Khadr should live in peace
If Bill Ayotte is right, and about 78 per cent of Canadians see Omar Khadr as a criminal, then I have worries about Canada’s true greatness.
War itself is a horrible thing that we should strive to get rid of, but combatants are not charged with the murder of those they kill, as long as it is in a war situation between military personnel.
Although he was involved in a war, Khadr is seen as an exception to this rule. He nearly died himself as a result of the battle where Christopher Speer was killed, and had the medic in the helicopter that rescued him decided to throw him out we would have heard nothing more about it.
I don’t suppose that Khadr himself really knows what happened on that fateful day. He was 15. He was obeying his father. His “confession” was extorted by torture - definitely a crime.
It has not been proved that he did kill Speer. Even if he did deserve punishment, he has already paid with years of incarceration and torture.
After the extreme publicity his case has received and the hostility generated, he will never be able to live a normal life. I do not think the proposed payout is too much considering the lost years of his life, the abuse and torture he has undergone, and the mishandling of his case by the Canadian government.
It is wonderful, however, that Canada has an independent judiciary system that can effectively protect the rights of individuals.
With the help of some kind and understanding people, Khadr seems to have emerged from all of this as a sane and decent young man. He should be allowed to live the rest of his life in peace.
Meanwhile, far greater misdeeds are taking place with official sanction, with no punishment in sight. Khadr was targeted because he was “a civilian acting as a soldier” and therefore guilty of a war crime. It seems war has to be a clash between two opposing governments, otherwise one side are “terrorists.”
The CIA are not soldiers, yet they use drones which kill untold numbers of innocent civilians in countries like Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.
The Americans bombed a Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital in Kunduz and killed 42 civilians, including doctors and patients, but no one has been accused of war crimes.
I believe in love, rather than hate, and I do not believe that the limitless thirst for wealth of a few psychopaths should be allowed to destroy our world. Jenny Carter Hillcrest Ave.