A Utah soldier is asking a judge to order an alleged al-Qaida financier to pay $110 million for his role in a terrorist attack that blinded the soldier and killed another.
Sgt. Layne Morris of West Valley City was blinded in his right eye, and his comrade, U.S. Army medic Christopher Speer, died after someone tossed a grenade their way on July 27, 2002.
Morris and Speer's widow filed a civil lawsuit against the father of the alleged attacker and are seeking $31.5 million and $94.5 million respectively in the unprecedented lawsuit, according to documents filed late Monday.
"There is no sum I could be paid that would fairly compensate me for the look I see in the eyes of my wife and children when they look at my broken state," Morris said in an affidavit to the court. "There is no amount of money I would not pay to set the clock back to the day before this assassin butchered me."
The lawsuit alleged that Ahmad Sa'id Khadr "coerced, aided, instructed and promoted" his son, Omar Khadr, to commit terrorism and failed to control his son. A federal judge in Utah recently entered default judgment against the elder Khadr's estate.
Last week — more than three years since the attack — the U.S. government charged Omar Khadr, 19, with murder, attempted murder, aiding the enemy and conspiracy for allegedly tossing the grenade that ultimately killed three people and wounded several others.
At the time of the attack, Khadr was a 15-year-old supporter of al-Qaida, planting mines to target U.S. convoys and gathering surveillance. The teenager is one of five suspected al-Qaida terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay pending military tribunals.
The attack happened on July 27, 2002, after Morris and his 19th Special Forces unit went to check out an al-Qaida compound near Khost, Afghanistan. The battle started after rebels shot the unit's two Afghan interpreters.
Once the bullets cleared, only Khadr was left standing among the al-Qaida operatives. Morris said he then saw Khadr shoot his pistol at the troops and toss a grenade toward Speer.
"It is difficult to quantify the damage inflicted upon our family by one hateful individual," Tabitha Speer wrote in an affidavit to the court. "Although the initial damage was borne by Christopher, the ramifications reverberated through our family and beyond. The pain now carried by both myself and my children will last a lifetime."
Morris said he knows it might be years before he actually receives any damages, if he ever receives them at all. The elder Khadr died in a shootout with Pakistani security forces in 2003.
Attorneys aren't sure if Khadr's assets can pay for such a massive payout. Since nobody fought the lawsuit, Morris and Speer's attorneys don't have much information to go on about the elder Khadr's finances.
Morris and Speer's attorney, Donald Winder, took the case on contingency and will only get paid if Morris and Speer collect damages.
"We are taking a big risk, but we have decided it's the principle of the matter," said Edwin Christensen, who is working the case with Winder.
E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com