THE TRIAL OF Introduction In late October 2010 the last act in the However, shortly after the trial began Focus long and dramatic story of Omar Khadr in August 2010, it had to be adjourned This News in Review story focuses on the finally came to an end when he pleaded for a month because of the sudden life and recent trial guilty at a trial before a U.S. military collapse of Khadr’s defence lawyer in of Canadian Omar tribunal. The Canadian-born Khadr was court. When the proceedings resumed Khadr. Khadr spent only 15 years old when he was taken in October, Khadr entered a new plea eight years in the in 2002 to the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, of “guilty.” It has been suggested military prison camp as an alleged terrorist. He that the new plea was the result of prison at Guantanamo was accused of killing one U.S. Marine an intense round of plea-bargaining Bay, Cuba, after being charged with with a grenade and wounding another negotiations between U.S. and killing an American during a firefight between Al Qaeda Canadian officials, including Secretary serviceman during the militants and U.S. forces in Afghanistan. of State Hillary Clinton. On October war in Afghanistan. In When his long-awaited trial finally began 25, 2010, Khadr was given an eight- October 2010, Khadr he was 24. year sentence. He would be eligible for pleaded guilty to the Throughout his long incarceration, a transfer to a Canadian prison after charges. Khadr had always insisted on his serving one more year at Guantanamo innocence. He claimed that he could not Bay. Further Research have thrown the deadly grenade because Throughout the years of Khadr’s Learn more from he had already been badly wounded in imprisonment, the Canadian government a timeline of the the shootout with the Marines. When consistently resisted pressure to Khadr trial by visiting the trial began in August 2010, he intervene in the case and bring him CBC News online at originally entered a plea of “not guilty” home to this country. Despite the fact www.cbc.ca/canada/ to the five charges levelled against him: story/2010/08/12/f- that there was considerable doubt about omar-khadr-trial.html. murder, attempted murder, conspiring his guilt, and serious allegations that with terrorists, spying, and providing he was suffering mistreatment at the support for terrorists. His Canadian hands of his jailers in Guantanamo Bay, legal team and the U.S. military lawyer Prime Minister Stephen Harper refused authorized to defend him at the trial to act on Khadr’s behalf. Once the stated their belief in Khadr’s innocence. verdict was rendered, Foreign Affairs Because of his age they considered him Minister Lawrence Cannon reluctantly to be a child soldier and therefore also acknowledged that Omar Khadr would a victim of wrongful imprisonment in fact be repatriated to Canada in a and mistreatment, not a cold-blooded year’s time. Shortly thereafter, he may terrorist assassin. even be eligible for parole. To Consider 1. In what ways could Omar Khadr be considered both a child soldier and a terrorist? 2. What are some of the reasons why Khadr might have changed his original plea of “not guilty” to “guilty”? 3. What is a plea bargain and how might Khadr have benefitted from it? 4. Do you think plea bargaining should be a part of the criminal justice system? Why? 5. Why might Prime Minister Harper and his government have been reluctant to intervene with U.S. authorities on Khadr’s behalf?

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 6 THE TRIAL OF OMAR KHADR Video Review

Quote Pre-viewing Questions “Successive federal With a partner or in a small group, discuss and respond to the following governments failed to questions. protect Khadr’s rights 1. How much do you know about the case of Omar Khadr? as a citizen. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court has confirmed that federal officials violated Khadr’s 2. Why do you think Khadr’s case has attracted so much media attention, constitutional rights.” both in Canada and around the world? — Lee Prokaska, journalist (The Hamilton Spectator, November 2, 2010)

3. How much do you know about child soldiers and their role in various conflicts around the world?

4. Do you think that the Canadian government’s decision not to intervene with U.S. authorities in the Khadr case was right? Why or why not?

Viewing Questions As you watch the video, respond to the questions in the spaces provided. 1. When did the trial of Omar Khadr begin? Where did it take place?

2. What charges was Khadr facing at the trial?

3. Who is Sgt. Layne Morris and what is his opinion of Omar Khadr?

4. Who is Lieut-Commander William Kuebler and what is his opinion of Khadr?

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 7 5. What are the two versions of the events of July 2002 in Khost, Afghanistan, Quote in which Khadr was implicated? “At 24, Omar Khadr has never truly been in control of his own life . . . But today—after spending more than one-third of his life locked inside the world’s most notorious cage—Khadr finally has the chance to 6. Why is the evidence against Khadr considered to be controversial? be his own man.” — Michael Friscolanti, journalist (Macleans. ca, November 9, 2010) 7. What evidence is there that Khadr was subjected to mistreatment during his captivity?

8. Why is Omar Khadr’s family unpopular among many Canadians?

9. How would Omar Khadr’s family background have influenced him to become a fighter with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan?

10. What evidence is there that Khadr had changed his views about fighting Americans?

11. What ruling did the Supreme Court make on the case in January 2010?

12. What criticisms of the trial of Omar Khadr were made by Alex Neve of Amnesty International and Dennis Edney, Khadr’s defence lawyer?

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 8 13. Why did Khadr decide to change his plea from “not guilty” to “guilty” when the trial resumed?

14. What statement did Khadr make to Tabitha Speer, the widow of Marine Sgt. , the soldier he is alleged to have killed with a grenade?

15. a) What sentence did the prosecution request for Omar Khadr? What sentence did the jury impose?

b) Why was this only a symbolic gesture on its part?

16. How much more jail time does Omar Khadr have to serve in Guantanamo Bay? How much will he have to serve on his return to Canada?

Post-viewing Questions 1. Now that you have watched the video, revisit your responses to the Pre- viewing Questions. How has watching the video helped you respond to the questions in greater depth? Have your opinions on the Omar Khadr case changed in any way? Explain.

2. Would you describe Omar Khadr as a “child soldier” or as a “terrorist”? Explain.

3. If you were in a situation like Omar Khadr, would you choose to accept a plea bargain that involved pleading guilty to the charges against you— even if you believed you were innocent—in return for a substantially reduced jail sentence, most of which would be spent in Canada? Why or why not?

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 9 THE TRIAL OF OMAR KHADR The Trial

Quote Reading Prompt [Khadr] “would have As you read this account of the trial of Omar Khadr make a list of three or four confessed to anything, key events that were important to the outcome of the proceedings, and why. including the killing of John F. Kennedy, The Stage is Set only that he had been used as a child just to get out of this After almost eight years in detention at soldier by his Al Qaeda superiors hellhole.” — Dennis Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Omar Khadr Edney, Khadr’s finally faced his accusers in a U.S. A Change in Strategy Canadian lawyer (CBC The trial was adjourned for a few months News, October 25, military tribunal held at the base. A jury 2010) of seven American military personnel— after one of Khadr’s lawyers collapsed four men and three women—would sit at trial. Just weeks before the trial was in judgment of the young Canadian- scheduled to resume in late October, born Al Qaeda fighter and alleged rumours began to circulate in the media terrorist and murderer. The tribunal about a possible plea deal that Khadr and would operate under a military code his lawyers were negotiating with U.S. of justice quite different from the way authorities. As the story gained more a trial is conducted in a civilian court. credibility, it was even reported that U.S. For example, in a military tribunal the Secretary Hillary Clinton had discussed accused can be found guilty if five of Khadr’s possible repatriation to Canada the seven members of the jury vote to with Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence convict, while in a civilian trial the jury’s Cannon. decision must be unanimous. This was a dramatic departure from On August 9, 2010, Omar Khadr the Canadian government’s previous formally pleaded not guilty to the five position on the Khadr case. Up to this charges the prosecution had brought point, the federal government had shown against him: the murder of Marine no inclination to intervene on his behalf Sgt. Christopher Speer; the attempted or commit itself to permitting his return murder of Sgt. Layne Morris; conspiring to Canada to serve his sentence. with terrorists, including Al Qaeda On October 25, the trial resumed and leader Osama bin Laden; spying; and Omar Khadr officially notified the court providing material support to terrorists. that he was changing his plea from “not At the outset, Col. Patrick Parrish, the guilty” to “guilty.” Given that Khadr had presiding military judge, delivered a stubbornly refused to admit his guilt for serious setback to Khadr’s defence team. any of the offences brought against him He ruled that a confession Khadr was up to this point, his dramatic change of alleged to have made while in detention mind seemed surprising to some. would be admitted as evidence, along with a video depicting him making The Sentencing Hearing and planting bombs in Afghanistan. Even though a plea deal had been The defence team had claimed that reached, the trial continued. As part the confession had been extracted of the agreement, Khadr was required from Khadr after he had been tortured to deliver a statement to the court and threatened with gang rape at admitting his guilt in all of the charges Guantanamo, and that the video proved brought against him. He stated that he

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 10 had deliberately thrown the grenade A Symbolic Sentence and an Quote that killed Sgt. Speer and injured Sgt. “I’m really, really Uncertain Future sorry for the pain I Morris “with the intent of killing or On October 31, 2010, the military caused you and your injuring as many Americans as possible.” court sentenced Omar Khadr to 40 family. I wish I could In addition, he admitted that he knew years in prison for the war crimes he do something that his father, , was a close had committed, 15 more than even the would take away your personal friend of Osama bin Laden, that prosecution had requested. However the pain.” — Omar Khadr, he had attended an Al Qaeda terrorist sentence was only symbolic, since the apologizing to widow training camp, that he had learned how Tabitha Speer in court plea deal Khadr had previously reached (CBC News, October to make weapons in Afghanistan in 2002, would override it. Nonetheless, the U.S. 28, 2010) and that he had freely chosen to engage military wanted to send a message to with U.S. forces in the fateful firefight the world that “terrorists and murderers” where he was wounded and captured. could expect harsh punishment for their One of the most dramatic moments in actions. The Khadr case was now over. It the trial occurred when Khadr delivered had received widespread media coverage an apology to Tabitha Speer, the widow in Canada and around the world, of the marine sergeant he was accused of and would no doubt remain highly killing. Khadr went on to claim that the controversial for years to come. years he had served in Guantanamo— As for Omar Khadr, the young man many of which were spent in solitary at the centre of the storm, his future still confinement—had provided him with appeared uncertain. He would spend one ample time to think about his actions and more year either in Guantanamo or at what had motivated them. He claimed another U.S. military prison. After that, that he had reached two fundamental he would be admitted to Canada where conclusions that led him to reject his he would be incarcerated at a so-far past as a radical jihadist fighter, the first undisclosed location. He may be eligible that nothing could be gained from hate, for parole in 2013. and the second that love and forgiveness are a more constructive way of solving problems.

Analysis 1. Working with a partner or in a small group, share the lists of key events of the trial and why they were significant to its final outcome.

2. Do you think Omar Khadr was right to change his plea from “not guilty” to “guilty”? If you were in his position, would you have done the same thing?

3. Do you regard the sentence Khadr received as a result of his plea bargain to be appropriate? Why or why not?

4. Do you believe Omar Khadr when he states that his experiences in prison have caused him to change his views about violence, , and religious extremism? Why or why not?

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 11 THE TRIAL OF OMAR KHADR The Controversy

Vocabulary Focus for Reading Mujahedeen — The As you read the information in this section, ask yourself why the case of Omar anti-Soviet Afghan Khadr has become so controversial. Focus particularly on his family background Islamic resistance and influences as well as the conflicting versions of the events of the firefight in movement that which he was involved in Afghanistan. formed after the 1979 Soviet invasion of An Unusual Case among conservative, fundamentalist Afghanistan Omar Khadr was only 15 years old when Muslims. When Omar was four, the he entered the U.S. military detention family moved to Peshawar, Pakistan, a centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as an city close to the Afghan border and a key alleged “unlawful enemy combatant,” base for Islamic resistance fighters. or terrorist. He was the youngest person In 1992, Ahmed Khadr was almost ever to be detained there—and the killed after stepping on a land mine only Canadian. He was also the only while fighting with the mujahedeen Al Qaeda or Taliban fighter captured in in Afghanistan. He returned with his Afghanistan to face formal charges for family to Canada to receive medical the killing of an U.S. serviceman. treatment but went back to Pakistan shortly afterward to continue his role in The Khadr Family the resistance. It is believed that this was Some members of Omar Khadr’s family when Ahmed first met Osama bin Laden, have made outspoken and controversial the future leader of Al Qaeda and the comments to the media justifying mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terrorist acts against U.S. forces in terrorist attacks on the United States. In Afghanistan. For this reason, they October 2003, Ahmed Khadr was killed have not received a lot of sympathy in a shootout between Al Qaeda militants from the Canadian government or the and units of the Pakistani army. Canadian public. The “Al Qaeda family” Ahmed Khadr had been keen to enlist that includes at least some of Omar’s his four sons in the cause of radical Islam relatives has become a very negative and arranged for all of them to receive symbol of radical jihadist Islam in the military training at Al Qaeda bases in minds of many people and, rightly or Pakistan and Afghanistan. His eldest wrongly, has hardened their attitudes son, Abdullah, was accused of killing a about Omar and his plight. Canadian soldier in Kabul in early 2004 In 1977, Omar Khadr’s father, Ahmed as part of a suicide bombing mission, a Said Khadr, emigrated from Egypt charge he denied. Jailed in Toronto at the to Canada and later met and married request of U.S. authorities in late 2005, Maha, a Palestinian-born woman. The he was finally released in August 2010 Khadrs had six children—four boys after the Ontario Supreme Court called and two girls—and acquired Canadian for a halt to the proceedings against him. citizenship. Ahmed Khadr first became Another son, Abdurahman, who attracted to the cause of radical calls himself “the black sheep of the Islam after the Soviet Union invaded family,” was arrested as an Al Qaeda Afghanistan in late 1979. The invasion suspect in 2001 and spent some time had triggered widespread resistance in Guantanamo before being sent back

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 12 to Afghanistan. He returned to Canada Marines’ version of the story, arguing in 2003 and has totally renounced the that Khadr would have been too severely radical Islamist beliefs of his family. wounded to have been able to throw the Finally, Abdul Karim, Omar’s youngest deadly grenade, which in all likelihood brother, was severely wounded in the had been thrown by another Al Qaeda same firefight that killed his father. fighter who was subsequently killed in Paralyzed from the waist down, he now the firefight. lives with his mother and sisters in Khadr steadfastly maintained his Toronto. innocence from the time of his capture and internment at Guantanamo Bay until A Firefight in Khost he finally decided to plead guilty of On July 27, 2002, Omar Khadr was part murdering Speer in return for a much- of an Al Qaeda fighting squad that found reduced sentence. A confession that itself cornered by a U.S. Marine unit the prosecution presented as evidence near the southern Afghan town of Khost. at the trial, purporting to prove that After rejecting appeals to surrender and Khadr had admitted tossing the grenade, killing the Afghan translators sent in to was alleged to have been extracted by negotiate with them, the fighters were intimidation, including the threat of gang subjected to a relentless bombardment rape if he did not co-operate. from the air. Then a Marine Special Forces unit moved in on the besieged Remaining Questions insurgents, firing into their bombed- The Khadr case is unique in many ways out compound. It was at this point that and has raised a number of questions. a grenade was tossed over the wall, Among them are: Is Omar Khadr really landing directly at the feet of Sgt. Chris a committed jihadist, or terrorist, or is Speer, killing him instantly. A few he instead a child soldier? Did Khadr minutes later, a badly wounded Omar in fact throw the grenade that killed the Khadr was dragged from the ruins of the U.S. Marine in Afghanistan? Was Khadr compound, mumbling incoherently. subjected to mistreatment bordering According to Sgt. Layne Morris, who on torture during his confinement at was wounded by the same grenade that Guantanamo? Did Khadr’s trial meet killed Speer, there is no question that international standards of justice? What Omar Khadr was the person who threw will happen to Khadr upon his return to the grenade. But at the trial, Khadr’s Canada after serving an additional year defence team cast serious doubts on the in Guantanamo?

Follow-up 1. With a partner or in a small group, compare your responses with the Focus for Reading at the beginning of this section. What aspects of the case of Omar Khadr do you consider to be most controversial and why?

2. Read, discuss, and respond to the five questions above concerning the unique and controversial nature of the Khadr case. Share your response with the rest of the class and determine if any consensus can be reached on them.

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 13 THE TRIAL OF OMAR KHADR Child Soldiers Reading Prompt As you read this section, make a list of points that could be used to argue the questions: “Can Omar Khadr be considered a child soldier?” and “Should he be considered a child soldier?” Roméo Dallaire is a Canadian senator are signatories—forbids nations or and a retired military officer. In 1994, he belligerent groups at war in civil was the commander of a United Nations conflicts from recruiting anyone under peacekeeping mission in Rwanda where the age of 18 to fight. But despite this a brutal genocide occurred. Almost a protocol, a number of countries and decade later, in 2003, he wrote a book fighting groups in Africa, Asia, and the titled Shake Hands with the Devil, a Middle East make use of child soldiers. graphic account of his experiences in To Dallaire, the phenomenon, however Rwanda and a devastating indictment horrifying to many people in the West, of the international community for its makes a kind of perverse sense. As he failure to take action to prevent the comments, “it may seem unimaginable to slaughter of almost one million people. you that child soldiers exist and yet the One aspect of the brutal conflict reality for many rebel and gang leaders, in Rwanda that particularly troubled and even state governments, is that Dallaire was the use of child soldiers by there is no more complete end-to-end the various militia groups at war with weapon system in the inventory of war each other. But the phenomenon of child machines than the child solder. Man has soldiers is not restricted to Rwanda. created the ultimate cheap, expendable, Unfortunately it is a widespread practice yet sophisticated human weapon at the in many war zones worldwide. As a expense of humanity’s own future: its result of a decade studying the use of children” (Shake Hands With the Devil: child soldiers, Dallaire concludes that as The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, many as 250 000 children, both boys and 2004). girls, may be serving as child soldiers at In October 2010, Dallaire released his the present time. latest book, They Fight Like Soldiers: Children make excellent “cannon They Die Like Children, a call to action fodder,” or disposable fighters, for for people worldwide, especially the those cynical and cold-hearted enough young, to pressure their governments to employ them in combat roles. They to act to ban the practice of using child are often forcibly removed from their soldiers in combat. He created a Web families at an early age and taken to site to promote his campaign and held a isolated military camps for training number of book-launches across Canada and indoctrination. There they are to inform the public and the media of his brainwashed, physically and sexually views on this issue. Coincidentally, the abused, and intimidated into becoming publication of Dallaire’s book coincided mini-fighting machines that their adult with the trial of Omar Khadr. In superiors may use for their own ends. Dallaire’s opinion, there was no question The United Nations Convention on the that Omar Khadr was indeed a child Rights of the Child—to which Canada soldier who had been manipulated and and most of the world’s countries intimidated into fighting for Al Qaeda

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 14 at a young age at the hands of his father standing. It has already happened. [The and other friends and family members. Khadr decision] is going dead against Dallaire was highly critical of the Geneva Conventions we have agreed the Canadian government for not to, the conventions that call for child recognizing Khadr as a child soldier and soldiers to be handled differently and that insisting that he be treated as such while those who use child soldiers to be seen as in U.S. confinement at Guantanamo conducting crimes against humanity. We Bay. In his view, the sentence Khadr have pushed that internationally. We’ve received was a travesty that could serve been tested with one of our own and as a dangerous precedent for other child have failed flagrantly” (The Globe and soldiers facing trial for their actions Mail, November 4, 2010). in the future. In addition, the most Dallaire noted that Canada’s failure important and troubling aspect of the to secure a temporary seat on the UN Khadr case to Dallaire is what it says Security Council in October 2010 may about Canada and its principles. have been partly the result of its position He believes that the federal on the Omar Khadr case. But the federal government’s abandonment of Omar government, along with the U.S. military Khadr signifies a disturbing shift in tribunal that found Khadr guilty, has Canada’s moral values and how they believed all along that he does not meet are communicated to the rest of the the definition of a child soldier since he world. As he notes, “this country is was a willing, and even eager, participant changing its fundamental philosophy in the conflict that cost the life of Marine towards humanity and values and moral Sgt. Speer.

Follow-up 1. With a partner or in a small group, compare your answers in the opening questions. Create a list of pro and con points that could be used to argue either side of each question. Determine which arguments you think are most persuasive and why, and report on your findings to the class.

2. Why is Roméo Dallaire particularly well qualified to speak on the issue of child soldiers and their use in conflicts worldwide?

3. Why does Dallaire believe that Omar Khadr is a child soldier as far as international agreements on this issue are concerned?

4. What damage does Dallaire think Canada’s position on the Khadr case has caused this country’s international reputation? Do you agree? Why or why not?

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 15 THE TRIAL OF OMAR KHADR Mixed Sentiments Instructions The case of Omar Khadr has aroused strong opinions on both sides of the controversy. Here is a selection of commentaries on the issue, presenting very different viewpoints of Omar Khadr’s background, actions, the trial, and his future. For each of the following statements, summarize the main points being made in them, and indicate whether or not you agree with them and why.

“While military trial proceedings may be coming to an end in Omar Khadr’s case, the obligation of the U.S. authorities to address serious concerns about human rights violations suffered by him does not end. The U.S.A. authorities have ignored their international duties in the treatment of children, which was the case when Omar Khadr was arrested eight years ago. The U.S.A. must abandon military commissions and bring any Guantanamo detainee it intends to prosecute to trial in ordinary civilian federal court, in accordance with international fair trial standards. Any detainee it does not intend to prosecute should be immediately released.” — Rob Freer, Amnesty International U.S.A. (www.amnesty.org/en/node/19264)

“Omar Khadr would have been a different person with a different family. So what? So would we all. There’s no retroactive mercy for felons who’ve grown up with lousy parents, in deranged households, taught wickedly in the ways of the world. That defence doesn’t work for child molesters, rapists, and serial killers, many of whom were subjected to horrific mental and physical abuse, scars that never fade. I see no reason why it should be asserted in an absolving excuse for the crimes to which Khadr has now admitted—because he had the misfortune of being born into an Al Qaeda family. Nowhere does there exist an iota of evidence that Khadr regrets anything: not the circumstances of his childhood, the grooming for prepubescent terrorism, the tutoring in explosives-making, the bombs he planted and the grenade he threw, the idolizing of Osama bin Laden, the contempt for Western society—a society which, it should not be forgotten, the odious Khadr clan fled back to at the first opportunity, for all the protections and privileges it affords.” — Rosie Di Manno, columnist (, October 28, 2010)

“Khadr’s guilty plea allows him to be released to a Canadian jail to serve out seven of his eight remaining years. Somehow, I doubt he will remain behind bars once he is remanded to a country that obeys international law about treatment of child soldiers and prohibits abuse, coercion, and torture in interrogations. But it remains a source of shame for Canada’s government that, for so long, it bowed to U.S. pressure and did so little to rescue this misguided teen from the custody he will now have to endure for only one more year. I don’t know how anyone who cares about the integrity and moral standing of the United States can absorb the full details of this case and not be profoundly ashamed. To prosecute a child soldier, already nearly killed in battle, tortured and abused in custody, and to imprison him for this length of time and even now, convict him of charges for which there is next to no proof but his own extorted confessions . . . well, words fail.” — Andres Sullivan, writer (The Atlantic, October 2010, www.andresullivan.theatlantic.com’the-daily-dish/2010/10/omar- khadrs=guilty-plea.html)

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 16 “Mr. Khadr is a polarizing figure, to put it mildly. To sympathizers, he is a former child soldier who was brainwashed by his family, held without trial for years and obviously mistreated. They argue he deserves rehabilitation, not jail. To foes, he was a hardened young fighter. ‘That wasn’t a panicky teenager we encountered that day,’ Sergeant First Class Layne Morris, who lost his right eye in the ambush, told the Boston Globe last month. ‘That was a trained Al Qaeda operative who wanted to make his last act on earth the killing of an American.’ As far as they’re concerned, it’s a shame we don’t have the power to send the entire Khadr clan packing.” — Margaret Wente, columnist (The Globe and Mail, October 26, 2010)

“Omar Khadr is scaring us silly. Fear and loathing of the man and the extremism he was recruited to serve is more destructive than bombs to the freedoms open societies claim to hold dear. By trampling defined legal and human rights, the U.S. and Canada are handing terrorists a victory they could never have won alone. Sooner rather than later Khadr will return home having exposed our rubbery confidence in values that have guided enlightened democracies through crises for nearly 800 years. That’s quite an accomplishment for a teenager misled into combat by a lunatic father. It couldn’t have been achieved without our help.” — James Travers, columnist (Toronto Star, November 2, 2010)

“I can work up no genuine concern for Omar Khadr, nor, conversely, any real animosity. In this regard, I think I am like a lot of Canadians. I don’t wish him dead or anything but I don’t want him freed, either. All I know is that I don’t want him here in Canada, unless he is in a prison cell. He is both a jihadi and a Canadian citizen. And while there must never be different classes of citizens, I suspect Khadr is more of a jihadi than a Canadian, so my concern for his fate is weak. I don’t blame Khadr fully for how his life has turned out, but I don’t absolve him of all personal blame, either. His father, the Al Qaeda jihadi fundraiser, and his mother, the terrorist sympathizer, are probably mostly at fault for what he has become. But Omar is himself now 23 and shows no remorse for his teenage participation in Islam’s holy war on the West. He may be his father’s son, but he also now has the chance to be his own man and he is showing no signs of regret for his earlier actions. . . . Khadr has not been let down by the Canadian nation, as his Canadian lawyer, Dennis Edney insisted. He seems a remorseless individual, who has done all he can, before and since his capture, to spit on the Western values his supporters now appeal to. I blame no Canadian who is indifferent to what happens to him now.” — Lorne Gunter, journalist (National Post, October 27, 2010, www.nationalpost.com/2010/10/27/lorne-gunter-maybe-its-not- khards-fault-but-its-not-mine-either/)

Follow-up 1. With a partner or in a small group, compare the notes you made for each quote. Discuss your responses with your partner and, when you have finished, present your views to the rest of the class.

2. As you read each of these statements, divide them into two groups: “pro” and “anti” Omar Khadr. What similarities in the arguments and points of view can you identify in each group?

3. In your own words, describe the appeal that each statement seems to be making to the reader. How does the author attempt to win the reader over to her/his point of view? How successful do you think s/he is?

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 17 THE TRIAL OF OMAR KHADR Activity: A Letter to Stephen Harper

Ever since he was elected Prime Minister in January 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper refused to intervene on behalf of Omar Khadr. The position of Harper’s Conservative government was that the charges Khadr faced did not involve Canada. It was, therefore, up to the United States to deal with him. Even after a federal appeal court ruled in early 2009 that the government had an obligation to request Khadr’s return to Canada from captivity at Guantanamo Bay, Harper held firm and appealled the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada. In January 2010, the Supreme Court concluded that Khadr’s rights as a Canadian citizen had been violated but made no specific demand that the government seek his repatriation. Although some observers interpreted the court’s ruling as a setback for Harper, the government used it as an argument to continue its policy of inaction and non-involvement in the Khadr case up to the beginning of his trial in August 2010. As part of the plea bargain that Khadr and his lawyers negotiated with U.S. officials in late October, the Canadian government was required to permit his return to this country in order to serve the final seven years of his sentence. Although both Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon denied any involvement in the behind-the-scenes talks leading up to the deal, it later became obvious that the federal government had bowed to U.S. pressure and was reluctantly acquiescing to Khadr’s return home. Throughout the years of controversy the Khadr case has generated, the federal government has come under sustained criticism for its inaction. The three opposition parties, much of the media, and a number of highly regarded organizations such as Amnesty International, the Canadian Bar Association, and the Canadian Council of Churches all called on Harper to act decisively. However, Khadr did plead guilty in a U.S. military court to all charges he was facing. There is no doubt he was trained by Al Qaeda and was involved in a fight against U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan where one U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded.

Your Task Now that the case of Omar Khadr has finally been resolved, write a letter to Prime Minster Stephen Harper and/or Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, expressing your views on how the federal government responded to the capture, imprisonment, and trial of Omar Khadr. In your letter, indicate whether or not you agree with the government’s policy on this matter, and why; and if you disagree, state what alternative position you think the government should have taken. You may want to include arguments or excerpts from the quotes in the Mixed Sentiments section in this Resource Guide on pages 16-17. Mail (no postage required) or e-mail your letter to: Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2 E-mail: [email protected]

CBC News in Review • December 2010 • Page 18