I'll just comment briefly on a few of the family members. We know that his deceased father, Ahmed Said Khadr, was a friend of Osama bin Laden's. He was an alleged financier of terrorism. He sought to work with al-Qaeda; he moved his family to Afghanistan to do just that. And we know that from the views expressed by his family who remain alive today--it was Omar's sister who noted it--they all, the entire family, wished for martyrdom. Certainly that view, she noted, was shared by her husband. We know that Omar's other brother, Abdullah, is currently awaiting the outcome of deportation proceedings that could result in his extradition to the U.S. He is reputed to have purchased arms for al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, buying AK-47 mortar rounds and rocket launchers. We know that Ms. Elsamnah praised al-Qaeda and praised suicide bombing on CBC television.
But aside from these publicly available comments and views, the person who may know Omar and his family best would be his defence counsel, who in front of this very subcommittee offered condemnation of Maha and Zaynab Khadr. He went on to say that it would be appropriate for the U.S. government not to want to repatriate him in such a way that he would fall in line with them and other influences in his family.
There is clearly a problem in the Omar Khadr family. We need to recognize that and we need to take steps to ensure that any hatred and incitement, any quests for martyrdom, are not passed on to younger children who are within that family context today so that we do not create more young jihadists.