CANADIAN BABY FACED TEEN: TERRORIST OR MISGUIDED WHOLESOME TEENAGER?
Randy L. Harrington
July 05, 2006
GUNTANAMO BAY CUBA—Omar Khadr is a teenager who grew up as a prisoner in Guantanamo Bay after he killed an American Green Beret in Afghanistan.
International outrage over Khadr's confinement in Guantanamo have painted Khadr as a fresh faced, wholesome teenager, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Such a characterization couldn't be further from the truth.
Omar is a Canadian citizen. He was captured in Afghanistan in July 2002 after he killed a US Army Green Beret, and wounded another US Soldier.
The International community has called for Omar Khadr's release, and incorrectly made him the poster child of everything that is wrong with Bush's Guantanamo Bay prison.
Omar's family has been dubbed Canada's First Family of Terrorism for a reason. Omar's family moved him to Pakistan when he was 4 years old. Reliable intelligence shows that his father was a close friend of Osama bin Laden, and a founding member of al Qaeda who often took his family on outings to bin Laden's headquarters to celebrate the Muslim holy season of Ramadan. It is no secret that the International community recognizes that al Qaeda—the same community that calls for Khadr's release—is a terrorist organization.
In 2002, when Omar was 15 years old he was trained by a private al Qaeda tutor in special weapons and tactics, as well as guerrilla warfare. Shortly after, during a battlefield engagement between coalition forces (primarily American) and Taliban/al Qaeda warriors, and terrorists in Afghanistan, Omar is alleged to have thrown a hand grenade that killed U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer. Another Special Forces Soldier was wounded in the attack. So far this doesn't sound like the average, wholesome, and clean faced 15 year old, that the International community wants us to believe that Omar is.
The United States has alleged that Khadr has “conspired with Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawari...and various other members of the al Qaeda organization.” And, by virtue of his al Qaeda training had intended to attack civilians and carry out acts of terrorism.
Khadr's lawyers have claimed that his detention violates international law. They claim that after spending the majority of his adolescence being detained as a war criminal, who killed a United States Soldier, that his psychological state has gotten progressively worse. Well I guess that is understandable, most people who have committed murder at any age, regret being apprehended, and punished. That would lead to a digressed psychological state.
ABC News interviews, and other international protests feel that Omar should not be treated as an adult. Amnesty International feels that he should be protected. They feel that he should be kept away from other adult terrorists, and suspected killers, and that he should be given a proper education. Perhaps he should receive better training in killing, and maybe escape, and evading the enemy.
Muneer Ahmad, one of Omar's lawyers, told ABC News that “When I heard there were suicides at Guantanamo, I honestly thought they could be talking about Omar.”
Dr. Stephen Xanakis, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Washington told ABC News in an interview that Khadr “was literally a child soldier”, and that it was hard to know if he was coerced into fighting, or whether he was doing it of his own free will. Free will is a defense often raised in American courts so that minors can avoid criminal liability. This doctrine of coercion generally fails as a defense for good reason. The doctrine is generally advanced to avoid any liability. It is often used by street gang members, who use younger (minor) gang members to commit horrible crimes to limit criminal liability.
Omar's lawyer says that he is the first minor in modern history to be put on trial for his war crimes. However, minors all over the United States, and the world are put on trial frequently for murder, and their criminal conduct.
In a recent article in the Star, a Canadian newspaper, a Canadian government official expressed the opinion that Canadian law governing the criminal acts of youths would restrict the time that Khadr could spend in custody for pre-meditated first degree murder in Canada to six years. However, Khadr was not in Canada when he engaged in an act of war against the United States, that took the life of a United States Soldier, and wounded another. Khadr was not engaged in acts of terrorism, on Canadian soil. Khadr was fighting a foreign war, on foreign soil.
Another of Khadr's defense lawyers, Lt. Col. Colby Vokey seems to think that the time that Khadr has spent in custody would mean that the U.S. Has gotten “its pound of flesh.” Vokey seems to think that Khadr is being “treated differently than any other teenager in the United States or Canada.” I certainly agree with Colonel Vokey- however, the teenagers in my household have not committed homicide lately. My teenagers, to my knowledge, have not taken special warfare training from al Qaeda. Moreover, my teenagers were home in July 2002 when Khadr killed a soldier on foreign soil, in a foreign war.
Colonel Vokey is absolutely right – the punishment of Khadr must fit the crime. What punishment would fit the crime of a Canadian citizen fighting a foreign war against the United States, and killing an American soldier in combat?
Advocates for releasing Khadr claim that he should be released into society because he was a child warrior; His diminished capacity is what led to his actions. He was coerced into making war, and killing. His advocates may be right. The only way that the rightness of these defenses can be tested, is to subject them to a trial of Khadr.
Khadr didn't harm a Canadian citizen. He killed an American Soldier in an act of war. If the United States has the proof needed to prove its allegations, then Khadr should be brought to trial. If convicted, of course his age should be considered under United States law as a mitigating factor, along with the aggravating factors. If convicted, Khadr should receive the punishment that fits the crime, and should be held accountable for his actions. To allow him to escape punishment will send a message to our enemies, that if you use minors to attack the United States, we will have mercy on them, and release them back into the terrorist ranks to kill more American's. I agree with Canada. Enough is enough. Let's let justice take its course, and close the Omar Khadr affair for good.
SOURCES/CONTRIBUTORS: TheStar.com; UPI; API; ABC News Online
Copyright 2006 Randy L. Harrington. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
International outrage over Khadr's confinement in Guantanamo have painted Khadr as a fresh faced, wholesome teenager, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Such a characterization couldn't be further from the truth.
Omar is a Canadian citizen. He was captured in Afghanistan in July 2002 after he killed a US Army Green Beret, and wounded another US Soldier.
The International community has called for Omar Khadr's release, and incorrectly made him the poster child of everything that is wrong with Bush's Guantanamo Bay prison.
Omar's family has been dubbed Canada's First Family of Terrorism for a reason. Omar's family moved him to Pakistan when he was 4 years old. Reliable intelligence shows that his father was a close friend of Osama bin Laden, and a founding member of al Qaeda who often took his family on outings to bin Laden's headquarters to celebrate the Muslim holy season of Ramadan. It is no secret that the International community recognizes that al Qaeda—the same community that calls for Khadr's release—is a terrorist organization.
In 2002, when Omar was 15 years old he was trained by a private al Qaeda tutor in special weapons and tactics, as well as guerrilla warfare. Shortly after, during a battlefield engagement between coalition forces (primarily American) and Taliban/al Qaeda warriors, and terrorists in Afghanistan, Omar is alleged to have thrown a hand grenade that killed U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer. Another Special Forces Soldier was wounded in the attack. So far this doesn't sound like the average, wholesome, and clean faced 15 year old, that the International community wants us to believe that Omar is.
The United States has alleged that Khadr has “conspired with Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawari...and various other members of the al Qaeda organization.” And, by virtue of his al Qaeda training had intended to attack civilians and carry out acts of terrorism.
Khadr's lawyers have claimed that his detention violates international law. They claim that after spending the majority of his adolescence being detained as a war criminal, who killed a United States Soldier, that his psychological state has gotten progressively worse. Well I guess that is understandable, most people who have committed murder at any age, regret being apprehended, and punished. That would lead to a digressed psychological state.
ABC News interviews, and other international protests feel that Omar should not be treated as an adult. Amnesty International feels that he should be protected. They feel that he should be kept away from other adult terrorists, and suspected killers, and that he should be given a proper education. Perhaps he should receive better training in killing, and maybe escape, and evading the enemy.
Muneer Ahmad, one of Omar's lawyers, told ABC News that “When I heard there were suicides at Guantanamo, I honestly thought they could be talking about Omar.”
Dr. Stephen Xanakis, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Washington told ABC News in an interview that Khadr “was literally a child soldier”, and that it was hard to know if he was coerced into fighting, or whether he was doing it of his own free will. Free will is a defense often raised in American courts so that minors can avoid criminal liability. This doctrine of coercion generally fails as a defense for good reason. The doctrine is generally advanced to avoid any liability. It is often used by street gang members, who use younger (minor) gang members to commit horrible crimes to limit criminal liability.
Omar's lawyer says that he is the first minor in modern history to be put on trial for his war crimes. However, minors all over the United States, and the world are put on trial frequently for murder, and their criminal conduct.
In a recent article in the Star, a Canadian newspaper, a Canadian government official expressed the opinion that Canadian law governing the criminal acts of youths would restrict the time that Khadr could spend in custody for pre-meditated first degree murder in Canada to six years. However, Khadr was not in Canada when he engaged in an act of war against the United States, that took the life of a United States Soldier, and wounded another. Khadr was not engaged in acts of terrorism, on Canadian soil. Khadr was fighting a foreign war, on foreign soil.
Another of Khadr's defense lawyers, Lt. Col. Colby Vokey seems to think that the time that Khadr has spent in custody would mean that the U.S. Has gotten “its pound of flesh.” Vokey seems to think that Khadr is being “treated differently than any other teenager in the United States or Canada.” I certainly agree with Colonel Vokey- however, the teenagers in my household have not committed homicide lately. My teenagers, to my knowledge, have not taken special warfare training from al Qaeda. Moreover, my teenagers were home in July 2002 when Khadr killed a soldier on foreign soil, in a foreign war.
Colonel Vokey is absolutely right – the punishment of Khadr must fit the crime. What punishment would fit the crime of a Canadian citizen fighting a foreign war against the United States, and killing an American soldier in combat?
Advocates for releasing Khadr claim that he should be released into society because he was a child warrior; His diminished capacity is what led to his actions. He was coerced into making war, and killing. His advocates may be right. The only way that the rightness of these defenses can be tested, is to subject them to a trial of Khadr.
Khadr didn't harm a Canadian citizen. He killed an American Soldier in an act of war. If the United States has the proof needed to prove its allegations, then Khadr should be brought to trial. If convicted, of course his age should be considered under United States law as a mitigating factor, along with the aggravating factors. If convicted, Khadr should receive the punishment that fits the crime, and should be held accountable for his actions. To allow him to escape punishment will send a message to our enemies, that if you use minors to attack the United States, we will have mercy on them, and release them back into the terrorist ranks to kill more American's. I agree with Canada. Enough is enough. Let's let justice take its course, and close the Omar Khadr affair for good.
SOURCES/CONTRIBUTORS: TheStar.com; UPI; API; ABC News Online
Copyright 2006 Randy L. Harrington. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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