U.S. starts to take notice of Khadr payout

The federal payout to Omar Khadr had received meagre attention in the U.S. media — until now.

The Wall Street Journal published a scorching op-ed written by opposition MP Peter Kent that’s now gaining traction elsewhere.

The former journalist penned a piece titled, “A Terrorist’s Big Payday, Courtesy of Trudeau.”

The item described Khadr killing an American army medic, Christopher Speer, when he was 15 years old and fighting alongside al-Qaida in Afghanistan. It explained how Khadr won a court fight in Canada, was repatriated there, released on bail and then sued the Canadian government for $20 million.

By Monday afternoon his piece was the No. 1 story on the Fox News website. Google searches for Khadr’s name were up more than 700 per cent Monday in the U.S.