We’re stuck with active terrorists
In the discussion over Justin Trudeau’s voluntary $10.5 million payment to Omar Khadr, it’s worth noting that Khadr already hit the jackpot twice before receiving a nickel in compensation.
Khadr got lucky the first time after the firefight that left him bleeding out in Afghanistan. There’s a murky aftermath to a combat engagement when the victor decides who is going to live or die. There are no lawyers or courts to decide, so it’s up to the troops on the ground to sort things out. Fortunately for Khadr, the humanity of American troops led them to save him, even after he’d killed one of their own.
Khadr got lucky the second time when the Canadian government repatriated him from Guantanamo to serve out his sentence in Canada.
The Supreme Court of Canada concluded that Khadr’s human rights were violated while in U.S. custody in Guantanamo and that this was the fault of the Canadian government. Khadr entered combat against American forces after he and his father quit their country and joined Al Qaeda and the Taliban. In so doing they placed their destinies in the hands of their American adversaries, not Canada.
The Khadr clan is among the most undeserving people ever to enjoy the benefits of Canadian citizenship. Omar’s father, Ahmed, was a steadfast friend of Osama Bin Laden and carried out seditious activities in Canada, Afghanistan and Pakistan under the guise of running Islamic charities. He was arrested in Pakistan after his involvement in the Egyptian Embassy bombing, but was released following a personal appeal to the Pakistani leader by Prime Minister Jean Chretien. This unwise move put him back in play with Al Qaeda until he was killed while fighting Pakistani forces eight years later.
Now we’re stuck with Omar Khadr and his three brothers, all of whom were active terrorists. The youngest of them was crippled in the same firefight that killed his father. Another was picked up in Afghanistan and held in Guantanamo until being repatriated to Canada and the third was arrested after being imprisoned in Pakistan as an Al Qaeda arms trafficker.
Lady Justice may be blind, but she’s certainly not infallible. The biggest violator of Khadr’s human rights was his own father who turned him into a child jihadist. And now we’re all paying for it.
Justin Trudeau is a fool. Please, no more prime ministerial interventions for the despicable Khadrs. John Thompson Kaleden