The Pessimist

It is hard for me to sort out my feelings on this one:

Michelle Shephard The Star

Omar Khadr's Canadian lawyer says a three-day visit to Guantanamo Bay included harassment by U.S. customs agents and a search of his private notes at the military prison.

Who do I hate more? Lawyers or the Khadr family?
On the on hand -- lawyers are a very low life form, able to take either side of an argument, and present it with equal commitment. "Your honour, it is clearly night." "Objection, your honour, my client has clearly mistaken day for night."
On the other hand -- the Khadrs -- Canada's first family of terror. They sponge off of our welfare state while hating everything we stand for and trying to kill us.

It's close; perhaps I hate the Khadrs slightly more.

But, the United States used to have a system of justice, with a clear set of rules.

Dennis Edney was on his way home Saturday from a visit with Khadr at the U.S. detention centre in Cuba when his military flight stopped at a small Fort Pierce, Fla., airport to refuel.

U.S. customs agents ordered him to retrieve his bags from the plane and hand over his notes and reveal any material on his laptop relating to Khadr,

"I'm indignant because it's an invasion on my solicitor-client privilege. It wasn't a random search of some guy who you're thinking is going to be bringing in drugs. This was a direct search into all matters pertaining to my client. That's a violation. That's harassment," Edney charged yesterday.

Before Edney was permitted to meet with Khadr on Friday, Guantanamo guards also searched his notes.

"They're not just thumbing through, they're reading the documents," said Khadr's military lawyer Lt. Commander William Kuebler.

For national security reasons, the U.S. has created this legal limbo, where people can be held for years, without being charged, and without access to lawyers or courts, except military kangaroo courts. After many years, the situation seemed to be inching toward normalcy, with at least a few of the detainees being given access to lawyers. But the lawyers have had their attorney-client privilege stomped on, not just in Guantanamo, but right in the continental U.S in Florida. (But, maybe this is somewhat understandable, as that state wasn't even able to count election ballots.)

So, will that be two evils, or three?