Detainee Abuse? Not Us!
The incoherently shrill, demanding, accusative voices of the opposition benches in Parliament are having their usual juvenile field day. Their abusive antics disgusting any juveniles that happen to be up in the bleachers with their class, viewing first-hand how Parliament and Question Period works. They depart, those kids, puzzled and questioning exactly why it is that they are taught to be respectful and considerate of others and likely a good number of them will never aspire to politics having witnessed first-hand the futile absurdity of Animal House.
Helena Guergis will eventually manage to pick herself up off the floor of the arena, bloodied and perhaps a little wiser, herself to leave the House to the reckless abandon of politicos gone wild with the smell of having cornered another quivering, defenceless, democratically appointed member of Parliament, brought low by imprudent choices and considerable ego. One can only hope this will have been a life-learning experience for the woman whom Michael Ignatieff named "Mrs.Jaffer".
Ping-ponging between vilifying the government and its erstwhile disgraced minister and attempting to hold the government's feet to the fire of Afghan prison torture, the opposition continues to disgrace itself by its consuming desire to shame the government and its agencies while in truth, shaming themselves. Mourning each additional death of yet another member of the Canadian military brought home from Afghanistan, they yet cast blanket aspersions on the Canadian military.
Happily lapping up Lt.-Col.Douglas Boot's admission that torture was practised in Afghan prisons. But as a sovereign country, one with a long history, tradition and culture wherein those practises remain part of the territory, Canada is not there to turn abhorrent practises around to reflect the gentler ones of civilized society. Wasn't the military's fault, in any event, if prisoners were abused, turned over to the Afghan authorities who felt like brutalizing the Taliban who brutalized Afghans.
"Now, if the Afghan authorities were mistreating people that we had at one point in time had custody of and the prison system was handling them inappropriately, then Corrections Services Canada (which has a presence in Afghanistan, and is working to civilize the prison system there) DFAIT (the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade), and any other number of other organizations, would be responsible for investigating those allegations and then taking the appropriate steps." See; it all becomes crystal clear now, does it not?
Of course there's always the testimony of Afghan-Canadian Ahmadshah Malgarai who alleges darkly sinister conspiracies between the Canadian military and Afghan prison authorities in interrogating Afghan detainees, where torture was permissible to attain an end in which Canada had no part. As a trusted translator/interpreter his claims of vetting intelligence reports must yet be collaborated. Is there a smattering of malice in this man's contentious allegations?
Just think how Hamid Karzai must be viewing all of this, the grand master of corrupt politics under whose auspices torture of Taliban and other Afghan detainees is business as usual. And don't imagine the Taliban haven't got access to electronic news; they're likely enjoying the absurd scenarios unfolding through the media about Canadian diplomatic angst over their piteous fate when captured and incarcerated.
Lastly, of course, there's the Afghan people themselves, rather more concerned about their personal security, seriously worried about becoming victims of road-side bombs and suicide attacks courtesy of the Taliban. Who couldn't care less what fate awaits those who murder them with seeming impunity. Who are optimistic about their future precisely because the international community have sent their troops to aid them into that secure future.
Who mostly, although they would prefer to have a settled, quiescent country all to themselves without the presence of foreigners, for the time being are very glad indeed to see those Canadian uniforms in Kandahar proposing to protect them when their government and their police and their military have been incapable, or even disinterested in doing just that.
Helena Guergis will eventually manage to pick herself up off the floor of the arena, bloodied and perhaps a little wiser, herself to leave the House to the reckless abandon of politicos gone wild with the smell of having cornered another quivering, defenceless, democratically appointed member of Parliament, brought low by imprudent choices and considerable ego. One can only hope this will have been a life-learning experience for the woman whom Michael Ignatieff named "Mrs.Jaffer".
Ping-ponging between vilifying the government and its erstwhile disgraced minister and attempting to hold the government's feet to the fire of Afghan prison torture, the opposition continues to disgrace itself by its consuming desire to shame the government and its agencies while in truth, shaming themselves. Mourning each additional death of yet another member of the Canadian military brought home from Afghanistan, they yet cast blanket aspersions on the Canadian military.
Happily lapping up Lt.-Col.Douglas Boot's admission that torture was practised in Afghan prisons. But as a sovereign country, one with a long history, tradition and culture wherein those practises remain part of the territory, Canada is not there to turn abhorrent practises around to reflect the gentler ones of civilized society. Wasn't the military's fault, in any event, if prisoners were abused, turned over to the Afghan authorities who felt like brutalizing the Taliban who brutalized Afghans.
"Now, if the Afghan authorities were mistreating people that we had at one point in time had custody of and the prison system was handling them inappropriately, then Corrections Services Canada (which has a presence in Afghanistan, and is working to civilize the prison system there) DFAIT (the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade), and any other number of other organizations, would be responsible for investigating those allegations and then taking the appropriate steps." See; it all becomes crystal clear now, does it not?
Of course there's always the testimony of Afghan-Canadian Ahmadshah Malgarai who alleges darkly sinister conspiracies between the Canadian military and Afghan prison authorities in interrogating Afghan detainees, where torture was permissible to attain an end in which Canada had no part. As a trusted translator/interpreter his claims of vetting intelligence reports must yet be collaborated. Is there a smattering of malice in this man's contentious allegations?
Just think how Hamid Karzai must be viewing all of this, the grand master of corrupt politics under whose auspices torture of Taliban and other Afghan detainees is business as usual. And don't imagine the Taliban haven't got access to electronic news; they're likely enjoying the absurd scenarios unfolding through the media about Canadian diplomatic angst over their piteous fate when captured and incarcerated.
Lastly, of course, there's the Afghan people themselves, rather more concerned about their personal security, seriously worried about becoming victims of road-side bombs and suicide attacks courtesy of the Taliban. Who couldn't care less what fate awaits those who murder them with seeming impunity. Who are optimistic about their future precisely because the international community have sent their troops to aid them into that secure future.
Who mostly, although they would prefer to have a settled, quiescent country all to themselves without the presence of foreigners, for the time being are very glad indeed to see those Canadian uniforms in Kandahar proposing to protect them when their government and their police and their military have been incapable, or even disinterested in doing just that.
Labels: Conflict, Crisis Politics, Government of Canada
posted by Pieface | 6:51 PM
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