In 2003, Canadian born Omar Khadr threw a grenade at, and killed, special forces soldier SFC Christopher Speer while fighting in Afghanistan against American and Canadian coalition forces. Trudeau just set him free…
Mr. Trudeau,
I acknowledge that I am not a Canadian citizen and my opinion has absolutely no impact on your life, views, or policy decisions. In fact, I am well aware that you will likely never read this. Even if you did, I am quite certain that you would merely dismiss it as some sort of vitriol without merit. I believe that you must not lose faith in humanity. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” I would love to believe this is true. Unfortunately, there are some acts that shock one’s sensibilities so much that they threaten to completely destroy one’s faith in humanity.
I served in the United States military for over twenty years. During that time, I deployed three times into combat zones at the behest of our government. Interestingly enough, all three times I had interactions with our Canadian brothers and sisters in arms. This goes as far back to the 1990s when I first deployed as part of Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. I have always found that the common bond that we soldiers share was as strong between our two nations as between my sister services here in the US. To this day I would stand up and fight alongside any Canadian soldier without question as their honor and integrity matches up to my own. Unfortunately, it is clear that this honor does not extend into your administration, or to you personally.
In 2003, Canadian born Omar Khadr threw a grenade at, and killed, special forces soldier SFC Christopher Speer while fighting in Afghanistan against American and Canadian coalition forces. Let me tell you a little bit about this American who lost his life due to the actions of Khadr. He enlisted into the Army as a medic in 1992. After a couple of years, he decided that he had what it took to be among the best in the world and completed special forces training. Speer was a warrior who epitomized the best that we would want to see in a soldier. A prime example of this is when he risked his life by wading into a mine field to save two Afghan children who had wandered onto it. For this act of altruism he was awarded the Soldiers Medal. This medal is the highest non-combat related award a member of the army can receive.
What about Khadr? As I am sure you are aware, his father was placed on the FBIs most wanted listed after 9/11. After Khadr was captured and arrested in Pakistan, the Canadian government interceded on his behalf and secured his release, returning him to Toronto and his family. He subsequently took them back to Pakistan where they stayed at bin Laden’s camp and received training on improvised explosive devices and combat operations. After his capture, he admitted to being trained as a suicide bomber and said he wanted to kill as many American’s as possible. He also stated that killing Speer made him happy and that it would always bring him joy to reflect back on this fact.
Speer survived in the hospital for two weeks after the attack, but was eventually taken off life support. That moment will undoubtedly be one of the most painful moments in his family’s lives. That moment was when his wife became a widow and his two children were robbed of their youth. While their father was fighting for his life, his killer was being fed and cared for at the hands of the American captors. While Speer’s wife was grieving for her loss, the military flew in an ophthalmologist to help Khadr’s vision recover from the injuries he received in the battle where he attacked Speer.
None of this has anything to do with you of course. After all, war is ugly and heinous. The death of SFC Speer is horrible, as is the pain and loss to his family, but that is the cost we bear as soldiers. We all understand that there is a bill to be paid for our freedom, and that bill is paid in the blood of those who are willing to stand on the field of battle to protect the ideals of freedom and the lives of their loved ones.
What this does have to do with you are the events that occurred after his death. The government of Canada petitioned the United States to transfer Khadr into your care. Canadian Justice Minister joined the petition for his return by saying, “I join other scholars and associations of jurists in calling for Omar Khadr to be transferred into the custody of Canadian law enforcement officials, to be afforded due process under Canadian law, with prospects for appropriate rehabilitation and integration.” I actually agree with this, believe it or not. As an ally of ours, with soldiers willing to make the ultimate sacrifice serving next to our own, I support your sovereignty over native Canadian’s who have become traitors.
What I cannot accept however is the traitorous actions that you have taken in the aftermath. First off, you followed the example set by your predecessors and released a known terrorist back into the world. I cannot help but see the sad irony in the fact that history repeats itself – like father, like son I guess. While this angers me, it does not set fire to a flame of righteous indignation. That is reserved for the next action you took.
Up to this point, I can accept all of this as the ways of the world. I don’t have to like or respect it, I just have to accept it. Even releasing a killer who can reflect back happily to killing a husband and father I can begrudgingly tolerate. War is death, and both sides are in a struggle for their life. What I can’t accept or understand is your decision to issue an official apology to this traitor. He turned his back on his own country, on your ideals and your standards. He aligned himself with evil, and happily wrapped himself in it’s ideology like a blanket to keep him warm at night. For this, you stated, “On behalf of the Government of Canada, we wish to apologize to Mr. Khadr for any role Canadian officials may have played in relation to his ordeal abroad and any resulting harm. We hope that this expression, and the negotiated settlement reached with the Government, will assist him in his efforts to begin a new and hopeful chapter in his life with his fellow Canadians.” Then to make matters worse you gave him approximately $8 million US dollars for his suffering.
Are you daft or do you simply look down upon the military community and their families? Maybe it’s because you have never had to put your life on the line for any cause. Why should you care about those who do?
I thought that Obama had reached the pinnacle of disgusting treatment towards those who stand guard of your freedoms when he commuted Bradley Manning. You proved me wrong in a way that sickens me to my core and makes me reassess my definition of callousness and disdain. However, you clearly learned from your mentor Obama by rushing through the payment so that the widow of Speer could not stop you or collect on the money that she was awarded by a US court.
Thanks to you, this family now gets to suffer through their torment all over. They get to see this murderer go free. The children have to live without their father while you have given his killer a fortune. Not just that, but this man can mock their pain and suffering by making statements like, “I have a lot of experience with… and appreciation of pain.” No sir, I believe that the appreciation of pain is reserved for a daughter who will not be walked down the aisle, or a son who will never throw a ball with his dad. While they may not have you to thank for this, they have you to thank for the reoccurrence of pain and the new and equally deep cuts you have carved into their souls.
