The “Khadr effect”

By Michael Friscolanti - Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 8:17 PM - 45 Comments

Among the bureaucrats at Foreign Affairs, it’s known as the “Khadr effect”—the fear that sticking up for a Canadian citizen arrested in another country may come back to haunt the government. The cautionary phrase dates back to 1995, when the World Trade Center was still standing and the Khadr name meant something only to a handful of spies at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

In those days, Toronto’s Khadr clan was shuttling between Pakistan and Afghanistan, mingling with al-Qaeda elites and dabbling in “charity” work. In November of that year, when a bomb leveled the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad and killed 16 people, the family patriarch, Ahmed Said Khadr, was among the suspects rounded up by Pakistani authorities. Ottawa has never forgotten what happened next.

Khadr proclaimed his innocence, embarked on a hunger strike, and ended up in a hospital. His case became front-page news in Canada—just as Jean Chrétien was flying to the region for a trade mission. Under pressure from the press, the prime minister took time out of his busy schedule to meet the suspect’s wife and children, and made sure to broach the case with Pakistan’s late leader, Benazir Bhutto. A few months later, Ahmed Khadr was a free man—kissing the ground when his plane landed in Canada.

Continue…

What if we'd brought him back?

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 30, 2009 at 8:30 AM - 61 Comments

The government reports its legal tab in the case of Omar Khadr to be $1,335,342.37 so far.

Investigating another matter entirely the other night, the CBC’s Terry Milewski put the cost to keep a prisoner in Canada at $100,000 per year. Air Canada seems to offer daily flights from Cuba for approximately $400.

So, in case you were wondering, for about the same amount of money, Mr. Khadr might’ve been flown to Canada and imprisoned here for 13 years. He arrived at Guantanamo almost exactly seven years ago. So if he’d been returned immediately at that point, at least under this imaginative scenario, he would presently be due to serve another six years and scheduled for release in 2015.

Buried under rubble

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 11:00 AM - 23 Comments

Michelle Shepherd gets access to new documents and pictures in the Omar Khadr case.

Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr was buried face down under rubble, blinded by shrapnel and crippled, at the time the Pentagon alleges he threw a grenade that fatally wounded a U.S. soldier, according to classified photographs and defence documents obtained by the Star.

Coming to a head, maybe

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, October 5, 2009 at 7:58 PM - 16 Comments

Canwest reports the Obama administration will declare its intentions for Omar Khadr by Nov. 16. That deadline, coincidentally, falls three days after the Supreme Court is to begin hearing the Harper’s government’s appeal of a Federal Court ruling ordering that a request for Khadr’s repatriation be made.

To the highest court it goes

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, September 4, 2009 at 10:59 AM - 34 Comments

The Supreme Court will hear the government’s appeal of the Federal Court’s ruling on Omar Khadr. The official statement:

Prime Minister of Canada et al. v. Omar Ahmed Khadr (F.C.) (Civil) (By Leave) (33289)

(The application for leave to appeal and the motion to stay the order of the Federal Court of Appeal and to expedite the hearing of the appeal are granted without costs. The appeal is to be heard on November 13, 2009, and the schedule for serving and filing the material and any application for leave to intervene shall be set by the Registrar.)

The many implications of Omar Khadr

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 1:10 PM - 55 Comments

Tonda MacCharles tries to read Stephen Harper’s mind.

Even some Conservatives privately admit they have been taken aback by Harper’s utter indifference to pleas about Khadr’s plight. There’s no clear explanation for it. Is it good foreign policy? Good politics? Or simple ideological stubborness?

There are hints, but no explicit statements, that the Americans still want to prosecute Khadr. The government denies any knowledge of the Obama administration’s plans for the only Westerner left in Guantanamo….

The Khadrs carry political baggage here. Harper may simply want to avoid getting stung the way former prime minister Jean Chretien was. Chretien in 1996 asked Pakistani authorities to release Ahmed Said Khadr, Omar’s father, who later turned out key to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda fundraising efforts in Afghanistan. Photos of him at the hospitalized Khadr’s bedside loom large still.

It could be that Harper, having given up so much conservative political ground on fiscal and social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion, does not want to risk further angering his base of supporters by appearing to be anything less than “tough on terror.”

Canada v. Khadr, the Empire Strikes Back

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at 12:49 PM - 25 Comments

After the jump, the official statement from Foreign Affairs on the government’s second appeal of the Federal Court ruling that it repatriate Omar Khadr.

For the sake of argument, here is the Supreme Court’s previous ruling on issues related to Khadr’s imprisonment and here is the Federal Court’s ruling.

Both links courtesy of the indispensable Khadr files database maintained here. Continue…

'Its position remains unchanged'

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, August 24, 2009 at 10:16 PM - 39 Comments

The government will appeal to the Supreme Court on the repatriation of Omar Khadr.

Omar Khadr v. Nay Myo Hein

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, August 21, 2009 at 2:45 PM - 25 Comments

The Ottawa Citizen compares and contrasts.

There is a strong argument to be made that Omar Khadr was a child soldier, which makes this government’s treatment of him all the more egregious. The Conservatives have made a few half-hearted attempts to explain why they won’t accept his child-soldier status; most of the time, they’ve simply ignored the question, as if it weren’t important.

Meanwhile, a 25-year-old Burmese man in Saskatoon, Nay Myo Hein, was about to be deported this month when he got the news that two cabinet ministers had intervened to save him. Granting a stay of deportation and a residency permit was the right thing to do. But it raises the question: How can Canada be so compassionate to one former child soldier, and so indifferent to another? Canada shouldn’t merely reach out to help its citizens when the courts decide it has a legal duty, or when there are rallies in the streets. It should follow a consistent, transparent policy.

Fair enough. Unfortunately, the Citizen overlooks the important fact that Deepak Obhrai, the parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, possesses the power to determine who qualifies as a child soldier simply by looking the suspect in the eye.

Now what?

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, August 14, 2009 at 11:46 AM - 53 Comments

The Federal Court of Appeal upholds the Federal Court’s ruling that the Canadian government is obligated to seek Omar Khadr’s repatriation.

Here is the decision in its entirety. Select excerpts after the jump. Continue…

Let us storm the beaches of Sudan, Iran and Guantanamo

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 11:13 AM - 10 Comments

Apropos of all sorts of things, here is Stephen Harper’s answer to a National Post questionnaire in 2004 that asked “What have we learned from the William Sampson affair?”

Stephen Harper, Canadian Alliance: “We’ve learned that “soft power” doesn’t work when dealing with regimes that only understand hard power. Liberals cling to this doctrine, but in practice it has failed time and again. The highest duty of government is the protection of its citizens. Canada must ensure consequences when foreign governments torture or kill our people.”

The feel good read of the summer

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 10:52 AM - 4 Comments

The Security Intelligence Review Committee released its report into CSIS’s handling of Omar Khadr last week, the full text is here. Strangely, despite the PMO’s assurances that the United States did not participate in torture and the Prime Minister’s findings that Khadr did not qualify as a child soldier, the SIRC seems rather preoccupied with issues of human rights, mistreatment and age. Continue…

'I can't point to any risks'

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 9:23 PM - 12 Comments

An odd start to the government’s appeal of the federal court order to seek Omar Khadr’s repatriation. More from the Star and Globe.

The Storm Cloud Democrats

By John Parisella - Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 3:28 PM - 4 Comments

Satirist Will Rogers once said he was “not a member of any organized political party. I’m a Democrat.” Barack Obama must have understood exactly what Rogers meant after Senate Democrats voted 90 to 6 against his funding request for closing Gitmo.

In recent weeks, there have been grumblings from so-called Blue Dog—i.e., conservative—Democrats about government spending and deficits under the Obama plan. Some have also complained about Obama’s agricultural policies, environmental initiatives, and potential health care proposals. Is Obama about to encounter what Bill Clinton suffered when he, too, took office with control of both Houses of Congress? Recall that Clinton lost control of Congress at the following mid term elections. As a result, much of the Clinton Administration was saddled with compromise legislation for the rest of his presidency, one that failed to achieve its original promise. Is the same fate awaiting Obama?

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A useful reminder

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, May 22, 2009 at 1:53 PM - 0 Comments

Jeff Tietz, who previously profiled Omar Khadr for Rolling Stone in 2006, is going back over the story. Part one is here.

Process/mess

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 1:44 PM - 77 Comments

Kory Teneycke, July 15. “Mr. Khadr faces serious charges. There is a judicial process underway to determine Mr. Khadr’s fate. This should continue.”

Lawrence Cannon, Nov. 20. “Mr. Khadr faces very serious charges. He is being held and it’s our government’s intention to follow and respect the process that’s in place and, of course, to respect American sovereignty on this issue.”

Deepak Obhrai, Nov. 21. “Mr. Speaker, our position remains unchanged, because unlike many prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay, Omar Khadr has actually been charged with serious crimes and is in a judicial legal process to determine his guilt or innocence, and we support this process continuing.”

Stephen Harper, Jan. 13. “He has been accused of very serious matters. And there is a legal process that has to be taken.”

Barack Obama, today. “There are 240 people there who have now spent years in legal limbo. In dealing with this situation, we do not have the luxury of starting from scratch. We are cleaning up something that is – quite simply – a mess.”

Meanwhile, in Federal Court…

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, May 8, 2009 at 3:56 PM - 9 Comments

A federal lawyer offhandedly mentions the government has appealed Justice O’Reilly’s finding that Omar Khadr’s rights have been violated.

Canadian lawyer Nathan Whitling, acting for Khadr, confirmed the appeal was filed in an email to the Star. ”We’re disappointed that Prime Minister Harper refuses to be part of the solution to the Guantanamo problem faced by President Obama,” said Whitling. “This appeal is grounded upon the view that the Government of Canada may participate in the torture of a Canadian child without consequence.”

Barack Obama's 100 days of ‘change’

By Luiza Ch. Savage - Monday, April 27, 2009 at 10:00 PM - 2 Comments

In the span of 100 days in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped his exile on the island of Elba, regained the crown of emperor, and then went down to eventual defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. In 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his first 103 days in office to launch an array of emergency legislation that remade the American economy and created the New Deal—in the process drawing comparisons to the fast-moving Corsican. Since then, it has been a ritual to judge presidents on their first 100 days—the period when maximum energy pulsates through the White House, with a new president enjoying public support and still far enough away from congressional mid-term elections that he can get the tough things done.

George W. Bush’s first 100 days appeared competent, if modest: he launched an initiative to allow faith-based groups to access government money for social programs, abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, initiated an energy task force, and began the push for education reform and tax cuts. Bill Clinton’s first 100 days were rockier: he succeeded in pushing through Congress a massive budget in record time but became mired in controversies over cabinet appointments, gays in the military, and the ill-fated health care reform led by his wife. Continue…

Duelling absurdities

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 1:11 PM - 54 Comments

Rob Silver considers the federal court’s decision.

The distinction, in my opinion, is far from trivial, and has potentially troubling consequences going forward. While lawyers may argue that the Khadr case has a unique fact scenario (the fact that Canadian agents were part of interviews where torture was believed to be used is an important factor in this decision), the precedent is now set and it is easy to envision fact scenarios such as the one I set out above expanding this precedent. Courts could be forced to decide whether they are the body that now sets Canadian foreign policy whenever the rights of Canadians are impacted – a swath of potential issues from intervening in wars to not signing international treaties to, well, just about any international issue in which the rights of a single Canadian are affected. 

Kate Heartfield tries to make sense of the government’s position.

If there’s any logic to the Conservative pull-my-string response of “Mr. Khadr faces serious crimes” (a big if) then the logic, given the court’s decision, is this: A person charged with a crime does not have human rights. If that’s not the logic, how is it relevant that Khadr “faces very serious charges”? What does that have to do with his rights and his treatment, which is the issue at hand?

Dewar on Khadr

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 24, 2009 at 4:07 PM - 5 Comments

Paul Dewar’s scrum after QP today. Continue…

Rae on Khadr

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 24, 2009 at 4:00 PM - 3 Comments

Bob Rae’s scrum after QP today. Continue…

Kangaroo court

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 24, 2009 at 2:58 PM - 4 Comments

Canadian Press attempts to decipher the government’s position on Omar Khadr.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon told the House of Commons on Friday that their would be an appeal. He said Khadr, 22, is facing serious charges and that the American justice process must play out.

But his spokeswoman quickly contradicted that, saying no decision had been made. Within minutes, she backtracked, saying the minister’s comments stood.

A short time later things changed again, with spokeswoman Catherine Loubier saying the government is still considering what to do.

Judge and jury

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 24, 2009 at 1:26 PM - 4 Comments

From this morning’s QP.

Hon. Bob Rae (Toronto Centre, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs a question about the Khadr case. Mr. Justice O’Reilly’s judgment is really quite straightforward. He says: ‘There’s such evidence of systematic mistreatment of this prisoner at Guantanamo that there is now a positive obligation on the part of the Canadian government to make representations to bring him home.’ I would like to ask the minister a very simple question: What is it in Mr. Justice O’Reilly’s decision that the Government of Canada now takes objection to? 

Hon. Lawrence Cannon (Minister of Foreign Affairs, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I am happy to see my colleague from Toronto Centre. We have not seen each other for the last couple of weeks. Omar Khadr faces very serious charges. We all know that. As a matter of fact, last night we were able to see television footage of Mr. Khadr’s alleged building and planting of explosive devices that are actually planted in Afghanistan. Those devices are the devices that basically have taken away the lives of young Canadian men and women.

Continue…

The Commons: 'The facts have not changed'

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 7:01 PM - 57 Comments

The Scene. Ralph Goodale stood with breaking news.

“Mr. Speaker, this was not a good morning for a Conservative government in abject denial,” the Liberal house leader reported. “A Federal Court judge has just ruled that the Prime Minister is legally obliged to immediately press the United States to return Omar Khadr to Canada.”

The Liberals applauded. The Conservatives grumbled.

“We have been telling the Conservatives to do so for years. The American process was deeply flawed. Now the courts have said so too,” Goodale continued. “Will the Prime Minister confirm that he will comply with today’s ruling of the Federal Court?”

The Prime Minister, listening impassively, took a sip from the glass of water on his desk. When the Liberal finished, he stood and spoke in his reasonable voice. “Mr. Speaker,” he said, “of course for years this government has been continuing exactly the same policy that the previous government had.”

In fairness, that the Prime Minister has been the Prime Minister for some three years is sometimes lost on him. Such is his regard for his predecessors that it often does not occur to him that he might contradict their negligence.  Continue…