Omar F*****G Khadr is getting $10.5 milion

[Northendzone]

this is from a national post article: http://nationalpost.com/opinion/mich...b-5228bd076ca3

In a 2015 article, the Toronto Star reported that, in 1996, “after briefly returning to Canada, the [Khadr] family moves to Jalalabad in Taliban-controlled eastern Afghanistan, where they live in Osama bin Laden’s compound. The Khadr brothers begin attending weapons training camps affiliated with the Taliban and bin Laden. The family makes annual trips to Canada to raise money and collect supplies.” In 2002, the article continues, “two Afghan government soldiers are killed and several U.S. troops sustain injuries as coalition forces move in on Khadr’s compound. Khadr throws a grenade that kills U.S. Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer. Khadr is injured in the melee.”

[Fuzz]

Sounds like a #### childhood....

Maybe someone should have been watching this family more closely and taken the kids away?

[White Out 403]

We should be careful not to conflate his having a rough childhood and being a child soldier with getting a pay out.

His pay out was us allowing the Americans to torture him for a decade and ignore his basic human rights. Who cares he had a ####ty upbringing. The point is that our country doesn't get to decide to let one of our own be locked away without due process and waterboarded for ten years. Period.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Sounds like a #### childhood....

Maybe someone should have been watching this family more closely and taken the kids away?

big government!

WHo's going to pay for an apparatus like that? We are already taxed to death!

Next you'll be forcing parents to vaccinate their kids!

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Resurrection

We should be careful not to conflate his having a rough childhood and being a child soldier with getting a pay out.

His pay out was us allowing the Americans to torture him for a decade and ignore his basic human rights. Who cares he had a ####ty upbringing. The point is that our country doesn't get to decide to let one of our own be locked away without due process and waterboarded for ten years. Period.

Not quite. The Canadians didn't "allow" the Americans to torture him for 10 years. The Americans were torturing him. Jesus himself could have asked the President nicely to stop and they wouldn't.

Where Canada is culpable is that Canadian officials came in and obtained evidence from him under these conditions (sleep deprivation, waterboarding, etc), then they shared that information. They should have come to provide consular services like they do for other Canadians who are detained in prisons.

Whether that breach is worth $10.5 million is up for debate.

[Northendzone]

to some extent I feel like he is one of those folks that are "citizens of Canada when it is convienent"

regardless of whatever points are put forward, I am unlikely to change my mind about the government paying him out, and I doubt that I will change anyones else mind.

khadr will get his millions and my life will go on unchanged

hopefully there are no other Canadians citizens being imprisioned at gitmo

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

regardless of whatever points are put forward, I am unlikely to change my mind

Might be the most honest thing you've ever posted.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

to some extent I feel like he is one of those folks that are "citizens of Canada when it is convienent"

regardless of whatever points are put forward, I am unlikely to change my mind about the government paying him out, and I doubt that I will change anyones else mind.

khadr will get his millions and my life will go on unchanged

hopefully there are no other Canadians citizens being imprisioned at gitmo

A self-confessed ignoramus is a rare sight on these boards. Bravo.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

1. If he is guilty of these crimes, why did he only serve 8 years? That is what bothers me.

People often serve far less for manslaughter or killing someone DUI. Almost certainly if they are a minor at the time of offence. One could argue that there were is enough circumstances in the Khadr case to drop it to that level of 'crime' as opposed to 1st degree murder, treason, or terrorism.

Originally Posted by Resurrection

The point is that our country doesn't get to decide to let one of our own be locked away without due process and waterboarded for ten years. Period.

The arbitrary line of 'one of our own' is where things get mirky to me. I'm undecided, but I don't know that winning the lottery of being born between certain geopolitical lines should entitle you to so many more rights than others. But, as a Canadian, I'm certainly glad I enjoy the priveleges myself...I wish they were there for everyone.

[SofaProfessor]

I think you will find zero people who are stoked he's getting money. But, international law was broken and compensation is due. I would hope that if my dad made me do some messed up things beginning at a young age and culminating in my arrest at age 15 that, at the very least, I would be given a proper system of support to help me overcome the completely unacceptable childhood I had been given.

If that had happened with Khadr, if he had been recognized as a child soldier and sent to a rehab camp similar to what child soldiers in Africa get when they are rescued, then he wouldn't be entitled to sue Canada and get this settlement which could have easily been double without a settlement. But that didn't happen. And now we all get to pay for it.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

regardless of whatever points are put forward, I am unlikely to change my mind

That about sums up the posters that just see the Calgary Sun style "terrorist gets money ahhhhhhhhh" BS and fail to understand what happened here.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Not quite. The Canadians didn't "allow" the Americans to torture him for 10 years. The Americans were torturing him. Jesus himself could have asked the President nicely to stop and they wouldn't.

Where Canada is culpable is that Canadian officials came in and obtained evidence from him under these conditions (sleep deprivation, waterboarding, etc), then they shared that information. They should have come to provide consular services like they do for other Canadians who are detained in prisons.

Whether that breach is worth $10.5 million is up for debate.

I don't know about this... They had a Canadian citizen in Guantanamo.

The French were able to have multiple French citizens turned over to France in 2004. The UK had close to a dozen citizens turned over around the same time.

The Liberal government dropped the ball.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by blankall

I don't know about this... They had a Canadian citizen in Guantanamo.

The French were able to have multiple French citizens turned over to France in 2004. The UK had close to a dozen citizens turned over around the same time.

The Liberal government dropped the ball.

The liberal government made the calculated decision that it was better for their relations with the US that Khadr stay in prison.

No ball dropping, no accidents, no mulligans. Real politik for the Chretien/Martin liberals demanded he stay in custody. It was the wrong decision, made arguably for the wrong reasons.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

The liberal government made the calculated decision that it was better for their relations with the US that Khadr stay in prison.

No ball dropping, no accidents, no mulligans. Real politik for the Chretien/Martin liberals demanded he stay in custody. It was the wrong decision, made arguably for the wrong reasons.

Once a court takes jurisdiction, it's extremely difficult to get them to rescind that decision. By leaving Khadr in Guantanamo the liberal government was allowing his case to proceed through the US court system.

Obviously the Harper government should have fought harder (or at all) to bring him back earlier. However, by then it would have been a much more difficult process. Anyways, my issue is that it's absurd to simply blame this on Harper, when the Liberals played a huge part in these events.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by blankall

Anyways, my issue is that it's absurd to simply blame this on Harper, when the Liberals played a huge part in these events.

Both definitely played a role, I just can't believe how anyone is blaming Trudeau. This is basically as close to the definition of a political #### sandwich as you can get. The actions already happened, all he was left with was a lawsuit. A lawsuit which Khadr was most likely going to win, Trudeau had 2 choices, don't pay him and get blamed for not negotiating a deal, wasting tax payer money and holding up the court system or negotiate a deal, saving some tax payer money while not unnecessarily wasting the justice system's resources and then get blamed for not taking him to court in hopes the judge would rule in the defendant's favour. It's almost as if people think the prime minister can overrule the Supreme Court of Canada.

[Calgary14]

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

[PsYcNeT]

Man they really want to pin this on the feds eh

[Resolute 14]

It's not like you are surprised, Psycnet. After all, the very first post of this thread tried to pin it on Trudeau, and the third tried to pin it on Harper.

[CroFlames]

The socks were a nice touch in that cartoon. Sock diplomacy.