U.S. media start noticing Khadr payout as opposition MP helps spread word
Posted July 17, 2017 12:52 pm.
Last Updated July 17, 2017 1:26 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (NEWS 1130) – The federal payout to Omar Khadr had received meagre attention in the U.S. media — until now.
The Wall Street Journal has published a scorching op-ed written by opposition MP Peter Kent that’s now gaining traction elsewhere.
The former journalist penned a piece titled, “A Terrorist’s Big Payday, Courtesy of Trudeau.”
The item began with a description of Khadr killing an American army medic, Christopher Speer, when he was 15 years old and fighting alongside al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
It explained how Khadr won a court fight in Canada, was repatriated there, released on bail and then sued the Canadian government for $20 million.
The Conservative MP criticized the Trudeau government for settling with Khadr, while the victim’s family got nothing.
By Monday afternoon his piece was the No. 1 story on the Fox News website.
The Fox News item quotes Kent’s op-ed under the headline: “Gitmo Lottery: Canada makes millionaire out of terrorist who killed U.S. soldier.”
Google searches for Khadr’s name were up more than 700 per cent Monday in the United States from the previous day, according to Google Trends.
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Khadr issue had not come up in any meetings with U.S. state governors during a conference in Rhode Island.
