Comments on: Canadians believe Colvin, reject torture – poll (PS: Join the Facebook group demanding a public inquiry)

By: Rat-tat-tat

Rat-tat-tat — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:17:18 +0000

Maybe they were? Maybe they were not? Don’t usually care about that stuff under my shoe.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:48:17 +0000

@kmartin,

Gosh kmartin, is that the only solution you can come up with? I really then have to question your intelligence.

Do you even know what the Military Police does?

Mark and Matt have pretty much exposed your stupidity, I really can’t add more.

Well except maybe for utter disgust at a stay-at-home chicken hawk spouting and raging to let OTHERS do the dirty work he would never have the balls to do himself.

Why don’t you stop apologizing for torture and STFU, mkay?

By: Mark Francis

Mark Francis — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:41:50 +0000

@kmartin, So what others do: Maintain our own prison in Afghanistan and treat prisoners according to our own standards. if we can’t do this, we shouldn’t be there.

This would be ideal as our troops are also potentially needed to help ascertain what to do with those captured. Remember, many of those taken are taken on the basis of guilt by association, swabs showing gunshot residue (in Afghanistan, hardly condemning) and other circumstantial evidence. Imagine then being imprisoned for an indefinite period based upon that and tortured! Anyway, assessing who should be held and who who be let go would be much easier, I suspect.

It’s not as if The Harper Government doesn’t like building prisons.

Of course, this won’t be done, esp. with us leaving in 2011.

By: Mark Francis

Mark Francis — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:20:41 +0000

@kmartin, Scott was making the point that Wilson was making a partisan comment. Since we don’t know who Wilson is, between the comment and the IP information, the odds are high Wilson is a Con.

It’s a silly comment for Wilson to make. The poll really says that a lot of Canadians believe there is an issue here. It doesn’t make the 51% right, but in a democracy it suggests that this matter should be pursued. Keep in mind that half of the remainder not explicitly believing Colvin at least don’t disbelieve him.

Given that Harper is currently around the high 30s in the polls, having only 25% support the government on this issue suggests that there are would-be Conservative voters not supporting the government here. That is significant.

So when Wilson spins otherwise, Wilson’s motives get suspected.

That’s fair.

By: matttbastard

matttbastard — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:04:01 +0000

@kmartin, Well, we could always, oh, I dunno, do what other NATO partners like the UK and the Netherlands have done during their tenure in Afghanistan and directly monitor how Afghan security forces treat detainees we turn over to them. If that means sometimes coming up with alternative detention arrangements (eg, transferring suspected insurgent detainees over to US troops) if abuse by Afghan security forces is uncovered, so be it. Of course, you can always continue to float ridiculous strawman assertions and feigned concern about ZOMG SCARY TERRORISTS COMING TO CANADA -- TEH EEK!!1 Whatever turns yr crank.

By: kmartin

kmartin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:49:52 +0000

@Scott Tribe, Scott. So what is the solution to handling these prisoners? Lets bring them to Canada where they can integrate into society? I AM NOW SCARED.

By: kmartin

kmartin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:30:56 +0000

@Scott Tribe, Scott. I just am new here and read this and I am trying to figure out why you would assume that anything in your response has any relevance to what wilson said and the assumption that he/she is a conservative just because they have an ip address in Edmonton? Is this what you do is attack people who oppose your view? I see it all the time and to be honest I am a bit shocked that you are so small minded and petty! You claim to be well informed and to a degree you are but when you attack another person solely on where they live and make an assumption on their political affiliation everything else your write from that point forward has a taint to it that I just cant seem to shake. You want to be taken seriously here yet comments like the above do serious harm to any good points(and you do have some) you do convey. After reading many blogs here and others it would seem to me that if you are wanting only partisan comments then you should be asking for liberal registration cards to be copied to you so you can screen your views to what you and your partisan friends want to read.

By: Gayle

Gayle — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:13:41 +0000

Maybe bill – but then that is what a lot of your colleagues were saying before the testified.

By: billg

billg — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:12:50 +0000

Its the Optics, that’s all I’m saying.
And the Optics are one of the most respected Generals in Canadian history is repeating the Governments side of the story, and, the Optics are, if the Liberals are not going after the military why did the General have to get up and repeat what the Government had said. This is theatre, like it or not its what it is, there is no moral high road for either the Cons or the Libs and of all party’s the Libs should know that. Canadian’s dont care about reports, they will hear Hillier say what the Government said and wonder who’s making all that fuss about our soldiers torturing prisoners, then, someone will say its not our soldiers its the people we hand the soldiers over to and then they really wont care, or, they’ll wonder whose side your on. That’s why this level of accusations is so confusing.

By: Gayle

Gayle — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:51:47 +0000

Except the liberals are not going after the military.

In any event, I somehow doubt anyone expected Hillier to say anything other than what he said today, especially since he has already said it to the media. I really did not think he was going to get up and admit he turned a blind eye to torture.

If I recall correctly, he was adopting the government’s line about “credible” reports. Since the government refuses to release those reports it is hard to tell what they deem (o be “credible”.