A decent Canadian

I recently heard about a British Columbian called Jack Hallam who announced that his will includes a $700 bequest for Omar Khadr.  That's the kind of Canadian who makes me feel some pride for my country.  He's a gay atheist, not the sort who sympathizes with Islamic fundamentalists, but he recognizes that we must take responsibility for what the Canadian government does in our name to a fellow citizen.

Speaking for myself, I don't know what happened during that 2002 firefight.  Some people insist that Khadr couldn't have thrown a grenade to kill that US medic, but I wasn't there.  What I do know was that Khadr was only 15 at the time, and had been even younger when his family enlisted him in the Taliban fight.  Some African child soldiers who killed many people are now being rehabilitated far from prison because we recognize similar special circumstances in their case.

Some people want to view Khadr's Gitmo confession as the last word about his guilt, but it's clear that the Americans played dirty pool in obtaining it. (Canadian agents played some dirty pool too.) As for his trial, it's clear that Khadr was pleading guilty under duress, just like Stalin's enemies in the Moscow show trials of the 1930s.  The Canadian government disgraced itself when it dragged its feet and delayed Khadr's repatriation till a year after Washington was prepared to allow it.

Of course, some people have ridiculed Hallam.  It's too bad that some people see things in terms of the Khadr family's collective guilt.  I hope that people like Hallam will be a good influence on Omar and he won't see Canadian or American people as collectively guilty for his mistreatment.