Omar Khadr: Child Soldier or Child Terrorist? No, seriously.

So, was Omar Khadr a child soldier as his lawyers have argued, and as his American lawyers - minus the unfortunate Bill Kuebler - continued to argue on Wednesday?
(as reported by http://www.securitylawbrief.com/
in the article:
http://www.securitylawbrief.com/main/2009/04/us-urged-to-free-young-guant%C3%A1namo-detainees.html )

(Trying their case in public seems to be a habit for every lawyer Omar Khadr has ever had.)

In my opinion, Omar Khadr was indubitably a child terrorist, because he was at the scene where he was captured, as a part of an al Qaeda group. I don't think that al Qaeda claims to be "soldiers" can ever be reasonably accepted. If we're going to accept that claim, then we may as well accept their claims to be "martyrs" and "Muslims" as well. And if we do that, then we have lost the war for the minds of the young people al Qaeda and other terrorists are trying to recruit.

However, I also don't see that it matters whether or not Khadr was a child terrorist or a child soldier with respect to the issue of his repatriation as that issue now stands:

1. First, he was a child, and that should count for something.

2. Most importantly, he was a child whose rights were unquestionably seriously abused (http://fakirsca.blogspot.com/2009/02/life-and-times-of-omar-khadr.html) by U.S. military and Canadian Foreign affairs officials. Murdering Hell's Angels who were adults have walked on charges at least as serious as any Omar Khadr faces, on account of less egregious violations of their rights: http://www.isrcl.org/Papers/2008/Code.pdf

3. I've said before that I don't think Omar Khadr is coming back, despite the legal and moral reasons for repatriating him: http://fakirsca.blogspot.com/2009/02/life-and-times-of-omar-khadr.html

Less than a week after Canada Federal Court Justice James O'Reilly handed down his order to Stephen Harper and Law-rence Cannon to request Omar Khadr's reptriation: http://fakirsca.blogspot.com/2009/04/ottawas-april-23-order-from-federal.html ,
Col. Patrick Parrish, the presiding Guantanamo judge, has re-started Omar Khadr's trial: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1543333

Parrish couldn't have done so without getting the go-ahead from Barack Obama, who had personally requested that the trials be suspended. (Still think Obama is an "idealist?" You must not have heard about Hillary Clinton's recent cozy, "let's just forget about those annoying human-rights issues and concentrate on making everyone rich again" - chat with the Chinese government.)

I also think that: unless and until Stephen Harper and Law-rence Cannon can come up with a plan to make sure that Omar Khadr is not going to fall under extremist and other undesirable influences the instant he returns, - it's best for us and for Khadr himself if he stays right where he is: http://fakirsca.blogspot.com/2009/04/to-stephen-harper-and-lawrence-cannon.html

To those who disagree, I will just point out the reality that: to date, God hasn't lifted a finger to get Omar Khadr out of Guan-tanamo. Now, if you want to tell Him He is in error, then, good luck to you with that.
(Been there. Done that. Done doing that.)