Khadr was 15 when he was captured, which is the legal age to be engaged in hostilities. A person is a child soldier if he is under the age of 15 (the U.S. is one of the few countries that does not automatically recognize a person under the age of 18 as a child and 15 is legal age for going to war). I suppose that would then make him a prisoner of war. POW must be repatriated once hostilities have ended or the combatant is unlikely to resume hostilities upon release. The U.S. has played this up for all it's worth. Treating people as both POW's and Terrorist criminals when the need arises. A POW shouldn't be receiving a trial for actions taken in combat against a legitimate military target. From our perspective he's just a youth and not of military age (17+ I believe) who joined a foreign conflict against the U.S. and NATO. I don't think there's much assurance we could give the U.S. that he would be taken out of the conflict indeffinately, which is frankly all the excuse the U.S. needs to keep him for trial. It seems the Supreme Court didn't want to make the government legally obligated to do something that would probably end in failure anyway and probably just create more problems between the two governments. As for international moral responsibilities, they make for some bad P.R. but at least it means you don't have to take another country to the Human Rights Commission. I guess my point is that this is an incredibly dirty war that we're involved in and Khadr got caught on the wrong side of it. It should also be a lesson that citizenship isn't a guarantee of anything and a government will only fight for you if they stand to benefit in some way. In a few decades situations like Khadr's will probably be included as one of the many horrors this conflict has produced. Although I'm sure being a historical footnote doesn't lift his spirits any.
P.S. Canada does not support the manufacturing of land mines, although the U.S. does and we're allied with them. However,you could start a munitions plant and fill orders for the U.S. military for use in conflicts Canada is not engaged in. Not land mines though.
I hadn't thought about the resumption of hostilities. Boy howdy could you ever not make that case to the U.S. now. After so many years in Gitmo, I'd be inclined to do my level best to get back to the front and wear jarhead rib cages as a helmet.
Kind of a circular objective, if you think about it. We'll hold them unless they won't re-engage. We promote re-engagement by holding them.
And hey, how are things? :)
Oh! And I've been wondering --- did you get your hands on the tiny present this summer? It's about the size of a business card, and I was afraid it might have fallen behind something in all the shuffle. If so, I think I've still got the receipt. Not sure why, but it's been bugging me off and on. Probably because I wouldn't want you to think I just hooked you up with a potato book. :)
No worries. We combined it with some extra cash and got a couple of kick-ass bedside tables. I have a thank you card I need to send you. Are you still at 7-26 Elm?
Hey, it is just a manufacturing defect that Teddy-Be-Mine blows up when stepped on. We just so happen to not sell it in markets which have banned land mines.
Honestly, between you two, this is the best information on Khadr I've read since it started. Media articles are sorely lacking.
From our perspective he's just a youth and not of military age (17+ I believe) who joined a foreign conflict against the U.S. and NATO. I don't think there's much assurance we could give the U.S. that he would be taken out of the conflict indeffinately, which is frankly all the excuse the U.S. needs to keep him for trial. It seems the Supreme Court didn't want to make the government legally obligated to do something that would probably end in failure anyway and probably just create more problems between the two governments. As for international moral responsibilities, they make for some bad P.R. but at least it means you don't have to take another country to the Human Rights Commission.
I guess my point is that this is an incredibly dirty war that we're involved in and Khadr got caught on the wrong side of it. It should also be a lesson that citizenship isn't a guarantee of anything and a government will only fight for you if they stand to benefit in some way. In a few decades situations like Khadr's will probably be included as one of the many horrors this conflict has produced. Although I'm sure being a historical footnote doesn't lift his spirits any.
P.S. Canada does not support the manufacturing of land mines, although the U.S. does and we're allied with them. However,you could start a munitions plant and fill orders for the U.S. military for use in conflicts Canada is not engaged in. Not land mines though.
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Just get a teddy bear and threateningly state, "Bear is mine."
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Kind of a circular objective, if you think about it. We'll hold them unless they won't re-engage. We promote re-engagement by holding them.
And hey, how are things? :)
Oh! And I've been wondering --- did you get your hands on the tiny present this summer? It's about the size of a business card, and I was afraid it might have fallen behind something in all the shuffle. If so, I think I've still got the receipt. Not sure why, but it's been bugging me off and on. Probably because I wouldn't want you to think I just hooked you up with a potato book. :)
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Honestly, between you two, this is the best information on Khadr I've read since it started. Media articles are sorely lacking.
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