When Age Is Just a Number

The number one goal of the Pentagon and the Bush administration is to sweep Guantanamo under the rug. For this reason, and this reason only, there can be neither leniency nor admission of error.

In scale the crimes are modest, in character not dissimilar from any other tin pot despotcracy that allowed its misnamed "security" services to go tpp far.

Warning - still more nonsense being spewed forth by Dahlia Lithwick, the most left-wing extremist in the Newsweak line-up. And that is really saying something!

Children are heaven before your eyes on earth, those who try to harm them or have succeeded in doing so will never see light; love children, its a big part of heaven.

The article addresses a bizarre analogy. Using religion to brainwash a child to grow into the adult trainer's sexual servant - UNDER THE GUISE OF GOD'S WILL, is certainly comparable to using religion to brainwash a child to grow into the adult trainer's murderous weapon - UNDER THE GUISE OF GOD'S WILL.. The distinction is when the victim becomes a victim maker as well.

Omar Kahdr is the product of a bit of a youthful indiscretion. He simply needs to be rehabilitated. While we are about it, let us rehabilitate the soldier he allegedly killed.

It is one thing when a young person gets caught up in the emotions of the moment and kills someone in a gang fight or something like that. It is clearly something else when a young person flies half way around the world for the express purpose of killing someone. Omar is not the victim here. He is likely a perpetrator every bit as capable of forming at least some mature thoughts as the poor guy he killed.

Many Viet Nam veterans are still haunted by memories of having to kill children they presumed were armed enemies. Notwithstanding our desire to preserve the innocence of youth, young people are not always innocents, especially when they are lobbing hand grenades at military combatants. Dahlia may cry her heart out for this poor victim. My tears are reserved for the family of the dead soldier and for the many soldiers who are daily faced with the prospect consciously and cold bloodedly killing children in the name of self defense. Who will rehabilitate them?

Comparing Omar Kahdr with the FLDS children is asinine

I don't recall members of that Texas polygamist cult throwing grenades at Texas Child Protective Service agents, so the analogy between those children, their parents, their religious beliefs and Omar Khadr is moot. In war, enemy combatants fight under the guise of innocent civilians posing a danger to US troops. That this young man was caught engaging US forces in combat and captured is the crux of the whole argument. At that point, he is no longer a child, but a soldier. A terrorist if you will, who does not deserve to be called a child because that title conveys an aura of youthful innocence. He is not innocent, he is not a child. He is a man. And he was caught engaging US forces in combat as a man who knew full well the consequences of his actions. And as a man, he should be prepared to accept the consequences of those actions. Incarceration, trial, conviction, and execution.