Guantanamo's child : the untold story of Omar Khadr
"The remarkable true story of Toronto-born Omar Khadr begins in a small Afghan town on July 27, 2002, where the fifteen-year-old Canadian hid in a compound under attack by U.S. Special Forces. When the soldiers searched through the rubble at the end of the fighting, they didn't realize anyone was still alive. The Pentagon would later allege that as the soldiers neared him, Khadr threw a grenade, fatally wounding Delta Force soldier Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer. Khadr was shot and had his serious wounds attended to at the scene. Taken into custody, he was sent to the notorious American prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He has passed through puberty in U.S. detention, and his lawyers allege he has been tortured and held in isolation for months at a time." "Guantanamo's Child is a sweeping narrative that reconstructs the life of Omar Khadr, from his childhood spent traveling between a Canadian suburb and Peshawar at the height of the jihad against the Soviets, and into Afghanistan and the homes of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda's elite. Based on extensive research and interviews with those connected to Omar's case throughout Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Pakistan, as well as intensive research at Guantanamo Bay, Michelle Shephard's account reveals the unknown stories of the lives of the U.S. soldiers whom Omar fought and those who knew him in custody. Shephard also delivers an intimate portrait of Khadr's parents and siblings, once called "Canada's First Family of Terrorism," and their escape from Kabul after the 9/11 attacks." "From a U.S. interrogator who screamed the ingredients of a cereal box in order to scare detainees who didn't understand English, to a ferocious Chechen commander who raised rabbits, to the Scottish-Canadian lawyer who wore cufflinks that read "Old lawyers never die," Shephard brings unprecedented intimacy and insight into the players who have helped shape history and impacted Khadr's life." "But more than just a story of a young Canadian's life, Guantanamo's Child goes behind the scenes in Washington and Ottawa to reveal how Canada has supported Khadr's detention while countries worldwide have condemned the offshore prison and demanded the repatriation of their citizens. Shephard also dissects how the United States has flouted its own and international laws to create Guantanamo's military commission for its own singular ends." "Omar Khadr is about to make history as the youngest defendant ever to be tried for war crimes. Guantanamo's Child is an essential read for those wanting to understand how the world changed after 9/11, how fear has trumped fundamental rights, how overzealous American policies have turned alleged terrorists into victims, and why so few have cared about a Canadian teenager - perhaps until now."--Jacket
Print Book,English, 2008
John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario, 2008
Biographies
xv, 270 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 24 cm
9780470841174, 0470841176
191759667
"Shoot me"
Al Kanadi
The Khadr effect
Flight or fight
"Don't forgat me"
The elephant and the ant
"We are an al Qaeda family"
"It's destroying us slowly"
"There are no rules"
Law and disorder