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Ear to the Ground

‘Help Me’: Gitmo Video Shows Tearful Teen

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Posted on Jul 15, 2008
Omar Khadr

Canadian lawyers released a wrenching 2003 video—the first of its kind ever made public—of a tearful 16-year-old boy suffering what appears to be a mental breakdown during an interrogation by Canadian officials at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. Five years later, Omar Khadr has still not been charged with any crime.


BBC:
The footage was made public by Mr Khadr’s lawyers following a Supreme Court ruling in May that the Canadian authorities had to hand over key evidence against him to allow a full defence of the charges he is facing.

One of those lawyers, Dennis Edney, told the BBC his client was seen in a distressed state because he had been “abused” by his American guards.

“He was deprived of sleep by being removed from his cell and to another cell every three hours on a 24-hour basis for three weeks solid, followed by three weeks of deep solitary confinement,” Mr Edney told the BBC.

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By Hilary, July 28 at 9:58 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

I think it’s disgusting what has happened to this boy.  6 years without a trial in unimaginable conditions.  Despicable.  What’s worse is that his own country, Canada, wants nothing to do with him.  There’s a petition to demand that Canada protect its citizens here: http://go.care2.com/15898432

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By jack, July 21 at 9:31 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

RE: One would ask, what is the reason for this idiocy?

Indeed.  The Bush regime gave the Taliban $40 million less than a year before 9/11 to pave the way for a pipeline deal they ultimately rejected. Before rejecting it, they were given the ultimatum: choose either a gold carpet or a carpet of bombs.

The Clash of Civilizations (see Samuel Huntington), i.e. Islamofascism (sic) against the World; serves the interest of The New World Oligarchy and no one else. We’re all cannon fodder on their Grand Chessboard (see Zbignew Brzezinski), set up to take the fall in the Global War Of Terror by their New Pearl Harbor (see Project for a New American Century).

People of good will everywhere should denounce this deception and defy the New World Oligarchy and it’s intention to bring everyone, everywhere to their knees - begging for protection.

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By Muslims Against Sharia, July 20 at 12:08 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Hypocrisy of the “Repatriate Omar Khadr to Canada” Movement

As soon as the Gitmo interrogation tape of Omar Khadr hit the Internet, the blogosphere was flooded with demands to repatriate him to Canada. This wave is reminiscent of a Soviet campaign to free Luis Corvalán from the “fascist regime” of Augusto Pinochet thirty five years ago. The scenario is strikingly similar. A “victim” held by “fascist regimes” this time run by Bush and Harper, and a public outcry for justice. Except for the fact that Luis Corvalán didn’t kill anyone and didn’t fight for a terrorist group that wants to impose Sharia.

The “repatriate Khadr” crowd describes him as “a child”, “a kid”, “a boy”, and even “a torture victim”, with no facts to substantiate the torture claims notwithstanding. They complain about Khadr being mistreated, again, without anything to back up their claims. Some of them are outraged about “child abuse.” And they all scream for justice.

They want justice? OK, let’s talk about JUSTICE. What about justice for Sgt. First Class Christopher J. Speer, who was (according to an eyewitness) murdered by this “child”? What about justice for Tabitha Speer, who is a widow because of this “kid”? What about justice for Taryn and Tanner Speer, who are left without a father by this “a boy”? And what about all those Afghani civilians and NATO troops who are a little bit safer because this “torture victim” is behind bars? How many of these “repatriate Khadr” hypocrites concern themselves with justice for real victims? In literally hundreds of posts, we couldn’t find a single one.

One would ask, what is the reason for this idiocy? The answer is simple. Ignorance. Complete and utter ignorance. Let’s forget for a second that Omar Khadr killed Christopher Speer. Let’s forget that Khadr’s father was an al Qaeda financier. Let’s forget that Khadr’s family is known for it being al Qaeda sympathizers. Let’s just remember what this “child” was fighting for in Afghanistan.

This is what Taliban-imposed Sharia looks like in real life: http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2000/07/hypoc risy-of-repatriate-omar-khadr-to.html

Why don’t all of you, bleeding heart demagogues go to Afghanistan and spend a day in a Taliban-controlled territory? And let’s talk about Khadr when you get back. If you get back.

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By jack, July 16 at 7:21 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

The evidence is overwhelming:

The Global War Of Terror is an orchestrated long-term black-op/psy-op in the mold of Gladio - http://www.answers.com/topic/operation-gladio - those directing it know virtually everything going on - the only reason to torture anyone is to terrorize us all - any with the guts to stand up to the New World Oligarchy and call them on the Global Reign Of Terror they’ve ordered up to bring the world to its knees, begging for “protection” - oldest game in the book - are being sent the message: This could be you!

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By Fadel Abdallah, July 16 at 4:52 am #

By Muslims Against Sharia, July 15 at 8:24 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Lt.C. Ralph Peters on Omar Khadr Gitmo Tape: “We Should Have Killed That Punk on a Battlefield where it was legal to do so!”
===============================
Now that I know a fascist group under such fake name exists, I feel that this world is more insecure and less peaceful! But alas! In this country of democracy and freedom, it means also that fascists, thought terrorists and hateful bigots also have the freedom to terrorize selected targeted groups through their media outlets, which sadly go under the so-called “freedom of speech”, which means freedom to promote hate, deception and terrorism!

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By Muslims Against Sharia, July 15 at 8:24 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Lt.C. Ralph Peters on Omar Khadr Gitmo Tape: “We Should Have Killed That Punk on a Battlefield where it was legal to do so!”

Watch video at http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2008/07/ltc-r alph-peters-on-omar-khadr-gitmo.html

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By Ed Harges, July 15 at 7:01 pm #

Jim Yell refers to “the hostility he [the teen] was being taught by his family members and religion “…

Well, I’d love to know how Jim Yell presumes to know this aboiut this kid, but anyway -

Don’t we love the way Israel’s robotic defenders assume that any hostility towards the US/Zionist bullies afflicting the Middle East must be the result of some special educational intervention by Islamofascist indoctrinators?

Jim Yell, don’t you think the Israeli settlers are the best “teachers” of this hostility you complain of?

For example, one of their favorite methods of teaching hostility is throwing rocks at little Palestinian girls trying to make their way to school each morning, screaming, “Get out of here! God gave this land to the Jews!”

Surely no other teachers then these are required for the instilling of “hostility” in impressionable young Arab minds?

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By Fadel Abdallah, July 15 at 5:35 pm #

By Jim Yell, July 15 at 1:39 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

“I can’t give him an unqualified pass in this matter, but he should not have been tortured and yes this was torture. He may not have been an innocent, but neither was he a complete villian. The hostility he was being taught by his family members and religion were validated by the illegal and inexcusable torture he was put thru.”
=========================
Jim Yell, though on the surface your comment seems to sympathize with this kid, the devil is in the details of the passage from your post I quoted above. It seems to me that you’re not satisfied that his family and the religion he belongs to should have been put on trial too.

Since you seem to suggest that his family and his religion (i.e. Islam) should be put on trial too, I want you to prove how his family and religion are responsible for this kids act of resistance to marauders occupiers!

I am sure you heard about the two Palestinian Intifada’s, and the first one was particularly marked by being the Intifada of the stone throwing kids! Those kids, I assure you, were acting spontaneously, without any instigation or stimulus from their religion. It’s the natural thing humans with free spirits do in face of a terrorist brutal army occupying their land, and this applies both to kids and adults. This is called the natural feelings of nationalism and love for one’s homeland, which does not need family or religious influences to instigate it.

Your problem is the problem of narrow-minded people (to put it lightly and not use stronger language) which are a big part of the problems this county has! People who might use sugar-coated language that might cast them as humanistic and with liberal and enlightened spirit; yet in same paragraph they use language that shows their true colors in relation to the issue at hand!

If a teenage kid can terrify marauder-occupier soldiers and make them feel unsafe and non-welcomed on the soil of their homeland, then this kid is my hero; that the real terrorist occupiers might call him a “terrorist” not withstanding!

Another related issue: You can’t deny that the “gangs’ culture” in this country is a big major problem, yet you have the burden of prove that those kids who join gangs and commit crimes are instigated by their families or their Christianity,Judaism or Islam to do what they do!

Though I am not comparing apples with oranges with the example of “gangs” I hope to stimulate your positive thinking (if any) to draw a lesson from this parallelism!

(Note: The short part I quoted from your comment has two spelling mistakes! Please give more respect to the language you use to express your feelings and thoughts!I hope you can tell I am an educator!)

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By JW, July 15 at 2:44 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

So what exactly is the legal basis for trying Omar Khadr?  Even if we assume that he did throw that grenade (and there reasons to believe that he did not), isn’t that just something that happens in a war?

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By Jim Yell, July 15 at 1:39 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Sadly this young man was led astray by his family members and that put him in harms way and involved him in things he was too young to fully understand.

I can’t give him an unqualified pass in this matter, but he should not have been tortured and yes this was torture. He may not have been an innocent, but neither was he a complete villian. The hostility he was being taught by his family members and religion were validated by the illegal and inexcusable torture he was put thru. A 16 year old was unlikely to be privy to any great or worth while secrets and surely not after a short time as a captive. No one would leave a plan unchanged involving a 16 year old who is in enemy hands.

This is truely disgusting.

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By rowdy, July 15 at 12:29 pm #

i have read this story on 4 different sites,just so i could see the comments. the comments seem to be dominated by fools who think this boy should, to quote jesse jackson have his “nuts cut off”,or his head cut off or tortured some more. america is a really sick country. the only way to end this madness is to nuke D.C. when all of our glorious leaders are present. that includes obama,hillary and mccain.

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By Ed Harges, July 15 at 12:19 pm #

If this is what the USA is now, then I hate my country.

The country I thought I loved seems to be some potential, imaginary thing that simply isn’t there.

Maybe it never was.

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By David, July 15 at 12:06 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

I’ll bet George and Laura watch this video every night before bedtime just to have a good laugh.  They so love to hear the anguished crys of a teenager being tortured.  Aren’t they just the most compassionate conservatives?

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By G.Anderson, July 15 at 12:02 pm #

Is this what America has become?

I guess it is, making war on children, torturing children, abusing children.

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