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Prisoner abuse off public's radar

Issue doesn't seem to be hurting Tories

By: Dan Lett

23/11/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 17

Political pundits and journalists are on constant lookout for THE ISSUE, the one that changes fortunes and reverses trends.

It is not an easy thing to spot. Some issues seem at first blush to have the potential to ruin a party or government. Unfortunately, the issues that offend pundits and journalists don't always tax voters.

This fall, there have been several issues on the federal stage that seemed to have the potential to be "the one." One of the most promising involved allegations that the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper was funnelling federal infrastructure funds to Tory-held ridings.

For several weeks, the opposition rode those allegations hard while news outlets published reports that showed ridings held by Tory MPs were indeed getting more federal stimulus funding than opposition ridings.

It was a solid issue for the opposition, further proof that the Conservative government is no better or worse than its predecessors when it comes to patronage. However, the issue had absolutely no resonance with voters. While the Tories fended off shrill, daily allegations in the House of Commons, public opinion polls showed voters flocking to Harper's Conservatives and souring on the Liberals and Michael Ignatieff.

Having seemingly (or so far) survived this issue, the Tories have waded into yet another maelstrom that some pundits believe could be "the one." This time, it's about the federal government's decision to turn over prisoners to Afghan authorities with the knowledge they were being tortured.

The issue arose following stunning testimony by Richard Colvin, a senior Canadian diplomat who claims he warned the current federal government as far back as 2006 that prisoners captured by Canadian troops in Afghanistan, and then turned over to Afghan authorities, were being tortured.

Colvin alleged Canada not only violated international humanitarian law, but then tried to cover its tracks. Colvin said his reports to senior government officials were at first dismissed, then ignored and then suppressed. At one point he was told to stop making written reports.

To date, the Tory government has used every trick, dirty and otherwise, to deflect Colvin's allegations. The Tories at first tried to portray Colvin as a fool who bought into Taliban propaganda. Then, he was accused of being a traitor who may himself have broken the law by revealing what he knew.

However, a day later, Defence Minister Peter MacKay claimed that Canada changed its policies for turning over prisoners to Afghan forces in part because of Colvin's concerns. Dismissing reports and then claiming you took them seriously is, as they say in politics, sucking and blowing at the same time. And it's a clear sign of a government scrambling to find an excuse.

Many political commentators believe Colvin for a couple of important reasons. First, it seems pretty clear Colvin is being selfless in blowing the whistle; his testimony is essentially professional suicide. But there is another reason why these allegations ring true.

Torture has been a consistent feature of this and the other skirmishes that make up the War on Terror. Ever since terrorists crashed commercial jetliners into the World Trade Centre, civilized countries have utilized uncivilized tactics in a rather futile attempt to restore order to the world.

It is not hard to imagine Afghan forces torturing prisoners because the architect of the war in that country, the United States, has itself made extensive use of torture to elicit intelligence from prisoners. It is also not hard to imagine that Canadian officials would be reluctant about making a fuss about an issue that the U.S. has embraced as a necessary evil, despite evidence that torture produces little genuine intelligence.

That we would not stand on our own values when it comes to torture is certainly a sorry tale. To then work diligently and systemically to suppress the evidence of our shortcomings is shameful. To suppress and then threaten a civil servant who raised concerns is simply horrendous.

Despite all this ugliness, it is not clear the Tories will suffer politically. To punish the Tories we would all have to agree that what happened in Afghanistan was wrong. And after enduring the steady, tragic deaths of Canadian soldiers, voters are probably unsure just how concerned they should be about torturing Afghan prisoners.

Perhaps the Tories knew that Canadians are conflicted, and it emboldened them to attack Colvin and deny his allegations.

This is not one of Canada's finest moments. But in the final analysis, no government should fear an issue that the voters themselves don't fear.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 23, 2009 A6

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17 Commentscomment icon

Dan Lett is making a good point. What is bloody well WRONG with us, the Canadian voters. The actions of this government, to date, have been nothing short of appalling. If the Liberals had embarrassed our country and sacrificed our troops for spurious reasons and blatantly lied to the public about knowledge of torture - you can be assured that the Free Press would have front page headlines and blistering editorials screaming for an election. But, we do nothing. We let a conservative tabloid like the FPress tell us what to think and, when that tabloid tells us that the opposition parties are 'collapsing', we believe them. we 'flock' to a corrupt party for ... what?? We can never again tsk tsk the Americans for electing George Bush TWICE. We are obviously no better. Mr. Lett says it very well : "no government should fear an issue that the voters themselves don't fear." If we don't care enough to do what's right, we can never count on our government to bother either.

Regretfully the whole affair is being politicized.
I wonder how many of the eager opposition politicians have spent as much time questioning the government on the well being of our troops.
While the Conservative's reaction on the outset was somewhat clumsy; they have corrected the errors that first started with the liberals, although they took their time; and it seems, based on Canadian correctional officers present in Kandahar, no torturing has been detected by them.
But do we realy believe that we can bring Afghanistan and its people into the 21st century of western values (which might not even be the right thing for them) over night.
I doubt that the liberals would have done any better,in the contrary. Remember the dark decade for the military under Chretien. In today's world we need a strong military ready to assist when the UN calls for help unless we believe that we should no longer be a member of the UN and NATO

"the average Canadian would rather support our troops." I respect soldiers and their sacrifices, so I believe the phrase "support our troops" has been terribly cheapened by those who misused it on both sides of the US and Canadian border to mean "don't question the orders the government is giving our troops."

Dressing up partisan politics as militarized patriotism is a dangerous path for a democratic polity.

It's not about the troops. The troops do what they are told and they do it with precision. This issue is about Colvin warning his superiors about the torture and the fact that they did nothing about it, and then tried to cover up the whole issue.

If there is no issue then why is everyone running for cover, pointing fingers and deflecting. Where there is smoke there is fire!

Anyone who thinks that the Conservatives have nothing to hide on this issue is an ostrich with his/her head in the sand. Stand up and think for yourself for once. Look at the facts and make an informed decision about what is happening.

I think the average Canadian would rather support our troops than blame them for Afghans torturing Afghans. This is no Abu Ghraib, no matter how much the media tries to make it so.

It would be foolish and very irresponsible, for the Canadian government to conclude that Richard Colvin's accusations are true and are fact, if there is no proof or conclusive evidence of that, and of course we are told that Colvin has only allegations (which may be true or not true). Colvin was given the opportunity to provide the parliamentary committee with proof or evidence and was unable to do so. However if the government was to be irresponsible enough to accept allegations, without necessary proof, they would then be admitting that our troops were committing a war crime by sending detainees to a be tortured in Afghan prisons. Liberals obviously are prepared to accept allegations as the truth, and smear our armed forces without proof - this is not only cheap politics but a big disservice to our troops. When have Canadians decided it is wrong and criminal, to give our troops the benefit of the doubt particularly when they have performed in exemplary fashion - cheap politics aside. The government can not be faulted for insisting they not only want but need proof from Colvin, and are not prepared to accept allegations. I wish the Liberals would be as quick to side with our troops as they are prepared to take up the Taliban cause. To say that since the government acted and investigated the Afghan prisons, that was proof that they accepted Colvin's allegations, when fact is they actually acted on more credible evidence then what Colvin provided.

Sad that this issue is being discussed and used in political terms. Torture was wrong when we signed the Geneva Convention, and it's still wrong. We should never have gone into Afghanistan, regardless of the selfless service and excellence of our military.
@ whoever: I don't recall any news about POWs in Canada being tortured, or us passing them on to other administrations that we knew would torture. I guess times have changed.

Not on the radar? The Winnipeg Free Press has been mostly ignoring this issue for the past week. Even today with a new major headline in all other news web sites there is nothing here on the Free Press web site except this article that the public is ignoring this issue.

Didn't we have POW's right here in this province during WWII?

Sounds like lots of commenters subscribe to the theory that "two wrongs make a right".

Canada should be a moral leader for human rights but has simply become an international follower.

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