Thursday, August 12, 2010

No Sympathy for Khadr

"Don't look at me - anyone could have thrown that grenade." That's the line Omar Khadr's defence took at his trial today. Given that there's video evidence of Khadr assembling an improvised explosive device, eye witness accounts that he threw a grenade killing an American soldier and he himself confessed to throwing the grenade and being a terrorist, I've got a pretty good idea of how this trial might turn out.

The drama surrounding the trial including Khadr's lawyer's collapse today and Khadr's age at the time of the murder are red herrings. What matters are the substantive arguments that have been made so far. The Washington Post reports:

Because conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the defense contends that the other fighter's presence makes it impossible to know who threw the grenade.

To counter that doubt, the prosecution plans to introduce Mr. Khadr's interrogation statements indicating that he threw the grenade. The defense contends those statements were taken under abusive conditions and are unreliable.

The government also introduced a videotape showing Mr. Khadr assembling roadside bombs among joking and bantering al Qaeda militants.

These are the arguments that matter and I'm hoping the trial resumes soon so that Khadr can face justice.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Me too and if it were in Canada, the victim would be on trial instead of the perpetrator.

I am disgusted with the position of the Canadian left media and politicians regarding this case. I no longer know the Canada that gave me birth.

It's disgusting!

Anonymous said...

Amen!!!

RayK said...

Your information is incorrect.

There is no witness who saw Khadr throw the grenade. The supposition that Khadr through the grenade is based on claims that all of the other Al Qaida fighters had been killed by the time the grenade was thrown.

Furthermore, this account is contradicted by a report from an American soldier who originally claimed the person who threw the grenade was killed, only to alter his report years later.

Nor is Khadr's age irrelevant. Khadr's age--and the law--make him a child soldier at the time of this incident. The US has just decided to ignore this law.

http://www.child-soldiers.org/childsoldiers/international-standards

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/omar-khadr-trial-in-gitmo-hears-us-government-describe-canadian-as-terrorist-100526339.html

Patrick O'Neil said...

Anonymous guys. Thanks for your support.

Ray K. I may not have the details right about the witnesses. I hope for and expect a conviction, but that will be in the jury's hands. I maintain that it's the actual evidence in the case that matter and not the theatrics that the Khadr family has been using for the last several years.

As for your child soldier comment, I'm sorry, I just have no time for that, he was old enough to know what he was doing, and he should be held responsible.