The Rants of Issachar
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Omar Khadr
Raphael Alexander has an excellent post over on his site about Omar Khadr. I think he does a fantastic job of summing up the apathy a lot of people feel about Khadr and why we feel that way. It's sad really. There just isn't a happy ending to this story.I left my own comment, but you really should read Raphael's post first. Of course not everyone sees it this way judging from the comments over at Canadian Cynic.
Still, I think it's a good post. Collectively we don't care about Khadr and this is why.
I'm supposed to love my enemies, but I don't. I can honestly say that I don't hate anybody which is better than some, but that isn't that standard I was given to live up to. I'm supposed to love them.
Update: 2010-01-29: Adrian has updated his post and moved his blog. Here's the current link.
3 Comments:
Posted by: 
Patrick RossIt would probably help if people could decide what consitutes a "happy ending" in regards to Omar Khadr.
He was a child soldier and terrorist, fighting for our enemies in a foreign country.
Those who think we can simply turn Khadr loose and everything will magically be super-duper-okay are ignoring the experience of Algeria and their terrorist amnesty program.
Patrick RossIt would probably help if people could decide what consitutes a "happy ending" in regards to Omar Khadr.He was a child soldier and terrorist, fighting for our enemies in a foreign country.
Those who think we can simply turn Khadr loose and everything will magically be super-duper-okay are ignoring the experience of Algeria and their terrorist amnesty program.
Posted by: issacharIs it accurate to call Khadr a terrorist? (This isn't a rhetorical question). Seriously. He was fighting for the Taliban who are enemies of Canada, (and that makes him a traitor in my view), but as nasty as the Taliban are, does that make Khadr a literal terrorist?
I keep coming back to my apathy about Maher Arar. His situation wasn't the same, but I had the same apathy and that was incredibly wrong...
issacharIs it accurate to call Khadr a terrorist? (This isn't a rhetorical question). Seriously. He was fighting for the Taliban who are enemies of Canada, (and that makes him a traitor in my view), but as nasty as the Taliban are, does that make Khadr a literal terrorist?I keep coming back to my apathy about Maher Arar. His situation wasn't the same, but I had the same apathy and that was incredibly wrong...
Posted by: Patrick RossIt certainly makes him an enemy combatant, at the very least.
I think the best Canada may be able to do for him is ensure that the Geneva Conventions are followed. But as long as we remain at war with the Taliban, outright freeing him is simply not a valid option.
Patrick RossIt certainly makes him an enemy combatant, at the very least.I think the best Canada may be able to do for him is ensure that the Geneva Conventions are followed. But as long as we remain at war with the Taliban, outright freeing him is simply not a valid option.
