He looks like a child; crying, begging for help, but he receives no sympathy or comfort from the strangers sat opposite him. Beyond the grainy, low quality video that only reveals a pale faced man in an orange jump suit; he is a child. He is a boy of only sixteen, yet the strangers have not come to help him, instead they are there to exploit the trust and desperation of this young man. The strangers joke about his wounds, "I'm not a doctor, but you look like you're getting good medical care," he soon realises that they are not there to help him. The strangers are his own countrymen, and this sixteen year-old boy who has been subjected to weeks of sleep deprivation is a Canadian citizen.
Six years after he was first detained, videos of Omar Khadr being interrogated by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in Guantanamo have been released. They are the first videos of a Gitmo interrogation to ever be released. In the words of a Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) official, he is very simply a "screwed up young man".
In a liberal democracy, where humanity unites society, we would expect a vulnerable teenager who has been driven to terrorism by his family and his background to be given help. We would expect rehabilitation to be the most pressing concern as with any other young offender. Instead, Omar was shipped of to Gitmo where, at the very least, he was deprived of sleep for days on end, his lawyers aledge more.
The US illegally detained and are rumoured to have tortured him, the CSIS cooperated, and aided his captors at Gitmo instead of fighting for the rights of one of their own citizens. This is revealed on the same day that the Guardian's front page alleges that MI-5 (British internal intelligence) and the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, commonly known as MI-6, British external intelligence) colluded with the Inter-Service Intelligence (Pakistani intelligence service) to have British terrorist suspects, British citizens among them tortured in Pakistan. Welcome to the West, liberty for all, unless our governments decide otherwise.
One of my favourite bloggers is a survivor of the 7/7 London terrorist attacks. She opposed the new 42-day British detention law, her argument was that we can never be truly safe, so why destroy the civil liberties that we have fought so hard for in trying.
Omar puts his head in his arms, begins pulling at his hair, "KILL ME! KILL ME! KILL ME!" he sobs. Six years later his story makes only fourth bill on BBC News after a kidnap suspect winning libel, the trial of a man who faked his own death, and rising inflation. Something is very wrong when we have lost the ability to be shocked by the illegal detention and 'soft' torture of a sixteen year-old boy, for six years by the most powerful and supposedly moral country in the world.
Al-Qaeda doesn't make terrorists, the CIA does.
Tuesday 15 July 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Hypocrisy of the "Repatriate Omar Khadr to Canada" Movement
As soon as the Gitmo interrogation tape of Omar Khadr hit the Internet, the blogosphere was flooded with demands to repatriate him to Canada. This wave is reminiscent of a Soviet campaign to free Luis Corvalán from the "fascist regime" of Augusto Pinochet thirty five years ago. The scenario is strikingly similar. A "victim" held by "fascist regimes" this time run by Bush and Harper, and a public outcry for justice. Except for the fact that Luis Corvalán didn't kill anyone and didn't fight for a terrorist group that wants to impose Sharia.
The "repatriate Khadr" crowd describes him as "a child", "a kid", "a boy", and even "a torture victim", with no facts to substantiate the torture claims notwithstanding. They complain about Khadr being mistreated, again, without anything to back up their claims. Some of them are outraged about "child abuse." And they all scream for justice.
They want justice? OK, let's talk about JUSTICE. What about justice for Sgt. First Class Christopher J. Speer, who was (according to an eyewitness) murdered by this "child"? What about justice for Tabitha Speer, who is a widow because of this "kid"? What about justice for Taryn and Tanner Speer, who are left without a father by this "a boy"? And what about all those Afghani civilians and NATO troops who are a little bit safer because this "torture victim" is behind bars? How many of these "repatriate Khadr" hypocrites concern themselves with justice for real victims? In literally hundreds of posts, we couldn't find a single one.
One would ask, what is the reason for this idiocy? The answer is simple. Ignorance. Complete and utter ignorance. Let's forget for a second that Omar Khadr killed Christopher Speer. Let's forget that Khadr's father was an al Qaeda financier. Let's forget that Khadr's family is known for it being al Qaeda sympathizers. Let's just remember what this "child" was fighting for in Afghanistan.
This is what Taliban-imposed Sharia looks like in real life: http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2000/07/hypocrisy-of-repatriate-omar-khadr-to.html
Why don't all of you, bleeding heart demagogues go to Afghanistan and spend a day in a Taliban-controlled territory? And let's talk about Khadr when you get back. If you get back.
American Muslim, not Muslim-American, you talk a lot about justice; that is exactly my point. Locking someone up for years without a trial whilst subjecting them to sleep deprivation (don't know about you, but most civilised people would call that at the very least soft torture) prevents everyone from getting justice.
The family and friends of Sgt. Speer will only receive justice if and when Khadr is tried in a legitimate court of law (not the fake tribunals that take place in Gitmo). But the most important thing to remember is, Khadr is not guilty because the Bush administration has failed to prosecute him and many other suspects. Under the eyes of the law we are all equal, no matter who we are or what we are alleged to have done. And we are all innocent until proven guilty.
One last thing, you yourself acknowledge that Khadr's family are known to be al Qaeda sympathisers. One could question how a kid who has been brought up in that kind of environment can be truly responsible for his actions. What do you expect someone who his been indoctrinated into that kind of belief system since birth to do. This is of course a problem for all societies that allow parents to chose the religion of a bady that cannot speak let alone understand the religion that their parents have just chosen for them.
For the record, he was 15 years-old when he was sent to Gitmo, hence, a child and teenager.
"Locking someone up for years without a trial" is perfectly legal (for combatants) until cessation of hostilities.
"whilst subjecting them to sleep deprivation" - I don't know about you, but most civilized people understand the difference between facts and allegations.
"The family and friends of Sgt. Speer will only receive justice if and when Khadr is tried in a legitimate court of law" - Again, most civilized people do not present their opinions as facts.
"Under the eyes of the law we are all equal" - Of course, but YOU don't get to choose to apply a civil law to a military problem just because you don't like the rules of war. (See above)
"One could question how a kid who has been brought up in that kind of environment can be truly responsible for his actions."
You've got to be shitting me! Are you saying that a 12-year-old asshole who beheaded an "American spy" on video does not deserve to be put down? Chances are he was brain washed from his birth. What about someone like bin Laden if he were brainwashed from his birth?
"What do you expect someone who his been indoctrinated into that kind of belief system since birth to do." To be a homicidal maniac. Just I expect him to be a homicidal maniac when he is 20, 30, or 40.
"For the record, he was 15 years-old when he was sent to Gitmo, hence, a child and teenager."
Are you making a point that a 15-year-old brainwashed murderer is less dangerous than a 30-year-old brainwashed murderer? Do you think that his age makes any difference for Speer's family?
""Locking someone up for years without a trial" is perfectly legal (for combatants) until cessation of hostilities. " Really, well you may want to ask the US Supreme Court about that because I think they would disagree with you.
""Under the eyes of the law we are all equal" - Of course, but YOU don't get to choose to apply a civil law to a military problem just because you don't like the rules of war. (See above)" That's right, but I wonder if you would kindly tell me which law they are being held under, military or civil. Because the Bush administration has argued that the Geneva Convention does not apply. That means they are not being held under military law because then it would apply. Similarly, civil law doesn't apply because if it did they would have the right to habeas corpus and access to a lawyer. Far from me making up the law as I go along, that is what Bush has done.
"Are you saying that a 12-year-old asshole who beheaded an "American spy" on video does not deserve to be put down?" Err let me think... YES. No matter what this person has done he is not a dog and how dare you have the audacity to treat him like one. "Put him down" Fuck Off, if he has killed someone he should be tried and, if found guilty, given a prison sentence. The thing that separates us from the Barbarism of several middle-eastern states (see here http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/21/iran.humanrights) is that we do not kill people who commit crime.
Besides, he is 21 years-old, how sick can you be that you would want to kill someone who is barely a quarter of the way through their life. What makes us better than other region of the world is that we offer people second chances. We help criminals instead of killing them. It's called humanity.
"you may want to ask the US Supreme Court about that because I think they would disagree with you."
It's pretty funny when someone tries to use a source without actually understanding what the source said. Supreme Court did not accept the label of unlawful combatant. By 5 to 4, I might add. If those terrorists were classified as enemy combatants and given Geneva Convention protections, the issue of trials would not have arisen.
"I wonder if you would kindly tell me which law they are being held under, military or civil."
Hard to say. War on Terror is a new era in the legal field. There should be a modified version of military law that would allow for interrogation of unlawful combatants, but it does not exist. That's why the government is trying to use existing laws while avoiding extraordinary rendition. If the new law is not created soon, no new terror suspects will be held on American-controlled territory. They all will end up in Jordan or Egypt or elsewhere. If you're so worried about their rights being violated, is that what you really want?
"Because the Bush administration has argued that the Geneva Convention does not apply."
That's right. Khadr (and Taliban) do not qualify for at least two reasons: no recognizable insignia and no adherence to the rules of war.
"Err let me think... YES."
How about he is sent for "rehabilitation" somewhere near your family? Are you willing to take that chance?
"No matter what this person has done he is not a dog and how dare you have the audacity to treat him like one."
How dare I? I refer pragmatism over demagoguery. And having lived under Sharia, I may know a little bit what I'm talking about. Once your murder for Allah, there is not going back. And for the record, I would never treat a dog like I would that 12-year-old piece of shit.
"Fuck Off, if he has killed someone he should be tried and, if found guilty, given a prison sentence."
He cut someone's head off on video. If he did it to a dumbfuck like you, I would have no problems with that. Unfortunately, he did it to a an innocent civilian.
"The thing that separates us from the Barbarism of several middle-eastern states"
But only a dumbfuck brings a knife to a gunfight.
"is that we do not kill people who commit crime."
Dumbshits like you don't. We, as Americans, do. Unfortunately, not often enough.
"how sick can you be that you would want to kill someone who is barely a quarter of the way through their life."
If he weren't put down on the battlefield, he should be contained until cessation of hostilities. As for 21-year old, it would be hilarious to see you if a 21-year-old murdered one of your loved ones. Don't get me wrong, I don't wish ill on any of your loved ones, I'd just want to see your reaction.
"we offer people second chances."
Speak for yourself, asshole. There are crimes that do not deserve second chances. Terrorism is one of them.
And since the original post was about hypocrisy of morons like you, what about second chances for Chris Speer and his family?
Post a Comment