Finally, Omar Khadr. Could anyone be more Catch-22?

Khadr is the Canadian sent by his father to fight for the Taliban. At the age of 15, he was captured by the Americans. At Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. military court convicted him of war crimes.

Why was it a war crime for Khadr to shoot at U.S. soldiers and not a war crime for them to shoot at him? Answer: Catch-22.

The U.S. government ruled that any soldier fighting for the Taliban was, by definition, a war criminal.

The Harper government is keeping Khadr in prison in Canada because it is politically convenient to do so. He is going blind.

In 20 years, it will be the common wisdom that Khadr was badly mistreated. He will receive a public apology and a large cash settlement. The war on terror will be deemed a time of collective madness.

But now he — and we — are caught in that madness. Little makes sense.

Read full article: Canada’s war on terror has a Catch-22 absurdity: Walkom | Fri Dec 19 2014, Toronto Star