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Topic: Bruises don't warrant a military inquiry (Read 4093 times)
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Mike Blais
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The brass at DND should be apolitical and these misguided efforts at damage control for the conservatives only makes us all look incompetent.
When does an Afghan become a detainee?
Critics say latest comments from DND expose conundrum in new policy on those arrested by Canadians
ALEX DOBROTA
From Monday's Globe and Mail
May 7, 2007 at 2:48 AM EDT
Ottawa — The Defence Department's latest statement about an Afghan man whose mistreatment by local police caused an uproar in Parliament last week has done little to clarify the incident, according to critics of Canadian detainee policies – and may also expose gaps in the newest agreement on the treatment of prisoners in Afghanistan.
The detainee who was beaten while in Afghan National Police custody in 2006 and rescued by Canadian troops was never captured by Canadian Forces in the first place, the Department of National Defence claimed.
The soldiers were only questioning the civilian before he was arrested by the Afghan police, Lieutenant-General Walter Natynczyk said in a statement.
For the Conservative government, the claim will likely serve to ward off some of the heat it has been taking over the past two weeks on its detainee policy.
Related Articles
But for critics, this new version of events raises the question of when an Afghan individual officially becomes a Canadian prisoner. And the answer is absent from the new agreement on detainees brokered by the Tories, critics have said.
“It just seems that it's getting more and more confusing as to when the detainee transfer agreement applies and when it doesn't,” said Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada.
“It just puts some more confusion,” echoed Denis Coderre, Liberal defence critic. “The more you dig the more you find.”
Colonel Steven Noonan, a former task-force commander in Afghanistan, disclosed the incident of the beaten man in a Federal Court affidavit that forms part of the government's response to a legal challenge by Amnesty International Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association to stop all further detainee transfers.
Col. Noonan's sworn evidence was cited by the Opposition in Friday's Question Period to challenge Tory claims that government officials had no knowledge of cases where detainees handed over to Afghan authorities were beaten or tortured.
DND issued a terse statement Friday that clearly set out to contradict media reports and opposition claims about the incident.
Lt.-Gen. Natynczyk said the soldiers approached the man in the village of Zangabad, but never detained him.
“From their questions, the [Canadian Forces] members concluded that there was no need to detain the individual as he was of no value or threat to them,” Lt.-Gen. Natynczyk said. “Subsequently, the local Afghan National Police arrested him.”
It remains unclear, however, whether Canadian soldiers witnessed the arrest, or whether Afghan police officials saw the troops questioning the man. The statement only mentions that Canadian soldiers later visited the man in prison and noticed he had suffered “minor injuries” while in custody.
The soldiers took charge of the man and transferred him to another police detachment, the statement said.
Lt.-Gen. Natanczyk was travelling outside the country and could not be reached to clarify his comments yesterday, DND spokeswoman Tanya Barnes said.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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Forces 'abusing' national security laws
Lawyer raps PR spin on Afghan beatings
Mike Blanchfield, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, May 11, 2007
OTTAWA - The Canadian Forces are "abusing" national security provisions by selectively releasing details about the beating of a prisoner by Afghan police to suit their own public relations objectives, says the lawyer who has launched a Federal Court challenge to ban detainee transfers.
Ottawa lawyer Paul Champ, who represents Amnesty International and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, said he will take that charge before a Federal Court justice and seek more information from the military because of questions raised in a statement released last weekend by Lt.-Gen. Walt Natynczyk, the vice-chief of the defence staff.
Natynczyk released additional details of a controversial incident last year in which Afghan police beat a prisoner in their custody. Canadian military personnel later retrieved the prisoner and had him transferred to another Afghan police detachment.
The incident unleashed a fresh wave of opposition criticism against the Harper Conservatives after it emerged in the sworn affidavit of Col. Steve Noonan, a former Canadian commander in Kandahar, that the detainee had been "turned over" by Canadian troops to the Afghan police before the beating.
When Champ tried to cross-examine Noonan on the incident last week, federal lawyers shut down all questioning citing "national security."
Two days after that court proceeding, Natynczyk's public statement gave additional details, notably that the Afghan in question had never been in Canadian custody, and that media reports to that effect were "inaccurate." Natynczyk also said that the detainee did not sustain serious injuries and revealed for the first time that the incident took place last June in the Zangabad region west of Kandahar.
"Right now we don't know whether the vice-chief's information is accurate," Champ said this week.
Champ said he would be using Natynczyk's statement to support his renewed requests for documentation about the incident, including the medical records of the detainee, as well as an actual incident report. "The fact that the vice-chief was able to disclose that extra information only highlights the fact that the government is not being transparent on this file," said Champ.
"We find it very convenient for them that they can disclose that information when it's good public relations for them. When it comes to putting a proper and full evidentiary record before the Federal Court, they're not as willing to do so," he added. "That's not what those (national security) provisions are about. They're abusing them."
Natynczyk said he decided to declassify portions of the information about the incident after reviewing reports and speaking to commanders who were on the ground.
Natynczyk said he took into account operational security, the passage of time, the Access to Information Act and whether the Forces were "exposing techniques" to its enemy.
Natynczyk said one of the reasons he decided to make a public statement about the detainee affair was to prevent any harm to the morale of troops overseas.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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Politicians.... This entire fiasco would have been long gone if they just came clean in the first place..... instead of attempting to prevent the Canadian people from discovering the true measure of the little dog and pony show ie, BS baffles Brains, the neoconpoops put on for general consumption. Bletch.
Tory MP stalls bid to probe censored documents
GLORIA GALLOWAY
Globe and Mail Update
May 10, 2007 at 10:16 PM EDT
OTTAWA — A Conservative MP spoke for three hours at a Commons committee Thursday in an apparent attempt to prevent an investigation into why Foreign Affairs officials censored documents about the abuse and torture of Afghan detainees.
Mike Wallace regaled fellow members of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics with details of the federal Access to Information Act for the duration of his address.
His lengthy discourse in a hot room of Parliament's West Block stalled an opposition motion that the committee examine the editing of documents showing that the Harper government knew prisoners held by Afghan security forces faced the possibility of torture, abuse and extra-judicial killing.
“I think that the Conservatives tried to avoid this motion and they put so much resources and time [into it] that they have something to hide,” said Bloc Québécois MP Carole Lavallée, who put forth the motion.
Pat Martin, a New Democrat from Manitoba, said “it just reconfirms our suspicions that information was redacted to save embarrassment to the government, not for any issues of national security.”
Opposition members are in the majority on the committee. And when Mr. Wallace finally gave the floor over to his colleague David Tilson, the vote was called and it passed handily.
Mr. Wallace denied that his speech was a filibuster, arguing instead that he was merely debating Ms. Lavallée's motion.
“It's an important topic and I think it's important for our committee members to understand what the act says and have a discussion,” he said.
Foreign Affairs officials originally denied the existence of the documents pertaining to the treatment of Afghan detainees that had been requested under the federal Access to Information law.
A version of the Foreign Affairs report titled Afghanistan-2006; Good Governance, Democratic Development and Human Rights was eventually released after complaints to the Information Commissioner. But the government had eradicated every single reference to torture and abuse in prison.
Among the sentences blacked out in the report's summary is “Extra judicial executions, disappearances, torture and detention without trial are all too common,” according to full passages of the report obtained independently by The Globe and Mail.
Mr. Wallace had entered his own motion that would have delayed any inquiry into the withholding and censoring of the document until after the Information Commissioner completed his own investigation of the affair — an analysis requested by the parties who sought the documents under the access law.
That motion was defeated. Mr. Martin explained that the Information Commissioner could offer no guarantees about when his investigation would be conducted and has no obligation to tell provide details about the investigation beyond the final outcome.
For a while it seemed Mr. Wallace was prepared to continue his delaying tactics until the opposition gave up and went home. And it was something of a surprise when his speech came to an abrupt end shortly after reporters entered the room.
Opposition observers said it was apparent that the Conservatives simply had no end game.
Committee Chairman Tom Wappel, a Liberal, said he was approached by a member of the Conservative Whip's office who said they were planning to continue the discussion until the daily Question Period when the Tories assumed the committee would be adjourned. But Mr. Wappel told the committee he had no intention of calling a break before the matter was settled.
“It was obvious that the opposition intended to dig in and stay as long as the government did,” he said, “and the government just did not have the numbers.”
The delay tactics at the committee yesterday follow the cancellation of the Commons official languages committee Wednesday where the topic of debate was to have been the Conservative government's cuts to a program that helped fund challenges to discrimination.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
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Mike Blais
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Oh my god! Had Mr Harper handled the situation right in the first place instead of trying to cover up his governments inetitude, the soldiers would not be pissed off or overshadowed by events in Ottawa. Or have to use us for a photo op!
Detainee issue overshadowing military heroics: PM
Updated Fri. May. 11 2007 12:03 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed a 'support the troops' rally in Petawawa, Ont. Friday saying the detainee issue is sadly overshadowing military heroism in Afghanistan.
"Last month, nine soldiers from Petawawa were honoured for their work in Afghanistan, but sadly the attention has not been on them,'' he told the military community at CFB Petawawa.
"Those soldiers did not receive the attention they deserved because their story has been eclipsed by quarrels in the House of Commons with respect to allegations about detainees.
"I sincerely hope their story will come to light when the Governor General officially gives them their decorations.''
About 1,000 people, including soldiers and families of the military sporting red, joined the weekly Red Friday Rally in a symbolic show of support for the military. Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor and Gen. Rick Hillier also attended the rally.
Last week, Canada signed a re-written prisoner-transfer agreement with Afghanistan to ensure greater access to captured insurgents that Canadian soldiers turn over to local authorities.
The deal comes as the Tories try to defend themselves against allegations that detainees were tortured after being released from Canadian care.
Among provisions of the new deal is a guarantee that captured fighters can be interviewed in private without the intimidating presence of their Afghan jailers.
Last week during a trip to Afghanistan, Hillier said some troops were "pissed off" by the attention on the detainee issue.
During his speech Friday, Harper also paid tribute to the military community at CFB Petawawa, which has suffered the most losses in Afghanistan than any other base in Canada.
He then rejected calls from political foes who have demanded a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"You also know that our work has not ended, that we cannot just put down our weapons and hope for peace, that we can't set arbitrary deadlines and hope for the best.''
With files from The Canadian Press
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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Even the Libbers can figure it out....
Prime Minister Using Canadian Forces as Political Prop
May 11, 2007
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper should be ashamed for using a rally to support Canadian Forces soldiers to distract from his failed leadership on Canada’s Afghanistan mission, said Liberal Defence Critic Denis Coderre today.
“Canadians want leadership, not partisanship, when it comes to our Armed Forces, especially while our soldiers continue to show their courage and dedication. The Prime Minister, quite frankly, should be ashamed of his comments today,” said Mr. Coderre.
“All Canadians are very proud of Canada’s Armed Forces and the brave work that they do. But they question the government’s leadership of the mission. That is not a reflection on our soldiers – it is a reflection on an incompetent Prime Minister and Conservative government.”
While the Prime Minister was paying lip service to our armed forces, he conveniently neglected to address why his government has done nothing to improve conditions for Canadian Forces soldiers or their families. Shortages of family doctors for armed forces families, lack of funding for the mental health care of children of soldiers and recent reports that soldiers serving in Afghanistan are forced to use their own funds to purchase appropriate footwear are proof that this government is failing our armed forces.
“The soldiers and families of our Canadian Forces deserve better. They deserve better than a Prime Minister who ignores the concerns of front-line soldiers. They deserve better than an incompetent Minister of Defence who isn’t even allowed to rise in the House to answer simple questions about his department. They deserve leadership that will not put them at risk of violating the Geneva Convention or international law. They simply deserve better,” said Mr. Coderre.
The Prime Minister also told the rally he is committed to the Conservative policy of a never-ending military mission in Afghanistan, without a discernible exit strategy, despite a House of Commons resolution calling for Canada’s combat mission in Kandahar to end in 2009.
“The Prime Minister will go to any lengths to mislead Canadians on Afghanistan, and recent polls show that Canadians aren’t buying into his Republican-style rhetoric,” said Mr. Coderre. “We believe there’s a role for NATO to play in development and diplomacy in Afghanistan, however we also believe that Canada is doing its fair share on the combat side, and it’s time for our allies to take the reins when our combat mission in Kandahar ends in 2009.”
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Well Mike, great report... and no surprise to me.. and also no surprise that Mr Harper is ussing the great exploits of our troops to try to show himself in a better light.. after all he has NOT accomplished anything concrete and the Cdn Forces have... many , many things.. nuff said.. except, SHAME ON YOU PRIME MINISTER...ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
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Well, I guess this makes it official.
We are now the conservative armed forces of Canada. All hail Harper, grand poophaaa....
Military rejects visit to base by Dion's wife
TheStar.com - News
Officials deny politics involved, say they'll try to set up Krieber's meeting with families
May 17, 2007
Susan Delacourt
Ottawa Bureau Chief
OTTAWA–Janine Krieber, wife of Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, was rebuffed when she asked to pay a low-key visit to military families at Canadian Forces' base Wainwright in Alberta yesterday.
Military officials say there is nothing political behind the refusal and are reportedly trying to reschedule the visit.
But against the tense backdrop of politics, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his ministers regularly accusing Dion and the Liberals of being against Canadian troops, the incident is assuming political significance.
Krieber, who does not want to talk to the media about the controversy, reportedly asked the people at the Military Family Resource Centre at Wainwright if she could pay a call yesterday when she planned to be in Alberta.
Krieber is no stranger to the military – she works as a professor at the Saint-Jean campus of the Royal Military College, specializing in strategic and anti-terrorism studies.
According to an email obtained by the Star, Krieber "specifically requested no press, no fanfare, no PR what so ever. This was simply a quiet personal visit. She is not interested in meeting with base command or any other military brass."
But Trish MacGregor, executive director of the resource centre, was told the visit couldn't happen and that Krieber would have to seek permission from the office of Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor.
MacGregor complained in an email to military officials that Krieber was being "blocked" from the base and predicted this would make everyone look bad.
"How do I deal with the potential negative profile this could generate?" MacGregor wrote in an email. "Please, help me understand how telling Ms. Krieber that she is not allowed on base May 16th is an acceptable resolution."
Lt.-Col. Normand Rochon, the base commander reached yesterday, said he made the decision to refuse Krieber entry to Wainwright, though he acknowledged he did consult with higher-ups. In an email to the Star, he said there is a lot going on at the base right now, including a major training exercise with more than 3,000 soldiers involved. As well, Rochon added when he spoke by telephone yesterday that there were "international visitors" at the base, whom he did not want to identify.
"With this level of activity, and all the operational visitors, I felt that another period would be better suited for visitors to come and see the military families," Rochon wrote in his email. "I took the time to verify to see if this visit was of an operational nature, and it was not."
Major Daryl Morrell, an Ottawa-based spokesperson for the Canadian Forces, said "heavens no" when asked yesterday whether any political players had had a hand in the decision.
There was lingering confusion, however, over whether Krieber was visiting as an academic or in her political role. Morrell said there would be no problem if she was visiting in her professorial capacity, but said there was protocol to be observed if she was planning to be on the base as a political person.
Still, there was some sign yesterday that the visit will be rescheduled, to remove any suggestion that politics played a part in the refusal. Morell said meetings were continuing to find a suitable date and Rochon suggested that June would be a good time.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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Why is there no soldiers at politicians? We are to honest. I can't help but be struck that those who are loudest about the mission have nothing to lose...
Parliament short of military experience
Few MPs have any ties to Armed Forces; none have a direct connection to Afghanistan
Richard Foot
CanWest News Service
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Sir Frederick Borden, Canada's minister of militia in the government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, learned while sitting in the House of Commons in 1900 that his only son Harold -- a 23-year-old medical student at McGill University -- had been shot and killed in South Africa during the Boer War.
A century later, with Canada fighting another foreign war, it seems difficult to imagine any politician in Ottawa grieving the loss of a son or daughter in Afghanistan, or worrying about the safety of a loved one there.
For most of Canada's history, the men and women in Parliament understood in very personal terms the meaning of military sacrifice. Until quite recently, it was common for the country's political, corporate and intellectual elites to have spent time in the military, or to have family members who served, and even died, in uniform.
Today, on the one-year anniversary of Parliament's decision to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan to 2009, only a handful of the MPs who cast votes have personal ties to the Canadian Forces. None, as far as CanWest News Service can determine, is sharing directly in the burdens of Afghanistan.
The same is true in the United States, where a provocative book entitled AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes from Military Service -- And How It Hurts Our Country, has questioned why no American politicians or leading opinion makers have sons or daughters serving in Afghanistan or Iraq, and why so few even have family in the military.
"We are fast approaching the day when no one in Congress ... will have served or have any children serving," write co-authors Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer. "When those who make, support and protest defence policy to the greatest effect have the least actual experience with the military -- either through their own service, or the service of those close to them -- America does not get the best policy possible."
This month, CanWest News Service surveyed the connections between the current Parliament and the military. In a questionnaire sent to all 399 MPs and senators, we asked the politicians if they had served in the military themselves, either in the regular or reserve forces. We also asked if they had an immediate family member now serving in the Canadian Forces, and if so, if that family member had served, or was scheduled to serve, in Afghanistan.
Only 42 per cent of parliamentarians answered the survey, including only one-third of the Conservative cabinet that now presides over a country at war. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was among those who did not respond.
Of the 166 MPs and senators who responded, only four said they had a child, spouse or sibling currently serving in the Armed Forces. None said they had immediate family who had gone or were about to go to Afghanistan.
The official parliamentary website shows that only 16 of the 399 MPs and senators -- four per cent -- have any military experience themselves.
Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, a retired army brigadier-general, is the only member of Harper's 32-person cabinet to have served in uniform.
Among Liberals who once sat in the cabinets of Paul Martin or Jean Chretien -- the cabinets that first sent Canadians to Afghanistan -- no one but Art Eggleton, now a senator, claims any military experience.
Consider how times have changed.
In 1957, more than a third of all sitting MPs and senators had spent time in uniform, many of them in the Second World War. As recently as 1979, 27 per cent of all members had served in the military, compared to only four per cent today.
The full results of the survey, including the names of those who did not respond, can
be viewed at http://www.canada.com/topics/news/ features/afghanistan/index.html.
There are currently 12 vacancies in the Senate and two in the House of Commons.
© The Edmonton Journal 2007
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Great report here Mike. Well, maybe thats just more of the Americanisation of Canadian Politics??I myself have always wondered why more old soldiers are not looked at and for by our governmennts, to employ in good stead i think , in service to their fellow Cdns. After all, an old soldier has an allegiance to all Cdn s, and i think more heart felt than it seems a lot of our politicians are. Hmmm, 12 vacancies in the Senate hey??? Well, a great spot to have a few old soldiers give more of them selves to their country.My own belief is that most veterans have a degree of learning that NO ONE ELSE ever gets and that is a PhD in Life... but of course universities do not look at or assess that in our people... too bad.. thgey are missing out and so is our country..but then ,maybe they would just too humanize our government  ? What do you think??? ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Report on Afghan detainees was hidden, committee hears TheStar.com - News - Report on Afghan detainees was hidden, committee hears
Ethics committee told of roadblocks to getting reports on treatment of Afghanistan detainees
May 18, 2007
Murray Brewster
Canadian Press
OTTAWA–A House of Commons committee heard allegations yesterday that political interference motivated the foreign affairs department to hide a scathing human-rights report on the treatment of detainees in Afghan jails.
The claim was levelled by University of Ottawa law professor Amir Attaran, and came after Conservative members spent five hours trying to block the start of the ethics committee probe into the handling of Access to Information Act requests involving prisoners.
As MPs argued over the order of who should testify and whether the hearings should be closed to the public, two witnesses at the centre of the cover-up claims were left to cool their heels.
When they were finally allowed to testify, Attaran and freelance journalist Jeff Esau led committee members in detail through the complicated paper trail of their information requests.
"I do believe there was political interference, let me unambiguous about that," Attaran testified late yesterday.
Esau, a former army officer, wasn't prepared to back up Attaran's accusation but told the committee he's noticed a "chill" going through the ranks of the civil service when it comes to information related to Afghan prisoners.
"There is a very obvious reluctance for anybody to talk about it," he told opposition MPs. "When you talk about stonewalling, I'm not sure it's a cold-blooded `Here, we're going to do this.'"
In a formal information request, Esau asked the foreign affairs department earlier this year for copies of a study that analyzes the human rights reports of countries around the world.
When bureaucrats said no such report existed, the former military access-to-information officer wrote back to ensure the wording of his request was correct.
"I wanted to be very clear on this and ... she wrote back and she said: we feel we've answered the letter of your request," he said. "I battled the department to a standstill on this one and even with gentle persuading and prodding they were not willing to come out and say `here's what we've got.'"
Attaran, who first raised concerns about the treatment of detainees in Afghan jails, told the committee it's clear the department's response to Esau was a "flagrant lie" in violation of the law. Section 67 of the Access to Information Act makes it a criminal offence for the government to withhold information.
Under questioning by the committee, Attaran said he had no concrete evidence to back up his claim and that it was up to the committee, the information commissioner and possibly the RCMP to uncover the truth.
In his complaint, Attaran has urged Information Commissioner Robert Marleau to call for a police investigation.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Socio-dysfunctional? Lets train em to kill! Do'oh
Caution urged on recruits TheStar.com - News -
Caution urged on recruits
Increasing number of those interested in joining Canadian Forces show `socio-dysfunctional' profile, report warns
May 19, 2007
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA–An increasing number of would-be recruits to the Canadian military are prone to displaying traits of social disobedience, intolerance toward ethnic groups and being fatalistic, a new report says.
The report cautions that such recruits could put the Canadian Forces' positive public image at serious risk.
The analysis, delivered to the Department of National Defence in March, warns of the "increasingly socio-dysfunctional profile of military aspirants." It goes on to suggest the military's reputation could be "easily shattered by the actions of a few or even just one Canadian Abu Ghraib" – a reference to the abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. military.
The report raises the spectre of the Canadian military scandal in Somalia, in which the Canadian Forces covered up the 1993 murder of a young Somali prisoner for several weeks. The incident led to criminal charges, a public inquiry and a decade of soul-searching for the military.
A profile drawn up in the study shows that today's average potential military recruit is "proud and intense," a "crude hedonist" and drawn to transgressive behaviour – or breaking the rules. Potential recruits are also driven by the need for social status and "to belong," and feel a lack of confidence in the future.
Male candidates are "macho," while women have "a strong masculine side."
The potential recruits tend to show an affinity for social Darwinism, characterized by the view that only the strongest members of society will survive. Violence and sex are also prominent interests associated with potential soldiers, according to the study, by Montreal-based polling firm CROP Inc.
This contrasts, the study says, with those already enrolled in the army, who have upstanding qualities, including a commitment to duty and ethical concerns. They also seek enriching experiences and have a capacity to deal with uncertainty.
But negative traits, like ethnic intolerance and fatalism, are also present in some current military personnel and the report warns specifically about the need to maintain exacting recruiting requirements to weed out those who could cause trouble on the battlefield.
"The Canadian Forces' involvement in Afghanistan carries the risk of increasing internal pressure for the need to secure new recruits," says the report. "Given the increasingly socio-dysfunctional profile of military aspirants, the exacting recruiting requirements and rigorous in-house training must not be relaxed."
In the wake of the Somalia mission, the military bolstered its recruiting process to screen out social misfits, such as those soldiers in the now-disbanded Canadian Airborne Regiment who were implicated in the murder of the young Somali.
Since 2006, the Conservative government has promised major increases to the ranks of the regular forces and the reserves, and DND officials have been easily meeting their recruiting targets thanks to the high-profile mission in Afghanistan.
The DND report was produced for the federal government before the controversy over allegations that Afghan police had abused dozens of Afghans who had been detained by Canadian soldiers and then handed over to local authorities. Canadian authorities are also probing suggestions that some Afghan detainees have been roughed up in Canadian custody.
Col. Steve Noonan, who was the commander of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan from August 2005 to March 2006, warned of the risk of abuse by Canadian soldiers if they were to have greater responsibility for Afghan detainees.
"Without experience in it, the execution of that may go wrong as has been evidenced in my understanding of ... the Abu Ghraib situation," he said in a sworn affidavit this month for a court case.
The new report says the standing of the Canadian Forces has clearly risen since the Somalia scandal, thanks to a general alignment between military values and Canadian values.
It found that Canadians are becoming more deferential to authority and more receptive to the need for strong homeland security, law and order and national pride.
"Combined with the communication strategy geared toward fighting the threats of today's world, all ingredients seem to be there to boost Canadians' benevolence toward the Forces."
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Hmmm, dang scary things here, arent there?? I hope the military will hold to there standardsand be a bit overly cautious in keeping and "eye" on certain recruits to weed them out as required...i hope... and i hope the politicians will allow the military to do this as THEY know how...ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Man, this crap just won't go away.....
NDP takes on Hillier over files access
MATT HARTLEY
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
July 18, 2007 at 2:15 AM EDT
The NDP has threatened to haul General Rick Hillier before a House of Commons committee unless the Department of National Defence explains within 10 days the “stonewalling and unreasonable delays in obtaining detainee records.”
In a formal letter addressed to Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, NDP defence critic Dawn Black said she will move to recall the standing committee on national defence and call Gen. Hillier, the deputy minister and “all relevant officials” to testify – unless the department provides “an explanation of the rationale, legal or otherwise, for the department to deny the release of information related to detainees.”
The letter also calls for an explanation of Gen. Hillier's involvement in the decision not to release the documents. Ms. Black said in an interview that she is most concerned with the lack of civilian oversight concerning how to apply the access-to-information process at National Defence.
A spokeswoman for Mr. O'Connor could not confirm whether the minister had received the letter as of Tuesday afternoon, but said all such requests are answered in a timely manner.
Senior Defence staff have defended the way they release information to the public in the face of recent criticism.
Under Section 15 of the Access to Information Act, the head of a government institution can refuse to disclose records that contain information “which could reasonably be expected to be injurious to the conduct of international affairs, the defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada or the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities.”
Canadians first learned of the allegations that three Afghan detainees were abused while in Canadian custody after successful access requests by The Globe and Mail and Prof. Amir Attaran of the University of Ottawa last year. The department has since rejected requests for documents regarding detainees, including some similar to ones previously released.
Last week, Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre sent a letter to Information Commissioner Robert Marleau urging him to launch a formal investigation into the Defence Department's handling of the detainee documents. He said he doesn't believe the assertion that releasing the information would be a threat to national security.
“I'm happy to see that the NDP is following my act, but we already sent a letter. I'm calling again for [Mr. O'Connor's] resignation today,” he said.
When asked whether he would support Ms. Black's motion to recall the committee, Mr. Coderre said: “It's not an issue of saying we need to bring back the standing committee. We need a formal inquiry. We're asking Mr. Marleau to take a look at that.”
A statement from the office of deputy minister Ward Elcock last Wednesday stated that the department is following all access-to-information protocols.
It added that the review process of the Strategic Joint Staff – a newly- created group that advises Gen. Hillier and carries out his role in the access-to-information process – ensures “consistency in the release of information” but not a change to the standard Access to Information processesprocedures for the department.
Last week, The Globe reported that the office of Gen. Hillier, has been reviewing all Access to Informationinformation requests related to detainees since last March, when allegations of prisoner mistreatment first came to light.
The result has been an almost blanket ban on the release of any new detainee-related information, including many documents similar to those already made public.
In recent letters responding to requests filed on behalf of The Globe and Mail, Defence Department's director of access to information, Julie Jansen, has “exempted in its entirety” the disclosure of detainee transfer logs, medical records, witness statements and other processing forms. The department said the information could not be disclosed for national security reasons.
The Globe is appealing the Defence Department's decisions on the detainee files.
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