Omar Khadr - A Canadian in Guantánamo Bay

2007-04-04T20:28:00.000-07:00

i read the Globe & Mail newspaper and they recently published an article about Omar Khadr.

if you aren't familiar with the story:

Omar Khadr is a Canadian by birth
his father was close to Osama Bin Laden and his family (at one point) lived in the Bin Laden compound
currently being held in Guantánamo Bay on charges of killing an American soldier
at the time of the incident he was a teenager (14 or 15)
he is being held as an "unlawful combatant" with limited access to lawyers

while i had been aware (from media reports) that he was accused of killing an American solder, it wasn't until i read this article that i first learned:

...
During a deadly 2002 battle, U.S. forces raided an alleged al-Qaeda compound killing all inside save one.

The Pentagon alleges it was Omar Khadr who survived the attack to throw a grenade at U.S. soldiers, killing one and blinding another.
...

thoughts on the subject:

it would appear that being designated an "unlawful combatant" makes retaliating against ones attackers illegal?
while Omar Khadr's case/situation is complicated - why isn't it explored more in the Canadian media? (both from his perspective and that of the US government?)
this editorial in the same day's Globe & Mail paper suggests the Canadian Government should be speaking out more on his behalf - but falls short on exploring why the issues around the case are so controversial
should the Canadian government assume presumption of innocence for citizen's abroad and work to ensure their right to petition for Habeas Corpus?

Scott C. Ripley

Omar Khadr - A Canadian in Guantánamo Bay