http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... sNewsThird
And the kicker;GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba—A Canadian accused of killing an American soldier as a teenage al Qaeda militant pleaded guilty Monday as part of a deal that avoids a war-crimes trial for someone labeled a "child soldier" by his defenders.
Omar Khadr pleaded to five charges including murder for throwing a grenade that mortally wounded the soldier during a fierce raid on an al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan in 2002. The now 24-year-old defendant also admitted to planting improvised explosive devices and receiving weapons training from the terrorist network.
The exact terms of the plea agreement weren't immediately disclosed. Mr. Khadr will now face a military jury for a sentencing hearing that is expected to last several days. The panel cannot impose a sentence more severe than the plea agreement. His trial had been scheduled to start Monday and he faced a possible life sentence.
The soldier Khadr murdered is Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher J. Speer, assigned to ARSOC.Mr. Khadr would be eligible for transfer back to his native Canada after serving the first year of his sentence as part of the agreement, said Army Col. Patrick Parrish, the military judge.
Canada's government issued a terse reaction, noting that he had pleaded guilty.
"This matter is between Mr. Khadr and the U.S. government. We have no further comment," said Catherine Loubier, a spokeswoman for Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, in an email.
http://www.militarytimes.com/valor/army ... er/262917/