respect I should also point out that the US government in it's submissions before the CMCR IS arguing that the commission had jurisdiction and that Khadr's waiver is effective notwithstanding that there were a number of clear failures to comply with the procedural process respecting the filing of waivers and actions of the convening authority (a precipitating one by Khadr himself in my view)

Long story short--this case concerns the finer points of legal procedure and highly technical issues being raised within a jurisdiction that has 1.2 million lawyers who thrive on parsing the technical language of statutes and court decisions. I've long ago stopped blaming the lawyers for doing their job and turned my righteous indignation in the direction of legislators who draft horribly worded laws (especially ones which are aimed at establishing thinly veiled religious agendas to deny the rights of various marginalized individuals to participate fully within our society).

:cheers:

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Perhaps he'll do the right thing and board a plane for Turkey.

 

[Rocky Mountains]

So if he wins his appeal, a good result could be heading back to Gitmo for a new trial but I'm pretty sure he will suffer no downside for his change of heart.

 

[George Wallace]

Perhaps he'll do the right thing and board a plain for Turkey.

I am sure he would have a whale of a time on that plain.    >

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Perhaps he'll do the right thing and board a plane for Turkey.

Watch you talking about Willis?!  ;D

He won't go to Gitmo. He'll join ISIS and give us another bite at the apple.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Perhaps he'll do the right thing and board a plane for Turkey.

Assuming he'd be let on the plane, right?

 

[jollyjacktar]

I think that Mr. K. will be on a very short leash and being minded closely by his shyster to ensure his nose is extra clean and tidy. 

 

[The Bread Guy]

I think that Mr. K. will be on a very short leash and being minded closely by his shyster to ensure his nose is extra clean and tidy.

Among others, no doubt ....

 

[Edward Campbell]

FJAG: thanks for these explanations; they're very helpful.

I guess that, like many others, my fond hope was the Mr Khard would rot in jail, but it seems clear that a judge has made legally sound decision and we are, after all, a nation of laws. Justice must be fair and equal for all or it's not justice at all.

 

[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Why U.S. soldier who lost his eye during firefight involving Omar Khadr thinks Canadian judge made a big mistake

Tristin Hopper | April 27, 2015 | Last Updated: Apr 27 1:42 PM ET
More from Tristin Hopper | @TristinHopper

The pending bail of former Guantanamo Bay inmate Omar Khadr has been hailed as a victory by supporters across Canada, including a core group in Edmonton, where the 28-year-old will make his new home. But the decision is not sitting well with Layne Morris, the retired Green Beret who lost sight in his right eye during the firefight in which a 15-year-old Khadr was capture by U.S. forces. The National Post reached Morris by phone from his home in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Q: What’s your initial reaction to news that Omar Khadr will soon be out of prison?

A: To let him out on bail simply because the guy’s appealing his conviction, I think that’s an outrageous lack of concern for Canada specifically and Western society in general. He should be sitting in Guantanamo counting down the 45 years. But since that’s a bridge we’ve already crossed, we certainly shouldn’t be having some silly judge giving Omar bail while he launches an appeal. That’s not in the interest of justice or security for Canada or Western society.

Q: Khadr has shown no remorse for his actions in Afghanistan and expressed no repentance of violent jihad. If he had, would you be of a different mind surrounding his release?

A: I’m a Western-civilization Christian. I’ve been raised with the knowledge that people can and do change and improve themselves. I think most of us are trying to do that. But some people aren’t, and Omar Khadr has chosen a path which dictates that, as a result of his religion, he’s got to go to war against our society. Until he changes from that attitude, I’m not sure why we should turn him loose to wreak havoc on our friends and families and neighbours again.

Q: Freedom for Omar Khadr, of course, has long been the chief goal for a committed network of Canada-based campaigners. How have you viewed this effort?
A: I think people who support the release of Khadr are uninformed, and in many cases deliberately uninformed. They ignore the facts of Omar Khadr’s life, his history and the terrible choices Omar Khadr made to get him to the spot he is in now. The Obama administration, in its zeal to shut down Guantanamo, is willing to make any sacrifice to empty that prison. Omar Khadr is simply the fortunate beneficiary of that tactic.

Q: Thousands of American soldiers returned from Afghanistan and Iraq with wounds. However, in most of their cases they never knew their enemy — and they certainly didn’t know their name. Is it different for you that one of your assailants is so well-known?

A: I embraced the risks of going to war. And whether it was a privileged combatant or an unprivileged combatant who ended up wounding me on the field of battle, it doesn’t make a difference — but that doesn’t mean it’s OK for Omar. We have a long history of going to war with people who have answered the call from their country. And then when it’s over we’re able to sit down with our former enemies, shake hands and say, “we tried our best to kill each other but our countries are at peace now.” But Omar Khadr hasn’t earned that status. He didn’t put on the uniform of his country. He trashed his country.

Q: So you would have tea with the Taliban, but Khadr is a different story?

A: We went to war with the Taliban and the Taliban had guys who fought with honour. I’ve got no problem with those guys.

Q: The optic nerve in your right eye was severed by a grenade thrown from the Khadr compound. How was your recovery?

A: All I did was lose my right eye. But, you know, there’s a reason the good lord gives you two, I guess. It probably took me six months to adjust to only having the one eye. I don’t think about not seeing out of that right eye. My wife said I’m a terrible driver now, but I feel pretty good about it.

Q: With the Omar Khadr case continually hitting the news, has it ever made it hard for you to move on to civilian life?

A: I  don’t think about Omar Khadr, I don’t follow Omar Khadr. I don’t lay awake at night thinking about him. I think about Omar Khadr when the media calls me to get my reaction to something. I’m not going to go home and kick the dog because Omar is getting bail.

CORRECTION: This story originally reported that Morris was blinded by the same grenade that killed army medic Chris Speer. Although Morris was wounded in the same firefight that killed Speer, it is in dispute whether Khadr was personally responsible for the grenade.

National Post

• Email: thopper@nationalpost.com

LINK

 

[OldSolduer]

I think that Mr. K. will be on a very short leash and being minded closely by his shyster to ensure his nose is extra clean and tidy.

Wait for the media feeding frenzy he will cause when he's released on bail.....

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Ezra got fired so I doubt you'll hear anything.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Wait for the media feeding frenzy he will cause when he's released on bail.....

Oh you can say that again.  It will be nauseating.

 

[George Wallace]

Is Rick Salutin of the Star for real?

Should Omar Khadr get the Order of Canada?

Now that is really way out there.

 

[Rocky Mountains]

Ezra got fired so I doubt you'll hear anything.

Lonely for Ezra

http://www.therebel.media/