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Damages from Canadian suit should go to soldier’s family

Let us hope Omar Khadr never gets to enjoy a dime of the $8 million the Canadian government has awarded him, or gets to send any of it to his terrorist chums in Afghanistan.

Khadr, a native of Canada, was 15 when he was captured by U.S. troops who were battling Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan. Before giving up, Khadr threw a hand grenade that killed U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer.

Khadr was taken to the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to killing Speer. Perhaps because of his youth, he was sentenced to just eight years in prison. He served some of the time in a Canadian prison.

He was released in 2015, pending an appeal of his sentence. Then he claimed he was mistreated by U.S. officials, and he blamed Canada for not standing up for him.

Last week, the Canadian government awarded him $8 million ($10.5 million Canadian) and apologized.

That infuriated many Canadians, as well as Americans. Khadr’s guilty plea was not the only evidence against him. U.S. troops were there to witness him fighting.

But here in the United States, Speer’s family sued Khadr. A judge ordered he pay them and the family of a soldier injured by the grenade $134.2 million in damages.

Canadian officials ought to hand Khadr his check, then take it back and send the money to the Americans he owes $134.2 million. Rewarding a murderous extremist simply isn’t right, on either side of the U.S.-Canada border.

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