Afghan Detainee Mega Thread

[Kalatzi]

The claerring of the trops is an excellent finding.

The commission went on to say this about the Harper Government(Tm), portions exerpted under the fair use provision of the copyright act.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_print.html?id=6850456
"This Conservative government has shown exactly the same disregard for the military and the public interest as the Liberal government did during the Somalia Inquiry in the mid-1990s. It has, for no apparent good reason, developed a bad habit of acting like a cornered pit bull."

...

But the most worrying part of the commission’s report is the chapter it devotes to government obstruction of its work. This is the same commission looking into the suicide of Stuart Langridge, a veteran of the Afghan war. Defence Minister Peter MacKay is withholding documents to the commission in that inquiry, arguing they are protected by his solicitor-client privilege."

...

"The Commission laments that “It seems that some of the key lessons from the Somalia Inquiry have not been learned.”

The possibility that Canada handed detainees over to an ally to be tortured is not a political trick dreamed up by the Opposition. It’s a serious concern that must inform the protocols in future Canadian military missions. If this government truly supports the troops, it should do its utmost to give the military what it needs to carry out its obligations in accordance with the law and Canadian values. That includes proper independent oversight."

 

[Journeyman]

The commission went on to say this about the Harper Government(Tm), portions exerpted under the fair use provision of the copyright act.

Except that the Commission actually said no such thing; if you check your own link, you'll find that the editorial writer for the Ottawa Citizen said all of the points in your quote.

The claerring of the trops is an excellent finding.

I just hate it, that the site owner charges so much for each use of the spell check.


Between erroneous information and poor spelling, you'd think that this was a Recruiting thread.   

 

[Fishbone Jones]

The claerring of the trops is an excellent finding.

The commission went on to say this about the Harper Government(Tm), portions exerpted under the fair use provision of the copyright act.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_print.html?id=6850456
"This Conservative government has shown exactly the same disregard for the military and the public interest as the Liberal government did during the Somalia Inquiry in the mid-1990s. It has, for no apparent good reason, developed a bad habit of acting like a cornered pit bull."

...

But the most worrying part of the commission’s report is the chapter it devotes to government obstruction of its work. This is the same commission looking into the suicide of Stuart Langridge, a veteran of the Afghan war. Defence Minister Peter MacKay is withholding documents to the commission in that inquiry, arguing they are protected by his solicitor-client privilege."

...

"The Commission laments that “It seems that some of the key lessons from the Somalia Inquiry have not been learned.”

The possibility that Canada handed detainees over to an ally to be tortured is not a political trick dreamed up by the Opposition. It’s a serious concern that must inform the protocols in future Canadian military missions. If this government truly supports the troops, it should do its utmost to give the military what it needs to carry out its obligations in accordance with the law and Canadian values. That includes proper independent oversight."

You've been warned on numerous occasions about posting purposely misleading information. So much so that you made it to the top rung of the ladder for doing so.

Yet, once again, here you are trying to pass the musings of a prejudicial reporter as the fact base commentary of a commission.

The only thing in your post attributable to the commission is the one line highlighted above, but you knew that, and tried to mislead the readers.

Nice try. Too bad it's your last and legacy.

Oh yeah, and your constant flaunting of the spell check.

See ya.

Milnet.ca Staff

 

[Jarnhamar]

The only thing in your post attributable to the commission is the one line highlighted above, but you knew that, and tried to mislead the readers.

Nice try. Too bad it's your last and legacy.
Milnet.ca Staff

He's been doing this for a while. This topic especially is one we don't need trolls setting up shop in, thanks!

 

[GAP]

Smear mongering
The next time you hear the name Amir Attaran, don’t bother to listen
By Brian Lilley ,Parliamentary Bureau Thursday, September 06, 2012
Article Link

Amir Attaran is a hypocrite.

Now, I don`t expect you to know who Amir Attaran is but it is important that you know what he did and why he should now be shunned by every media outfit in Canada.

For years Attaran has been a media darling, an expert on call, ready to comment on just about any subject. He’s also smeared Canada’s troops while demanding the Harper government release highly sensitive information to the public. Oh, and he wants you to know nothing about how he spends the money he takes from taxpayers. In 2007, Attaran falsely accused Canada’s soldiers in Afghanistan of war crimes and claimed the Harper government was covering up the truth. He made claims that he had seen secret documents regarding Taliban prisoners that proved Canadian officials knew of and allowed torture.

“If these documents are released, what they will show is that Canada partnered deliberately with the torturers in Afghanistan for the interrogation of detainees,” Attaran told CBC.

Funny enough those documents have never been produced and Attaran has never proven his case. Even a committee of MPs with the Liberals and Bloc participating failed to find the torture claims despite going through thousands of documents.

“The government was just slapping the national security excuse on anything it didn’t want released,” Attaran complained to The Globe and Mail on the Harper government’s refusal to release much of the information on Afghan prisoners. The professor, who lives off a public salary of $127,942.16, may have a point about openness and the federal government but this is a bit of the pot calling the kettle black.

The man who wanted all of Canada’s sensitive documents on the prosecution of a war made public is continuing a fight to stop an independent Ottawa researcher from finding out how Attaran spends tax dollars. Last year, a freedom of information request was made to the University of Ottawa seeking Attaran’s expense reports since Jan. 1, 2006. Rather than comply, the man who demanded openness from the Harper government cried foul and claimed this was an attempt to silence him. The university backed him up and fought the request.

I’m not sure how, but he eventually won and the Information Commissioner agreed that how a university professor spends tax dollars is not something the public should know. Yet somehow the inner workings of Canada’s war effort is something Attaran and his media allies think the public should know.

“It’s abundantly clear that you’re being stonewalled by a government that has secrets to keep,” Attaran moaned to the Toronto Star in 2010. His latest move to keep his secrets under lock and key is to demand that the researcher who requested his expense file be banned from ever filing another request seeking information on the professor.

Amir Attaran smeared the Canadian Forces. He made outrageous allegations about our troops to the Canadian public and the world that he hasn’t substantiated, and sullied Canada’s reputation internationally. Now he his attempting to bully anyone that wants to look into his work. The next time you see his name cited as an expert in anything, consider the source.
end

 

[Rifleman62]

No crap!

I would never have guessed.

......he should now be shunned by every media outfit in Canada.

But he won't be as long he supplies crap the media can chuck at the current government. The media does not give a hoot if its lies. It takes some work to fact check.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Necro-thread bumped with the latest from those disarming folks @ ceasefire.ca:

A new report, entitled Torture of Afghan Detainees: Canada’s Alleged Complicity and the Need for a Public Inquiry, has just been released by the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Written by Omar Sabry, a human rights researcher and advocate based in Ottawa, the study identifies the need for government accountability and non-impunity for alleged breaches of international and national law in relation to the transfer of Afghan detainees despite substantial risks that they might be tortured.

“In transferring hundreds to the custody of the NDS in Kandahar, Canada failed to prevent the torture of many Afghan detainees,” said Sabry.

“The government occasionally suspended transfers for various reasons, including disturbing allegations of abuse, but then resumed transfers on at least six occasions. The government’s conduct in this regard was haphazard and unprincipled, in addition to being in violation of international law.”

The study recommends that the Government of Canada launch a transparent and impartial judicial commission of inquiry into the actions of Canadian officials, including ministers of the Crown, relating to Afghan detainees ....

 

[Rifleman62]

Soon to be blown out of proportion, not fact checked and headlining every newscast and print. A CBC documentary with new funding from the NDP/Liberals

...... crap the media can chuck at the current government. The media does not give a hoot if its lies. It takes some work to fact check.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Soon to be blown out of proportion, not fact checked and headlining every newscast and print. A CBC documentary with new funding from the NDP/Liberals ....

So young to be so cynical - even if there's more than a grain of truth in what you share  ;D

 

[Ghazwan]

"The result in this case was that with Gen. Hillier in the air Thursday when this story broke - he was en route to resume the rare holiday he had already interrupted to return to Ottawa to discuss the Manley report, apparently with the PM and cabinet - there was in his absence no one willing or able to risk disputing Ms. Buckler's now-discredited allegation that the Canadian Forces had kept the government in the dark."

 

[The Bread Guy]

This just out - let the "Public Interest Investigation" roll ....

The Military Police Complaints Commission will conduct a Public Interest Investigation into an anonymous complaint relating to the alleged mistreatment of detainees by the Military Police in Afghanistan in 2010-11 and to the alleged failure to lay charges following the incident.

The complainant alleges that the Military Police (MP) conducted exercises to terrorize detainees and in one instance entered the cells and pressed detainees against the wall and floor and applied arm locks. S/he alleges that investigations were conducted by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) in 2011 and by the MP Chain of Command in 2012, and complains about the investigations, including that no charges were laid and no court martial convened.

On September 21, 2015, Interim MPCC Chairperson Michel Seguin granted an extension of time in the case.

On November 4, 2015, Hilary McCormack, the new Chairperson of the Military Police Complaints Commission, advised the Minister of National Defence, the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Judge Advocate General and the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal of her decision to conduct a Public Interest Investigation, as required under the National Defence Act.

McCormack's decision here (or attached if link doesn't work) -- more in lay terms here:

The commission overseeing the conduct of Canada’s military police says it’s launching an investigation into the alleged mistreatment of Afghan detainees.

The public interest investigation relates to an anonymous complaint about actions taken by the police in Afghanistan in 2010-11 and to the alleged failure to lay charges following that incident.

The allegations include that military police conducted exercises to terrorize detainees and in one instance entered their cells, pressed them against the wall and floor and put them in arm locks.

The complainant also raised concerns about the military’s own investigations into the incidents, including that no charges were laid and no court martial convened.

Hilary McCormack, the head of the Military Police Complaints Commission, says the allegation police were involved in covering-up misconduct is a grave one that goes to the heart of the MPCC’s mandate to ensure accountability and foster public confidence ....

 

[Dissident]

This should be interesting.

 

[Tibbson]

This should be interesting.

I really don't think so but knowing the MPCC they will try to get their budget justified somehow.

 

[PuckChaser]

I really don't think so but knowing the MPCC they will try to get their budget justified somehow.

The Chairwoman is a month into her job, she's likely trying to justify her appointment. Since sexual harassment is already well covered, she'll dredge this crap up.

 

[Tibbson]

The Chairwoman is a month into her job, she's likely trying to justify her appointment. Since sexual harassment is already well covered, she'll dredge this crap up.

I guess the biggest issue I have with this whole thing, and believe me I see plenty to take issue with, is the fact that it is a very brief anonymous complaint that obviously cannot contain all of the information required to conduct a proper investigation and since the complainant did it anonymously there is no way to obtain clarifying information.  If someone can't stand to make their complaint in the open, especially with the legislated protections in the NDA, Part 4, then it calls into question their motives.  It also leaves things wide open for the MPCC to make assumptions and inferences.  They have already done so with their opinion that the person worked hard to ensure anonymity and that it obviously means they have lost faith in the system.  They also speak of the "alleged failure to lay charges"...but what is to say that there was any failure?  Perhaps the incident didn't occur or didn't occur as alleged and charges weren't laid because they were not warranted.  The MPCC's website claims they are unbiased but I can see plenty in these statements today wish shows they are anything but unbiased.

 

[PuckChaser]

Agreed. Its also very odd that all of Canada's detainee dealings are being called into question, instead of one specific incident which seems like the basis for the complaint. Seems like an agenda from the get-go.

 

[Tibbson]

I don't doubt that for a second.  Given the MPCC's penchant for overreach, those with an agenda recognize that if they want to be heard all they need to do is look for an MP connection and make a complaint to the MPCC and they will take care of the rest.

 

[The Bread Guy]

"Trudeau government attacked"* on detainees (although having a former MP bring it up is a bit of a stretch) ...

A former New Democrat MP is calling on the conflict of interest commissioner to investigate Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.

Craig Scott, who represented the Toronto-Danforth riding until October 2015, is challenging Mary Dawson to look into the minister's refusal to call an inquiry into the handling of suspected Taliban prisoners during the Afghan war.

While in opposition, the Liberals promised to conduct a full investigation into the former Conservative government's policy of allowing the army to hand over detainees to Afghan authorities, particularly the intelligence service in that country, which was accused of practising torture.

Scott called on the government to live up to its word last spring using an e-petition, an appeal Sajjan rejected ...

French-language media version here.

* - Just threw that in there to draw the eye  ;D

 

[The Bread Guy]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, back at 'er (at least a bit) ...

The scope of an investigation into the treatment of suspected Taliban prisoners during the Afghan war will not be as broad as originally expected, the civilian agency overseeing complaints against military police said Thursday.

The Military Police Complaints Commission says it can only review why the investigative arm of the Canadian Forces chose not to lay charges in an alleged incident that took place in Kandahar during the closing phase of the army's combat mission.

An anonymous complaint was filed with the watchdog, which alleged prisoners were abused during Canadian military police raids on their cells at Kandahar Airfield in 2010 and 2011.

The commission has hired two investigators and interviewed a number of individuals who were aware of the raids and who said that several detainees were so scared they defecated and urinated.

The watchdog had been examining whether the raids were an "inappropriate or illegal" exercise, whether the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) conducted an adequate follow-up investigation, and whether the military police officer failed to properly address the matter.

On Thursday, the commission said it has concluded it only has the jurisdiction to investigate whether the CFNIS failed in its responsibility ...

More from the MPCC info-machine here (complaint background) and here (this week's decision on scope of the latest probe).