Khadr - Pleads Guilty to Terror Charges

[Goober]

Omar Khadr, the only Canadian, only child soldier and only Guantanamo Bay detainee charged with battlefield homicide in the killing a U.S. soldier, pleaded guilty to all terrorism and murder charges on Monday.
“Yes” said Mr. Khadr, when Army Col Patrick Parrish, the military judge asked him if he understood what he was doing.

He agreed, for instance, that he was an "alien, unprivileged, enemy belligerent," unqualified therefore to shoot back or engage in combat hostilities with U.S. or other coalition forces. He said he understood he was guilty of "murder in violation of the laws of war" and that he was a member of al-Qeada.
Now 24, Mr. Khadr was only 15 when he was gravely wounded by a U.S. air strike in Afghanistan. He has been in U.S. prisons ever since – more than one-third of his life.
“You should only do this if you truly believe it is in your best interests,” Col. Parrish told Mr. Khadr.
"Yes,” he replied again, his voice clear and direct in the hushed courtroom.


Omar Khadr pleads guilty to all terrorism charges - The Globe and Mail

 

[petros]

That's not pleading to terror charges. It's war crimes.

 

[JLM]

That's not pleading to terror charges. It's war crimes.

Given his age at the time, the sh*t he put up with at Guitanimo, he should be sentenced to time served and be put on a strict monitoring program including community service and be allowed no association with terrorists.

 

[mentalfloss]

Ah. So, they did offer him something under the table.

 

[Praxius]

He agreed, for instance, that he was an "alien, unprivileged, enemy belligerent," unqualified therefore to shoot back or engage in combat hostilities with U.S. or other coalition forces.

^ I love this part..... so if I started getting shot at and attacked by a bunch of soldiers..... I'd be expected to just sit there and wait to be killed...... and if I even tried to defend myself, those attacking soldiers would cry foul that I just didn't lie down and die?

Great way to fight a war.

It's funny that even if he did commit the crimes they accuse him of, that because he was an "Alien" of that nation, AKA: Foreigner possibly fighting in Afghanistan..... that those same rules do not apply to the Foreign NATO/American troops blowing stuff up in a Country that isn't theirs either, and are only allowed to fight there because they said so.........

.... well what if he said so?

This whole thing reminds me of a bully continually beating up smaller kids in the playground during recess, then suddenly gets punched in the face and he runs to the principle to cry foul.

Petty.

Regardless if he did it or not, he was still a minor and should have been treated as a child soldier..... and I personally don't care what someone recites towards the definition of what qualifies as a child soldier..... if he was a part of the Al'Q, and if the US declared war on Terrorism, AKA: The Taliban and Al'Q..... then they declared war on him as well if he was a part of the Al'Q..... therefore he qualifies as a child soldier.

Anyways, I suspected things would eventually end this way.... it's the only way anybody else in Gitmo or in any other US prison camps around the world were ever released back to their homes to live a normal life again...... confess to trumped up charges so the US can sit back and show off to the world that their corrupt, made-up legal process for this crap actually works.

 

[captain morgan]

Given his age at the time, the sh*t he put up with at Guitanimo, he should be sentenced to time served and be put on a strict monitoring program including community service and be allowed no association with terrorists.

What about the sh*t that the dead soldiers family gets to deal with every day?

I don't want that broken SOB anywhere within a 1000 kms of my community; you willing to take him into yours?

It's funny that even if he did commit the crimes they accuse him of, that because he was an "Alien" of that nation, AKA: Foreigner possibly fighting in Afghanistan..... that those same rules do not apply to the Foreign NATO/American troops blowing stuff up in a Country that isn't theirs either, and are only allowed to fight there because they said so.........

Khadr wasn't invited to Afhganistan by the national government.... NATO was.

 

[Colpy]

What about the sh*t that the dead soldiers family gets to deal with every day?

I don't want that broken SOB anywhere within a 1000 kms of my community; you willing to take him into yours?





Khadr wasn't invited to Afhganistan by the national government.... NATO was.

No.

I'd have been much happier if the US soldiers had blown his brains out on the battlefield. Or turned him over to Afghani authorities, who would have blown his brains out shortly thereafter.

But they didn't. They took him into custody, and transfered him to a US base outside Afghanistan. At that point their responsibility to him kicked in. Either he had to be treated as a POW, in which case he can not be tried for fighting (and obviously none of the prisoners at Gitmo are treated like POWS.......no matter how good their treatment is)......or they had to treat him as criminal, and try him thusly.

His trial was blatantly unconstitutional. The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution specifically forbids military trials except for those serving in the US military at the time of the offense.

Then there is the issue of his age. Too young.

Then there is the issue of the gov't playing games with his trial........manipulating the removal of sympathetic judges and his lawyer, who was far too diligent in his defense, in their opinion.

It has been a kangeroo court. The Canadian government should have demanded his release into Canadian hands a long time ago, when it became clear how Kafkaesque his "trial" was becoming.

Now, for those who think I am getting soft, I want the adults in his family tried for treason, convicted, and hanged from lamp posts down Yonge St, left there to rot as a warning.

And I'm not kidding.

 

[DurkaDurka]

Now, for those who think I am getting soft, I want the adults in his family tried for treason, convicted, and hanged from lamp posts down Yonge St, left there to rot as a warning.

And I'm not kidding.

Leave Yonge Street out of this would you, I believe his family hails from Scarberia.

 

[Praxius]

Khadr wasn't invited to Afhganistan by the national government.... NATO was.

Ah yes..... considering before the invasion, the government of Afghanistan was those the US is currently fighting in the first place, forcibly removed them, tossed in their own puppet government, which in turn "Invited" the already occupying force into their country?

Yeah, I'll hold that as a legitimate argument :-?

Cuz I'm sure the Taliban/Al'Q invited the US to carpet bomb everything in their country and to drive them out of power, only to install a puppet government to do the US's bidding....... that'd explain why they're still fighting US/NATO forces. :roll:

Twist it any manner you wish..... in the end, my point still stands towards the US declaring war on the Taliban/Al'Q and Terrorism in general..... therefore if Omar was really a part of the Al'Q or the Taliban and was fighting for them like the US claims, and the US declared war on those organizations, then they declared war on him, and thus..... is qualified as a child soldier.

 

[Colpy]

Leave Yonge Street out of this would you, I believe his family hails from Scarberia.

Sorry....I kinda thought the redecoration of Yonge St in that fashion might be seen as a kind of urban renewal.....

Even more so for Scarberia, I guess.....

 

[captain morgan]

No.

To my knowledge, NATO did not invade, nor did the prevailing national gvt issue a formal complaint on the NATO forces being in place.

I'd have been much happier if the US soldiers had blown his brains out on the battlefield. Or turned him over to Afghani authorities, who would have blown his brains out shortly thereafter.

Agreed... Personally, I'd have preferred that he be turned over to the Afghan authorities to be severely abused by the Afghans.

His trial was blatantly unconstitutional. The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution specifically forbids military trials except for those serving in the US military at the time of the offense.

To my knowledge, military law operates on its own principles which (rightly or wrongly) are different (enough) from those constitutional laws that apply in the continental US.

Further, precedence was/is set when the Germans were tried and penalized by an outside authority during WWI and WWII.

Then there is the issue of his age. Too young.

Personally, I disagree for a variety of reasons, however, to be considered as a "child soldier", he would have to comply with the definitions set out that include being an identifiable member of an recognized group.

Khadr was/is a child terrorist... The difference between soldier and terrorist results in all bets being off in terms of attempting to straddle the fence on the child soldier issue.

Then there is the issue of the gov't playing games with his trial........manipulating the removal of sympathetic judges and his lawyer, who was far too diligent in his defense, in their opinion. It has been a kangeroo court. The Canadian government should have demanded his release into Canadian hands a long time ago, when it became clear how Kafkaesque his "trial" was becoming.

the legal game is so rife with these "games" that it is essentially a part of the system. Lets face facts, Khadr played his game, as did his lawyer (passing-out at the trial).

 

[petros]

It's Khadr dad who needs to be strung up by the nuts. He created the Omar that is on trial. Not Omar himself.

 

[JLM]

In a heart beat- on a trade for 3 major drug pushers. :smile:

 

[petros]

In a heart beat- on a trade for 3 major drug pushers. :icon_smile:

Lets keep the western security agencies out of this.

 

[captain morgan]

In a heart beat- on a trade for 3 major drug pushers. :smile:

Sorry JLM, we're not trading hockey cards here... You want the poor misunderstood, wee little lamb... he's all yours.

 

[petros]

Mmmmmm lamb chops.

 

[Cliffy]

What about the sh*t that the dead soldiers family gets to deal with every day?

I don't want that broken SOB anywhere within a 1000 kms of my community; you willing to take him into yours?





Khadr wasn't invited to Afhganistan by the national government.... NATO was.

Exsqueeze me, but the national government of Afghanistan was the Taliban at the time of invasion, so no, NATO was not invited to invade Afghanistan. We were invited to stay by the US backed puppet government that replace the Taliban and reinstated the flow of Opium for the benefit of the CIA and US military, which we, as Canadians, are guaranteeing by our presence there.

 

[petros]

What if Khadr had have grenaded a hired guy from Blackwater or some slipshod jackass op like that? I doubt the merc would have had a Afghani working visa or any silly **** like that. How would that be tackled?

 

[captain morgan]

Exsqueeze me, but the national government of Afghanistan was the Taliban at the time of invasion, so no, NATO was not invited to invade Afghanistan. We were invited to stay by the US backed puppet government that replace the Taliban and reinstated the flow of Opium for the benefit of the CIA and US military, which we, as Canadians, are guaranteeing by our presence there.

Afghanistan: History — Infoplease.com
Afghanistan Government 2000 - Flags, Maps, Economy, Geography, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System

Executive branch: on 27 September 1996, the ruling members of the Afghan Government were displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban movement; the Islamic State of Afghanistan has no functioning government at this time, and the country remains divided among fighting factions
note:the Taliban have declared themselves the legitimate government of Afghanistan; however, the UN still recognizes the government of Burhanuddin RABBANI; the Organization of the Islamic Conference has left the Afghan seat vacant until the question of legitimacy can be resolved through negotiations among the warring factions; the country is essentially divided along ethnic lines; the Taliban controls the capital of Kabul and approximately two-thirds of the country including the predominately ethnic Pashtun areas in southern Afghanistan; opposing factions have their stronghold in the ethnically diverse north


The opium/heroin angle is interesting. I'm a little confused though, why would the CIA/US gvt go into Afghanistan and spend 100's of billions to sell 100's of million on drugs... The numbers don't add up.

 

[Praxius]

It's Khadr dad who needs to be strung up by the nuts. He created the Omar that is on trial. Not Omar himself.

Agreed, but since they already killed his father, the US wants to toss all their venom and anger at his son, who was just a kid at the time, whom had very little say in what he could and couldn't do.

A lot of people act as though Omar could afford his own plane ticket over there, joined up to the Al'Q/Taliban on his own free will and did it all on his own..... while at the same time, those same people who seem to believe this will argue against Muslims living in our country because Islam teaches intolerance, woman have very few rights, let alone a say, and children must always obey their father.......

...... which creates a contradiction, since I'm pretty sure his father (whom was known as a supporter for the extremists) told him he was coming to Afghanistan with him and he had very little say in the matter, being only a child and having to obey his father's wishes......

and if he refused, what do you suppose his father would have done to him?

The fact of the matter is that regardless if he was willing and went freely or went because his father told him to or end up dead..... he was still a minor and by our western laws, he is not responsible for such a decision, thus.... once again, classified as a child soldier.

But then the US government and Harper want to act as though that doesn't apply to his decisions/actions, and Harper wants to act as though he was a grown, mature adult responsible for his actions and decisions that lead up to this whole mess..... and thus should be punished like the criminal scum he was already assumed as being..... long before any sort of mockery trial began.

After all, that's what this legal system was invented for...... the people they had apparently were already guilty of some sort of crime and innocent until proven guilty didn't apply to these people.

Even though the greater majority of those detained by the US in relation to their War on Terrorism have since been released without charge or released due to zero evidence other then the hearsay they got from some informant that who they have is a terrorist.

Bush Insider Reveals Guantanamo Deception: Hundreds Of Innocents Jailed
Bush Insider Reveals Guantanamo Deception: Hundreds Of Innocents Jailed

George W. Bush 'knew Guantánamo prisoners were innocent'
George W. Bush 'knew Guantánamo prisoners were innocent' - Times Online

George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld covered up that hundreds of innocent men were sent to the Guantánamo Bay prison camp because they feared that releasing them would harm the push for war in Iraq and the broader War on Terror, according to a new document obtained by The Times. The accusations were made by Lawrence Wilkerson, a top aide to Colin Powell, the former Republican Secretary of State, in a signed declaration to support a lawsuit filed by a Guantánamo detainee. It is the first time that such allegations have been made by a senior member of the Bush Administration.

Colonel Wilkerson, who was General Powell’s chief of staff when he ran the State Department, was most critical of Mr Cheney and Mr Rumsfeld. He claimed that the former Vice-President and Defence Secretary knew that the majority of the initial 742 detainees sent to Guantánamo in 2002 were innocent but believed that it was “politically impossible to release them”........