Several Globe and Mail reporters who looked looked at the leaked Colvin emails that fueled Christie Blatchford's recent philippics against the diplomat came up with a very different picture. To begin, here's Paul Koring: The Harper government has blacked out large sections of relevant files handed over to the independent inquiry probing allegations of transfer to torture of detainees in Afghanistan, despite the fact that its investigators have the highest levels of national security clearance. The heavily redacted documents...

01 December, 2009

In a follow-up to her screed against diplomat Richard Colvin, Globe and Mail columnist Christie Blatchford resorts to a full-blown bucket defence. According to Blatchford: There is no evidence Afghan security forces abused prisoners Canada turned over to them: "This is not akin to officials knowing that Afghans were being tortured." Everyone knew Afghan security forces abused prisoners Canada turned over to them: "[It's] obvious that Afghanistan is a brutal country where cruelty, hardship and physical violence are a way of life. No one with a lick of sense would expect that Afghan prisoners would live in comfort or ease." Colvin never actually...

01 December, 2009