Khadr settlement akin to lotto win

“What if he’s not Guilty??” (Posted on July 13, 2017, by irishroverpei). This is a common argument about Omar Khadr: “What if he’s not guilty?”

Not unexpectedly these arguments come mostly from those who have never served in a war zone. Indeed most have never served, period.

Unless you have faced a dangerous situation where an enemy wants to kill you, your opinions really have no validity.

In a war zone, one does not have the time to ask the age of the person trying to kill you.

Whether a 15- or 25-year-old, it makes no difference — both are deadly.

Using the excuse that Khadr’s father forced him or took him to Afghanistan at age nine really isn’t an argument. He was there and he was not sightseeing, nor was he there as a tourist. To claim he was just a child and was forced by his father is not a believable excuse. He was armed, he was dangerous, and he was intent on killing. Whether he actually threw the grenade is probably impossible to prove.

In war, no one can be sure of who kills who, and no one has the time to worry about it. The important issue is survival. The huge sum of taxpayers’ money he has been handed rates up there with a lotto win.

I was in the Royal Navy at age 15 (my father didn’t make me join), I had a mind of my own and made my own decisions. I was just one of many 15-year-olds serving in the Navy.

We understood why we were there and what we were being trained for. Boys my age had just lived through the blitz and deprivation of six years of World War. We were seriously patriotic, proud of our uniform and our flag.

The military may no longer accept 15-year-olds, nevertheless the young men and women serving today are, I’m sure, just as proud and patriotic.

F. Ben Rodgers,

Abram Village