Guantanamo Before the US Supreme Court

Again. At some point you would think that someone in the Bush administration might realize that this is just not the way to do things. Except that's not how they do things. Sigh. Another year and a bit...

We're gonna have a fair trial, then we'll hang'em

Once again Omar Khadr is facing the Guantanamo kangaroo court. As has been the case, Canada's Crusty Government will study its shoes and pretend nothing is happening:

"Unlike other Western governments who secured the release of their citizens, Canada has refused to intervene in Khadr's case. A Foreign Affairs official here to observe today's hearing said she could not comment."

I don't know why we are not interested in protecting the rights of our citizens any more. Yes the Khadrs are odious, but I don't recall where it says that our laws or our diplomatic corps are only to serve nice people. The fact that the government-appointed military attorneys and judges have already scuttled this process twice before is probably a sign that the Canadian government ought to step in and say to Washington "Look, this isn't working, your military people - those that ought to be most interesting in 'getting' Khadr - have already repeatedly found fault with the process, it's time for this to end."

It is shameful that we will not step in and end this poorly-conceived process as directed against someone whose fitness to stand trial is seriously in doubt.

Guantanamo: Eternal Prisoners

Whenever some new, invasive measure is introduced in the name of public safety or national security invariably, someone will say something about how the innocent have nothing to fear. So it was Gitmo - this would be a place where those thought to be Very Bad Men (are there any women in Gitmo?) would be sent to face a kangaroo court justice. Of course if you were innocent, you'd be cleared and sent on your way. No harm, no foul.

Right?

Wrong.

In a CBC News item today it comes out that several Uighur detainees have been turned down for asylum by the Canadian government. I find it significant that they are Uighurs as the current Conservative government seems to have a soft spot for anyone running afoul of the Chinese government (not a bad thing, mind you) - as the Uighurs often do.

In another case, Mr. Ahmed Belbacha is being forced to return to Algeria after having been cleared of any wrongdoing at Gitmo. Algeria has its own problems with Islamic militant groups and therefore may arrest and torture Belbacha anyway. The mere fact that he was picked up an sent to Gitmo seems to be the only evidence they need.

How many people are going to face this kind of fate? How many were just truck drivers or tourists or whatever who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not a crime to travel to Pakistan or anywhere else that gets labeled as a terrorist hot spot. And yet it appears that once you are put in Gitmo, you are, in the minds of too many, forever a terrorist.

How do you solve a problem like Omar?

Omar Khadr is not going to be tried under a military tribunal - at least not for now. It is reassuring that a process run by military officials did not simply seek the first opportunity to avenge their comrades' deaths. I'm sure that the judges as well as the defense attorneys have probably endangered their careers by acting this way.

So now what do we do with Khadr? First of all, it's never been clear to me why he was even having to face a murder charge. This was after all in the middle of a war in Afghanistan. Yes the Taliban/al Qaeda have a terrible ideology, but certainly not any worse than that of the Nazis. The underage soldiers (Khadr was 15 at the time this took place) charged with defending Berlin as the Soviets rolled in were surely not defending anything better than what the Khadrs were defending. Yet even those soldiers who fought under the most despicable flags were not charged unless they were actually guilty of war crimes (e.g.: SS concentration camp types).

If the US government wants to build the case that a 15 year old was part of al Qaeda's command and control, they are free to do so. I don't know if anyone will be buying it though.

The soldier killed by Khadr was obviously dealt a terrible fate, but surely no more terrible than the fate that struck down countless soldiers fighting under every flag since time immemorial.