Justice? 40 year sentance for Omar Khadr!!... maybe not

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by McClatchey

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba —

A military jury on Sunday gave teen terrorist Omar Khadr a 40-year prison sentence for killing an American commando in Afghanistan, but the sentence was merely symbolic — the United States already had agreed to limit Khadr's prison time to eight years, and Canada last week said it would allow Khadr to serve the bulk of his sentence there

.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/10/3...oldier-to.html

[CCIP]

As long as he stays for the 8, that's fine. I have no sympathy for the kid's family, but honestly, even on account of age they should give him some sort of chance. And in general, I am not a fan of combatants being tried unless they had actually commited war crimes. Like it or not, killing a soldier on the opposing side isn't exactly against the common sense of war...

However pro-Khadr I would never be. Especially having heard what his female relatives here in Canada have to say, I'm very much inclined to shake my head.

[Bubblehead1980]

So a terrorist kills a US commando and gets 8 years? Outrageous, damn bleeding heart Liberals.The SOB should do every day of the 40 years.Yet another reason to oust the Liberal Regime in tomorrow and in 2012.

[antikristuseke]

What acts of terror had that kid perpetrated?

[tater]

Was he wearing a uniform, and rank insignia? If not, he's not a regular combatant, they should have shot him.

[Bilge_Rat]

Originally Posted by tater

Was he wearing a uniform, and rank insignia? If not, he's not a regular combatant, they should have shot him.

no, but Drone operators, CIA personnel, even some special forces personnel do not wear uniforms while on duty. The US government had to rewrite the rules so they could try Kahdr, but not cover U.S. personnel.

I have no sympathy for his actions, but accusing a 15 year old "child soldier" of "murder" for actions on a battlefield is over the top. How will the U.S. react in the next war when U.S. POWs in enemy hands are convicted of "murder"?

[tater]

US POWs will have their heads hacked off on the internet, full stop. That's what this enemy does.

My solution to the gitmo problem is to cease taking prisoners. Shoot up the building, then nuke it from orbit, just to be sure

[Bilge_Rat]

actually, we are the suckers here. After he serves 1+ years in the U.S., he will be transferred to a Canadian jail where, under the very liberal canadian laws, he will be eligible almost immediately for parole.

On the plus side, they live on Toronto...

[the_tyrant]

This guy should have been tortured to death(like the terrorists on 24)
after all, this guy isn't protected by international law

the army is going soft


edit: this guy should have been killed on the spot, since he isn't protected by international law

[Gerald]

At least eight years should he sit, and it is already low, given the circumstances

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

no, but Drone operators... do not wear uniforms while on duty.

Excuse me?

^Note uniform (flight Suit) detailing name, unit and affiliation.

[Bilge_Rat]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Excuse me?

^Note uniform (flight Suit) detailing name, unit and affiliation.

That looks more like a gamer playing Falcon 4...

Here is the exact quote (I was writing from memory):

The centerpiece of the charges was not a conventional terrorism offense — targeting civilians — but killing an enemy soldier in combat. Usually in war, battlefield killing is not prosecuted. But the United States contended that Mr. Khadr lacked battlefield immunity because he wore no uniform, among other requirements of the laws of war.

The uniform issue also led to a scramble by the Obama legal team to rewrite commission rules on the eve of a hearing for Mr. Khadr. Because Central Intelligence Agency drone operators also kill while not wearing uniforms, the team rewrote the rules to downgrade “murder in violation of the laws of war” to a domestic law offense from a war crime to avoid seeming to implicitly concede that the C.I.A. is committing war crimes.

Moreover, child soldiers are almost never prosecuted for war crimes. That meant that the world coverage of Mr. Khadr’s case was dominated by questions about whether the case was appropriate. On Monday, for example, Human Rights Watch said the United States “should never have pursued the case” because convicting someone of war crimes for actions taken as a juvenile for the first time since World War II “sets a terrible precedent.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/us...20khadr&st=cse

[the_tyrant]

Wikipedia told me that this guy killed a wounded solder
If i remembered correctly, that in itself is a war crime

[tater]

That is weak, sorry.

The CIA drone pilot is not on the battlefield. The purpose of uniforms and rank, etc, is to distinguish combatants from noncombatants to minimize harm to the latter. The DRONE, OTOH, was certainly wearing a "uniform" that positively IDed it as an asset of the US, clearly distinguishing it from, say, an airliner. The DRONE is the combatant. Claiming the operator needed a uniform is like claiming that an infantryman's BRAIN should wear a uniform inside his skull.

What is on the BATTLEFIELD is what matters. being out of uniform in Virginia, has exactly zero bearing on the rules of war, and their purpose.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

Wikipedia told me that this guy killed a wounded solder
If i remembered correctly, that in itself is a war crime

Didn't see anything about killing wounded soldier.