'The buck stopped nowhere'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:52 AM - 34 Comments

Global details the case of a detainee kept in extreme conditions while in Canadian custody and the alleged indifference of Canadian authorities. The Star tries to sort out what our allies were doing and why a separate prison was never constructed. And the Globe depicts a mission sorely lacking in organization.

Mr. Colvin sparked a firestorm at the highest levels in Ottawa when he told a parliamentary committee that he warned for a full year that detainees Canadian troops handed over to Afghan forces faced torture before the government began to monitor them.

But behind that furor is another story: outside the combat-focused military, no one was in charge in the early part of the Afghan mission. A scattered batch of mid-level officials, lacking the incontrovertible proof that Canadians had no means to find, didn’t have the overall responsibility or weight to push for big change. “The buck stopped nowhere,” said one official involved in the Afghan mission.

The Colvin encyclopedia

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 1:31 PM - 25 Comments

A collection of documents, testimony and news reports related to Richard Colvin and Canada’s handling of Afghan detainees. The Colvin encyclopedia is updated as events warrant.

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David Mulroney's side of the story

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 5:46 PM - 11 Comments

Early reviews from the Canadian Press, Globe, Star, Canwest, CTV, CBC and Inside Politics.

Analysis of one of Mulroney’s points from our John Geddes.

On training Canadian troops to handle detainees

By John Geddes - Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 4:41 PM - 2 Comments

In his testimony before the House committee on Afghanistan, David Mulroney just expressed great confidence in the training Canadian troops received on the handling of detainees.

Mulroney, the former top bureaucrat on Afghanistan issues, and now Canada’s ambassador to China, might want to consult Feb. 6, 2009, report of the military’s Board of Inquiry into In-theatre Handling of Detainees.

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The Commons: Full disclosure

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 6:14 PM - 39 Comments

The Scene. In an effort, perhaps, to enliven the proceedings slightly, Michael Ignatieff opened with a minor flourish. Between January 2006 and May 2007, there had been, he said, a “cascade” of reports about torture in Afghan jails. One imagines a great rush of paperwork spilling over the Peace Tower, tourists frolicking in the mess at the bottom as if in a ticker-tape parade.

“It defies belief that this information never reached the Prime Minister,” Mr. Ignatieff ventured of this metaphorical waterfall. “How can anyone believe that the Prime Minister did not himself know about torture in Afghan jails and the risk that detainees transferred there would be tortured? And if that is so, how can he possibly justify his failure to act for those crucial 18 months?”

The Prime Minister stood, adjusted his left cuff and proceeded with a series of shrugs. “Mr. Speaker, once again, everybody knows that there are widespread allegations,” he said. “Taliban make allegations in every case.”

Congratulations to those of you who had “11″ in the “How many words will the Prime Minister speak today before referencing the Taliban?” pool. Continue…

As David Mulroney's jet hurtles through the skies toward Ottawa…

By Paul Wells - Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 12:03 PM - 24 Comments

…our their Kady feels the strangest sense of déjà vu. Witnesses showing up before they’d been called? She’s seen this one before!

Looking back, looking forward

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 12:19 AM - 13 Comments

The CBC finds evidence of delays, going as far back as 2002, in reporting detainee transfers to the Red Cross. Opposition members of the special committee on Afghanistan say they want all relevant briefing notes and government documents related to Afghan detainees before they’ll hear from David Mulroney.

The NDP, the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois are demanding the Tories release a long list of documents linked to Mr. Colvin’s testimony before they allow Mr. Mulroney a public rejoinder…

Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Dimitri Soudas accused opposition parties of playing games on detainees by blocking Mr. Mulroney. “If the opposition were serious about finding answers, they would allow him to appear before the committee,” Mr. Soudas said.

Opposition MPs however say they can’t properly question Mr. Mulroney without access to the uncensored versions of e-mails, briefing notes and memos that make up the background story behind Mr. Colvin’s testimony.

The Liberals are particularly seizing on whatever it was the Defence Minister promised in Question Period this afternoon.

'I would like to have the opportunity to appear before the Committee'

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, November 23, 2009 at 3:31 PM - 8 Comments

David Mulroney writes a letter (pdf file) to the special committee on Afghanistan.

Weekend reading

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 12:41 PM - 64 Comments

The Globe details an April 2007 memo from Richard Colvin, the Star talks to a European Union official who concurs with Mr. Colvin’s account of the situation in Afghanistan and in both stories we get the first hint of what David Mulroney will say when he decides to comment publicly. Both the Globe and Star explore Mr. Colvin and his career in the foreign service. And in a pair of interviews, Malalai Joya, a member of Afghanistan’s parliament, talks about torture in her country and her view of Canadian involvement.

Who's who

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, November 20, 2009 at 2:21 PM - 9 Comments

CBC lists eight government, military and diplomatic officials raised in Richard Colvin’s testimony. Six have so far not commented or declined comment. Lieutenant-General Michel Gauthier rejects any suggestion of wrongdoing on his part and promises more information when he testifies at committee next week.

O'Connor's version

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 6:06 PM - 6 Comments

Former defence minister Gordon O’Connor’s exchange with reporters after QP today.

Question: What about the allegations of coverup?  He said that officials like Mr. Mulroney were saying to him do not write reports like this.  Is that – can you say categorically that’s not true?

Hon. Gordon O’Connor: Well, I don’t know if it’s true or not.  I have no idea.

Question: It didn’t come from you?

Hon. Gordon O’Connor:   Well, not from me. I’m the Defence Department.  Mulroney doesn’t work for me or never worked for me.  And I, you know, who says it’s true. That’s just his allegation.

Question: Were you ever apprised of these reports?

Hon. Gordon O’Connor:   No, never.

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The response

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 9:24 AM - 6 Comments

The Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign Affairs Minister repeat previous assurances. David Mulroney declines comment.