OMAR  KHADR:  child  terrorist

 What causes a child of 15 years of age to become a terrorist who plants bombs and fights a war against the Americans?

 It was his father, Ahmed Said el-Khadr, an Egyptian/Canadian who encouraged this boy of 15 to be a terrorist. Previously, his father had close ties to a number of militant and Mujahideen leaders, including Osama bin Laden. He was accused of being a ‘senior associate’ and financier of al-Qaeda, while his family insisted that he maintained the contacts to help with his charity work. Ahmad Said al-Khadr met Osama bin Laden in 1985, funneled Canadian taxpayer moneys to him, eventually moving his entire family to Afghanistan to join him. The Canadian government had considered him its country's highest-ranking member of al-Qaeda, and the United Kingdom had his name added to a United Nations list of al-Qaeda members in 1999. On November 19^th 1995, Ayman al-Zawahiri carried out an attack on the Egyptian Embassy in Pakistan, and Ahmed Khadr was named as one of the conspirators. A warrant was sworn for Ahmed Khadr's arrest because of his ties with the late bin Laden. Ahmed Khadr was killed on October 2^nd, 2003 at the age of 55 along with al-Qaeda and Taliban members in a shootout with Pakistani security forces near the Afghanistan border. Following his death, his family moved back to Canada where they remain today. I will tell you something about Omar Khadr’s other family members.

Omar’s mother, now 55, Maha Elsamnah took her then-14-year-old son Omar from Canada to Pakistan in 2001 and enrolled him for Al-Qaeda training. She later stated that the Americans got what they deserved after the 9/11 attack. She also said that she hopes her infant daughter will die fighting Americans. This evil woman returned from Pakistan with another teenage son, Abdul Karim to Canada. The teen flashed a peace sign as his wheelchair was guided past a throng of reporters. He was seriously injured in the same firefight his father was killed in. The Globe and Mail later  quoted Khadr family members as saying that if Abdul Karim is ever going to walk properly again, it will through the efforts of the Canadian health-care system. To mark the occasion of their return, the Globe and Mail on April 9, 2004 quoted Maha Elsamnah as saying that Al-Qaeda-sponsored training camps were the best place for her children. She asked this rhetorical question to the press; “Would you like me to raise my child in Canada to be by the time he's 12 or 13 years old, to be on drugs or having some homosexual relationship? Is it better?”  To answer that question, let me say that it is better than being crippled for the rest of your life and it is better than being held in a prison for many years until you turn into an adult and it is certainly better than ending your life as a suicide bomber.  

His sister, Zaynab, now 33, was engaged to a terrorist and married at age 15 with Osama bin Laden himself being present at the nuptials. She was a Qaeda member in 1999. Zaynab and her mother are both on passport ‘control’ lists, meaning they will no longer be issued Canadian passports due to the frequency with which they reported losing their passports since 1999. When she returned to Canada, security officials met her at the airport bearing a search warrant  that stated that Zaynab Khadr had willingly participated and contributed both directly and indirectly towards enhancing the ability of Al Qaeda. They seized her laptop, DVDs, audiocassettes, diary and  files. They claimed that from the info found in the seized material, they were able to determine the present locations of multiple al-Qaeda veterans, though were not able to produce any evidence to charge her. Zaynab offered the defence that she had purchased the computer second-hand seven months before her trip. Zaynab, like her mother, also endorsed the 9/11 atrocities. In 2004, Zaynab appeared in a documentary entitled Son of al Qaeda, during which she made the following comment concerning the September 11th attacks;  “We don't like seeing people killed. At the same time, when you're seeing your people being killed and killed and killed, every day, every day, every day, and then you see whoever is doing this being killed, you don't want to feel happy. They deserve it. They've been doing it for such a long time, why shouldn't they feel it once in a while?” Zaynab was been involved in arranging support for other Canadians accused of militant actions in the War on  Terror,  notably attending the bail hearings and prelimiaries for the accused men and youths arrested in Toronto, Canada in 2006 and later tried in Brampton. She maintained that many of the accused were friends of her family. She is currently 32 years of age.

Abdurahman, now 30; admitted he received training at an al-Qaeda terror camp in Afghanistan. He also admitted during a televised interview that he was “raised to become a suicide bomber.”  He was was captured by coalition forces in November 2001 and has claimed that he agreed to work for the Central Intelligence Agency in Kabul, and at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as a mole,  and also in Bosnia. He also claimed that he agreed to work for the FBI. Quite frankly, I doubt these claims. because according to him, the people at the CIA would know that once he was captured, the people he was to spy on would be very suspicious of him. He was returned to Canada in October 2003, where he later denounced both extremism (“I want to be a good, strong, civilized, peaceful Muslim”) and his family's terroristic ways. He described the rest of his family members as having been brainwashed by Muslim extremists. I can accept that as being a valid statement. His siblings were no doubt brainwashed by their parents. Abdurahman doesn`t live with his mother any longer and is the father of a child of his own.

Son Abdulkareem now 23; is half-paralyzed by wounds sustained in the October 2003 shoot-out that left his father dead. He is presently living at home in Toronto with his mother. Around 1999, while staying with the family of Ayman al Zawahiri in Kandahar,  the ten-year old Abdulklareem begged the al-Qaeda  leader to let him hold his gun after he returned home one night. al-Zawahiri relented, and let him inspect the weapon. On October 2^nd, 2003, Pakistani AH-1 Cobra gunships and security forces attacked the house in the Pakistani region of South Waziristan where Abdulkareem, just 14 at the time, was staying with his father and seven others  including Hamza al-Jowfi, al-Iraqi, Khalid Habib and Qari Ismail. When testifying about a three-month camp he attended when he was about 13 or 14, Khadr explained that learning about basic weapons training, rocket launchers, grenade launchers and how to detonate explosives, were part of the Muslim culture and part of growing up in Afghanistan. Pakistani authorities have stated that Abdul Karim was among the combatants during the firefight when he was injured and his father was killed. He was paralyzed after a bullet damaged his spinal cord,  while another lodged in his arm. The 17-year old Abdulkareem was arrested at the scene. Pakistani authorities stated that Abdulkareem was among the combatants. He has admitted buying weapons for al-Qaeda, but maintains that he was merely on friendly terms with its leaders due to his father’s prominence, and not a member himself. He has said that he would “be the first one to stop” any potential attacks against Canada. Shortly after he was injured, he was extradited to ERgypt. The  Globe and Mail quoted Khadr family members saying that if Abdulkareem is ever going to walk properly again, it will through the efforts of the Canadian health-care system.  Canadian officials stated in February 2004 that they would not help offset the medical costs for Abdul to travel home, which was estimated at $30,000, although they would grant him a passport. After entering the country on April 9, 2004, it was suggested that he may not be eligible for OHIP medical coverage, having lived outside of Canada for so long. Three months after returning to Canada he was legally eligible for care.

 Maryam is currently 21. I haven’t seen anything that could be considered detrimental to her at all. Fortunately, she was only 12 when her father was killed so she may not have been brainwashed by him although it is conceivable that she was then and possible even now being brainwashed by her mother.

 And now, I will take you to the main protagonist of this article, Omar Khadr who is currently 25 years of age going on 26. 

 Omar Khadr was born in Toronto's  Scarborough neighbourhood on September 19^th, 1986. His father, Ahmed Khadr,  had raised his family in Preshawar, Pakistan since 1985. His wife also wished to raise her family outside of Canada due to her animosity toward Western social influences. Omar subsequently spent his life moving back and forth between Canada and Pakistan and when he was in Pakistan; he was enrolled in a school in Peshawar. In 1992, Khadr's father was severely injured while in Logar, Afghanistan; the Khadr family moved back to Toronto so he could recuperate. Then the family returned to Pakistan. In 1995, Ahmed Khadr was arrested following Ayman al-Zawahiri's bombing of the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan, and accused of financially aiding the conspirators. Ahmed was hospitalized after engaging in a hunger strike,   and 9-year old Omar spent every night sleeping on the floor beside his father's bed until his father’s release a year later for lack of evidence. Following the 1998 embassy bombings, the United States had retaliated by bombing camps in Afghanistan.  Thus, expecting a similar retaliation following the September 11, 201 attacks, the Khadr family moved towards the Pakistani mountains. In early 2002, Omar was living Waziristan with his mother and younger sister while his father visited infrequently. When his father returned, Omar asked to be allowed to stay at a group home for young men, despite his mother's protests. His father agreed, and a month later allowed him to accompany a group of Arabs associated with Abu Laith al-Libi, (an Afghan militant) who needed a Pashto translator during their stay in Khos. Omar had accompanied three of the men he was staying with, as they went to the village to meet with several other militants. Neither of his parents were told about the meeting, and his father shouted angrily at Abu Laith al Libi following reports of the battle, for not taking care of his son properly.

Beginning in February 2002, a team of American soldiers were using the abandoned Soviet airbase in Khost, Afghanistan as an intelligence-gathering outpost, as they tried to blend in and gain the trust of the local community. In the early morning of July 27, 2002, a team composed of 19^th Special Forces Group, the 505^th Infantry Regiment and a militia  composed of approximately twenty Afghan fighters loyal to mercenary warlord Pacha Khan Zadran and led by Zadran's brother Kamal had been sent from the airbase to the Ab Khail house in search of an elderly wheelchair-using man alleged to be the bomb-maker who had hidden anti-tank mines several weeks earlier. The search turned up no evidence against the occupants of the house.

While at the house, a report came in that a monitored satellite phone, possibly one owned by the Khadrs, had just been used 300–600 metres from the group's present location. Seven soldiers were sent to investigate the site of the phone call. The group was led by Major Randy Watt, and also included Executive Officer, Captain Mike Silver, Sergeant Christopher Speer, Layne Morris and Master Sgt. Scotty Hansen, the three from the 19th Special Forces Group, and Specialist (Spc) Christopher J. Vedvick from the 505th and one other man.  

Arriving at a series of mud huts and a granary  filled with fresh straw surrounded by a 10-foot (3.0 metres) stone wall with a green metal gate approximately 100 metres radius from the main hut, the Special Forces team saw children playing around the buildings and an old man sleeping beneath a nearby tree. Seeing five well-dressed men sitting around a fire in the main residence, with AK-47s visible in the room, The team waited 45 minutes for support from the soldiers searching the first residence, and at one point Morris chided the soldiers from the 82^nd for setting up a defensive perimeter with their backs to the house, rather than properly covering the house itself.

During this time, the elderly man sleeping beneath the tree awoke and began screaming loudly in Pashto, which caused a number of local children to run towards the Americans so that they could interpret for the Americans, explaining that the man was just angry at being awoken. Morris took a photograph of the children standing on the road outside the compound. A crowd of approximately a hundred local Afghans had gathered around the area to watch the events unfold. An Afghan militiaman was sent towards the house to demand the surrender of the occupants, but retreated under gunfire. Reinforcements from the 3^rd Platoon of Bravo Company, 1^st Battalion 505th  Infantry Regiment arrived under the command of Captain Christopher W. Cirino, bringing the total number of Americans and Afghan militia to about fifty. Two of Zadran's militiamen were sent into the compound to speak with the inhabitants, and returned to the Americans' position and reported that the men inside claimed to be Pashtun villagers. They were told to return to the huts, and inform the occupants that the Americans wanted to search their huts regardless of their affiliation. Upon hearing this, the occupants of one of the huts opened fire, shooting both militiamen.

Several women immediately fled the huts and ran away while the occupants began throwing grenades at the American troops, with intermittent rifle fire. Morris and Silver had now taken up positions outside the stone wall, with Silver over Morris's left shoulder explaining where he should try to position his next shot when Morris fell back into Silver, with a cut above his right eye and shrapnel embedded in his nose. Morris was dragged a safe distance from the action, and was shortly thereafter joined by Specialist (Spc.) Michael Rewakowski, Private first class (Pfc.) Brian Worth and Spc. Christopher J. Vedvick who had also been wounded by the grenade attacks. At 0910 a request for MedEvac was sent to the 57^th  Medical Detachment. Ten minutes later, DUSTOFF 36 and Wings 11, a pair of UH-60s, were deployed as well as AH-64 Apaches Widowmaker 23 and Widowmaker 26 as escort. Arriving at the scene, the Apaches strafed the compound with cannon and rocket fire, while the medical helicopters remained 12 miles (19 km) from the ongoing firefight. A pair of F-18 Hornets dropped Mark 82 bombs on the houses. At this point, a five-vehicle convoy of ground reinforcements arrived including a rifle squad from the 82^nd Airborne, bringing the number of troops to approximately a hundred. Two of these vehicles were damaged beyond use by the militants. Ten minutes later, the MedEvac left for Bagram Airbase and a pair of A-10 Warthogs arrived on-scene and began attacking the houses along with the Apaches.

Unaware that Omar and a militant had survived the bombing, the ground forces sent a team consisting of OC-1, Silver, Speer and three Delta Force soldiers went through a hole in the south side of the wall, while at least two other American troops continued throwing grenades into the compound. The team began working their way over the bodies of dead animals and three fighters.  According to Silver's of the story, he then heard a sound “like a gunshot”, and saw the three Delta Force soldiers duck as a grenade flew past them and exploded near Speer, who was at the rear of the group and not wearing his helmet. OC-1 (the term used to mask the identity of a US soldier who shot Omar Khadr) reported that although he didn't hear any gunfire, the dust being blown from an alley on the north side of the complex led him to believe the team was under fire from a shooter between the house and barn. He reported that a grenade was also lobbed over the wall that led to the alley and landed 30–50 metres from the alley opening. While running towards the alley to escape the grenade which he also didn't hear detonate, OC-1 fired a dozen M4 Carbine rounds into the alley as he ran past the alleyway. He later said that he couldn't see anything due to the rising dust clouds. Crouching at the southeast entrance to the alleyway, OC-1 could see a man with two chest wounds and with a holstered pistol in his hand moving on the ground towards an AK-47. From his position, OC-1 fired a single shot into the man's head, killing him.

When the dust cleared, OC-1 saw Omar Khadr crouched on his knees facing away from the action and wounded by shrapnel that had just permanently blinded his left eye. OC-1 shot him two times in the back. I don’t know why he felt that it was necessary to shoot the boy in his back considering the fact at that precise moment; OC-1 was not in imminent peril from the boy.

Silver initially claimed that two Delta Force troops had opened fire, shooting all three of the shots into Khadr's chest, after the youth was seen to be holding a pistol and facing the troops. These claims all directly contradict OC-1's version of events as he was the only eyewitness. OC-1 did agree however, that something was lying in the dust near Omar Khadr's end of the alley, although he couldn't remember if it was a pistol or grenade.

Entering the alleyway, OC-1 saw two dead men who he believed had been killed in the airstrikes along with a damaged AK-47 buried in rubble, and confirmed that the man he had shot was dead. Moving back to Omar Khadr, OC-1 tapped the motionless youth's eye, confirming that he was still alive. Turning him over onto his back, for entering troops to secure, he began exiting the alleyway to find Speer, who he was unaware had been wounded and dying. While leaving the alleyway, he saw a third AK-47 and several grenades. Contradicting Morris' report of five well-dressed men, OC-1 maintained that a search of the rubble determined that there had only been four occupants, all found in the same alleyway. Omar Khadr was given on-site medical attention, during which time he repeatedly asked the medics to kill him, surprising them with his English. An officer present later recorded in his diary that he was about to tell a private to kill the wounded boy, when Delta Force soldiers ordered them not to harm the prisoner. Omar was then loaded aboard a CH-47 helicopter and flown to Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, losing consciousness aboard the flight.

Believing that the wooden boards beneath the last-killed rifleman could have been used to cover an underground chamber, an excavator was used to tear down the walls of the buildings. This demolition uncovered five boxes of rifle ammunition, two rockets, two grenades and three rocket-propelled grenades in the huts. Some of them had previously accidentally detonated while lying in the smouldering ruins. A plastic bag was discovered in the granery, containing documents, wires and a videocassette. OC-1's report claims the videotape was found in the main house, rather than the granary, and also mentioned detonators modeled as Sega game cartridges.

The video shows Omar Khadr toying with detonating cord as other men including Abu Laith-Libi Abu Laith al-Libi assembling explosives in the same house as had just been destroyed, identifiable by its walls, rugs and the environment seen out the windows in the video, and planting landmines while smiling and joking with the cameraman. It has been suggested that these were the same landmines later recovered by American forces on a road between Gardez and Khowst.

Was the boy merely playing the detonating chord in his hands or was he assisting Abu Laith al-Libi in assembling them? If he was merely toying with them, then he wouldn`t have been committing a terrorist act. He should never let himself be video-taped toying with the fuses. The video tape would later come back to haunt him.

Did the video also show Omar Khadr planting landmines while smiling and joking with the cameraman. It has been suggested that these were the same landmines later recovered by American forces on a road between Gardez and Khowst. If that is so, then none of the landmines he planted on the road injured or killed anyone.

What it does prove however is that his actions of planting the mines on the road were actions of a terrorist if Omar was video-taped planting them.  

The unconscious Omar was airlifted to receive medical attention at Bagram, and approximately a week after his arrival, interrogations began immediately after he gained consciousness, although he remained stretcher-bound for several weeks. Col. Marjorie Mosier operated on his eyes after his arrival, though fellow detainee Rhuhel Ahmed later stated that Khadr had been denied other forms of surgery to save his eyesight as punishment for not giving interrogators the answers they sought. Later attempts to acquire darkened sunglasses to protect his failing eyesight were denied for so-called state security reasons. Give me a break. He also stated that he was refused pain medication for his wounds. If these allegations are true, then the conduct of the medical personnel at Bagram was most inappropriate.

Further, he said that his hands tied above a door frame for hours, had cold water thrown on him, had a bag placed over his head and was threatened with military dogs, was fluctuated upon, forced to carry 5-gallon pails of water to aggravate his shoulder wound. He said that he was also not permitted to use washrooms and ended up urinating on himself. His chief interrogator was Joshua Claus, who later pleaded guilty to abusing detainees to extract confessions following the in-custody death of wrongly accused Dilawar that same year.

According to a Motion to suppress ruling by Guantanamo Military Judge Patrick Parrish, various interrogation techniques were used on Omar Khadr at Bagram including:

1.    The Fear Up technique. This technique is described by the judge as a technique used as an attempt to raise the fear level of a detainee. In Omar Khadr's case it included telling him that a detainee who lied to interrogators was raped in the showers by big black guys.   

2  The Love of Freedom and Pride/Ego Down techniques which, according to Judge Parrish are attempts to gather information through appealing to a person's desire to go home or implying that he was not really an important person..

3  The Fear of Incarceration technique which the Judge said was an attempt to gain to cooperation in order to return to a normal life rather than be detained.

Although I feel that suggesting that he will be raped is outrageous, I don’t see anything that was wrong in the other two techniques being used. Following the hearing, the military judge ruled that there was no credible evidence that Omar Khadr had ever been tortured as alleged, and that his confession was gained after it came to light that Americans had discovered a videotape of Khadr and others making IEDs. (Improvised Explosive Devices) I hardly think that the refusal of medical treatment to ease pain and being forced to carry 5-gallon pails of water to aggravate further pain cannot be construed as a form of torture.

Now this is where I am confused. If he was merely toying with the detonating fuses, that doesn`t really constitute making IDEs.

Omar Khadr really screwed up when he made an inflammatory comment to his guards because he felt pissed off with them by telling them that it was he who killed Sgt. Speer. He said he made that comment because it made him feel good when teased the guards with that statement. I don`t know if it was he who lobbed the hand grenade at Sgt. Speer but he later signed a statement to that effect as part of his plea agreement. I will get to that plea agreement later.  

Remember when I said earlier in this article—according to Silver's recollection of the event, he then heard a sound “like a gunshot”, and saw the three Delta Force soldiers duck as a grenade flew past them and exploded near Speer. He didn`t say that he saw who threw the grenade. In fact, no one saw who threw the grenade. Even if Omar Khadr had thrown grenades, even he wouldn`t know if the one that killed Speer was the grenade he threw over the wall. If he hadn`t made that silly and damning statement, I doubt that he would have been charged will killing Speer. Once having made that statement, there could be no turning back. He was stuck with it.

In April 2007, the following charges that were sworn against Omar Khadr, were referred to the U.S. Military Commission:

                                       i.                  Murder, in violation of the law of war, through the unlawful and intentional killing of U.S. Army Sergeant Christopher Speer;

                                     ii.                  Attempted murder, in violation of the law of war, through the conversion of land mines into improvised explosive devices and planting these explosive devices in the ground in order to kill U.S. or coalition soldiers;

                                   iii.                  Conspiracy, through wilfully joining Al-Queda, a group that has engaged in hostilities against the U.S., and that shared a common criminal purpose known to Khadr, combined with the commission of acts by Omar Khadr in furtherance of the activities of such group;

                                   iv.                  Providing material support for terrorism, through training, surveillance and reconnaissance activities against U.S. troops, planting of explosive devices, etc.;

                                     v.                  Spying, through conducting surveillance activities of U.S. forces.

I am convinced that he was innocent of Part (i) since there were no eyewitnesses re the killing of Speer that could say that Omar Khadr was the person who lobbed the grenade that killed Speer. I don`t even think Omar Khadr would know who lobbed the actual grenade that killed Speer because he was hidden behind a wall. I am not convinced that his foolish statement would be sufficient to convict him considering that he did it merely to antagonize his guards.

Then you may ask; why did he put in writing that he killed Speer? I believe that when the plea proposal was made to him, he was told that his oral statement to his guards would be sufficient evidence for a conviction of murder and if convicted of murder, he might be executed. If you don’t believe that Americans execute young offenders under 18, you are in for a surprise. 

In 1989 in the case of Stanford v. Kentucky, the U.S. Supreme Court, allowed the executions to proceed with respect to two males who were young offenders at the time they committed murder. Kevin Stanford was 17 years, 4 months of age and Heath Wilkins was 16 years, 6 months of age when they both committed murder.

During the plea discussions, Omar Khadr was told that if he pleaded guilty to all 5 charges laid against him, he would be sentenced to only 8 years in prison but if he didn’t accept the plea, the minimum sentence would be 40 years with a possibility that he might be executed for killing Speer.

 He might have been guilty of planting the IEDs and even though no one was killed by those IEDs. If he did plant them, it was an act of terrorism. He would also be guilty of attempted murder if he planted the IDEs on the road. He was definitely guilty of conspiracy, by wilfully joining Al-Queda, a group that has engaged in hostilities against the U.S. That too was an act of terrorism.

Why didn’t he take a chance by insisting on a trial so that he could argue that all the charges accept the one about joining the Al-Queda were not valid? How many times have we heard about prisoners being later found to be innocent of the charges they were previously convicted of?  Omar may have really taken a great risk going to trial considering how some trials in the US have been considered a mockery of justice. If he had taken that chance, and was convicted of all five war crimes, he would have been sentenced to 40 years in prison.  

Now we are also forced to ask ourselves this question; did Omar Khadr have any real choice in being a member of Al-Queda. Remember, he was brainwashed as a young child to hate Americans. His father placed him in camps run by the Al-Queda and he was trained in these camps on how to fire guns and lob grenades. Does anyone really think that he could simply leave the camps? Where would he go? Did he have his passport? Would he be tracked down by the Al-Queda and killed? I find it difficult to fault the young man for being in those camps.

He was in fact sentenced to 40 years in prison but because he accepted the plea deal and pleaded guilty to all the charges laid against him, his sentence was reduced to eight years only and it began on October 31^st and will expire on October 30^th 2018. In the United States, parole is not available to convicted felons who are sentenced for federal crimes and although he was convicted of war crimes, he would have served the entire 40 years in prison.

As a first time offender, Omar was sentenced to the eight years in prison with no credit for time served. If he were in Canada when he was sentenced, he would have been sentenced to the same length of time he was in pre-custody and then the judge would have said that his time was already served during his pre-trial custody and subsequently, Omar would have then been released right there in the court room as a free man.

It really wasn’t that strange that Omar Khadr was eventually transferred to Canada to serve his sentence in Canada albeit belatedly.   

 I looked at the TREATY BETWEEN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON THE EXECUTION OF PENAL SENTENCES and specifically Article II section (c) which states;

“That the offence is not an offence under the immigration laws or solely against the military laws of a Party.”

Omar was convicted by an American military tribunal for five war crimes. Since he was convicted of war crimes rather than military crimes such as found in the US Military Code of Conduct, he was eligible to apply for the transfer.

Omar is a Canadian citizen and he should have been transferred soon after he was sentenced. The fact that he continued to languish in the confines of the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay for almost two years after he was sentenced hasn’t given him an incentive to change his ways. He will certainly hate Americans for the rest of his life. However he won’t be permitted to enter the United States under any condition so his hatred will become academic.   

Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said it will be up to Correctional Service Canada and the Parole Board of Canada to decide on Omar’s sentence and the possibility for parole.

In Canada, anyone sentenced to prison can apply for parole after he has served a    minimum of one third of his sentence. That means that after he served 30 months, he would be eligible to apply for parole. Since he was sentenced on October 31^st 2010, he would be eligible to apply for early parole on March 30^th 2013; approximately six months from now. I strongly suspect that when that date arrives, he will probably be released shortly after that date considering two mitigating factors in his case. The first is that having been in custody since his arrest in July 27, 2002 until March 30, 2013, he will have served as many as 13 years behind bars. The second reason why he will probably get an early release is because when he committed the crimes he admitted to as part of the plea bargain, he was a young offender and as a young offender, the most he would have been given as a sentence would be ten years in which six years would be in close custody and the remaining four as parole.

The minister said in a public statement;

“I am satisfied [that] the Correctional Service of Canada can administer Omar Khadr’s sentence in a manner which recognizes the serious nature of the crimes that he has committed, addresses the concerns I have noted and ensures [that] the safety of Canadians is protected through appropriate programming during incarceration, and, if parole is granted, through the imposition of robust conditions of supervision.” unquote

I would hope that the parole conditions would prohibit him from having any contact with his mother. We wouldn’t want that terrible woman influencing her son with her Machiavellian machinations.

While he was being assessed, he said that he missed being trusted. He never actually publicly showed some sign of regret for having committed the crimes he admitted to having committed. Even if he didn’t commit the murder, it would have been better for him to show the public that he was truly sorry for the death of the American soldier. Perhaps if he makes a public statement that he regrets what he did and denounces terrorism, the trust he is seeking may eventually be given to him by the public at large. If he refuses to do that, he will remain a despicable man in the eyes of society.

It is now up to the Canadian society to be ready to forgive him. If they don’t, they will simply intensify his hatred for human beings, whoever they are. During his parole period, he should be placed in a group home operated by Corrections Canada and given an opportunity to go to school and mingle among Canadians of all faiths and original nationalities and learn what he didn’t learn as a child—that Canadians per se live in a large peace-loving community and are easy going and can be very friendly with one another. I also think he should apply for a name change. If he turns out to be a model citizen of Canada, such a request could be granted and if he becomes a model citizen, he might even be given a Canadian passport however he may have to wait a long time for that wish to be granted.

Omar Khadr has a second chance in life. If he blows it, he will have only himself to blame.