I've never understood the case of Mohammed Jawad. On August 4, he was released from Guantanamo Bay after 7 years of imprisonment. He returned to Afghanistan.
His crime? He threw a grenade at an American Jeep.
I'm not advocating throwing grenades at American soldiers. But hey--we invaded his country. He was a teenager (maybe as young as 14) who decided to do something. It was war, and he threw a grenade. They threw grenades at Russian jeeps, too.
It wasn't a hate crime or a terrorist act. It was a kid taking up arms to defend his country against an invader--which we were. A totally justified invader, but an invader nonetheless.
As a result, we kept Jawad at Gitmo for 7 years. I don't get it. Am I missing something here?
Actually, Jawad may have never even thrown a grenade. He confessed to it only after being tortured by Afghan troops, who then turned him over to Americans. Jawad is illiterate, and his confession was written in a dialect he doesn't speak. US courts ruled out the confession long ago, but the Bush Administration still wouldn't release him.
His crime? He threw a grenade at an American Jeep.
I'm not advocating throwing grenades at American soldiers. But hey--we invaded his country. He was a teenager (maybe as young as 14) who decided to do something. It was war, and he threw a grenade. They threw grenades at Russian jeeps, too.
It wasn't a hate crime or a terrorist act. It was a kid taking up arms to defend his country against an invader--which we were. A totally justified invader, but an invader nonetheless.
As a result, we kept Jawad at Gitmo for 7 years. I don't get it. Am I missing something here?
Actually, Jawad may have never even thrown a grenade. He confessed to it only after being tortured by Afghan troops, who then turned him over to Americans. Jawad is illiterate, and his confession was written in a dialect he doesn't speak. US courts ruled out the confession long ago, but the Bush Administration still wouldn't release him.
Career-wise, I've been hanging around and writing about and cheering on churches and pastors for the past 25 years as my denomination's Communications Director.
Leave a comment