[R-G] Canada-Afghan: Advice on prolonging the war: Part II

[Anthony Fenton]

Advice on prolonging the war: Part II
by Roger Annis 
http://www.rabble.ca/news_full_story.shtml?x=67285
February 6, 2008
              
The report issued by John Manley recommends, as described in Part I,
extending Canada's participation in the war in Afghanistan. But it
comes down hard on the government's mishandling of the information and
propaganda side of the war effort. 

As criticism of the war has mounted, including from its supporters,
the government has reacted by closing down access to information. Panel
member Derek Burney, a highly placed official of the governing
Conservative Party, said, "I'm not opposed to a more controlled
message." But he and the commission are concerned that a total
clampdown on information does more harm than good. 

Torture

By far the most serious political damage to the war effort has been
non-stop revelations of the use of torture by Canada and NATO as a
weapon of war. A damning editorial by the Globe and Mail on
January 30 listed no less than seven occasions in 2006 and 2007 when
the Conservative government lied about or misrepresented the Canadian
military's collusion with torture agencies of the Afghan government,
police and armed forces. 

The government's latest subterfuge was an announcement on January 23
that as of November 2007, the Canadian military is no longer turning
over prisoners to Afghan authorities. The announcement baffled
observers who wondered why it was not announced when it supposedly came
into effect. The government answered by saying that it was not told of
the change by the military. But this story had to change because
military leaders reacted angrily to the implication that they are
operating outside of the control and direction of the government. 

The announcement begged a series of questions. If it was true, what
is the military now doing with those it detains? Releasing them? Has it
created its own detention facilities in Afghanistan? Is it turning
prisoners over to the U.S.? 

If the latter is the case, then torture has come full circle because
the U.S. openly admits to the practice. Its torture centers in
Afghanistan are notorious. Canada is already deeply implicated in the
torture center operated in Guantanamo, Cuba because of its firm refusal
to seek the release of a Canadian citizen, Omar Khadr, who was
imprisoned there five years ago at the age of 15. 

A reminder of the horrifying conditions inside Afghanistan's prisons was reported in the Globe and Mail
on January 24. A secret memo by an official of Corrections Canada to
the department of foreign affairs was leaked to the media last
November. The officials were due to inspect a prison as part of the
then-latest promise by Canada to monitor prison conditions in the
country. They asked for special boots to wear because they learned that
a walkabout inside the prisons would involve walking through prisoners'
blood and fecal matter. 


In December, army officials were arguing publicly that any
relaxation of the torture policy would gravely compromise the safety
and security of the Canadian mission. Speaking to a committee of the
Canadian Parliament on December 14, Brigadier-General Andre Deschamps,
army chief of staff to Canada's mission in Afghanistan, declared, "The
insurgents could attack us with impunity knowing that if they fail to
win an engagement they would simply have to surrender…" 


But controversy over the torture policy will not go away. On February 1, the Globe and Mail
reported that the governor of Kandahar province, Asadullah Khalid, has
personally engaged in torture practices, that the Canadian government
knew of this since at least the spring of 2007, and has kept the
information hidden. In an article the following day, the newspaper
reported that the head of Canada's armed forces, Rick Hillier, praised
Khalid as a good friend and ally of Canada and that it was up to the
government of Afghanistan to investigate the allegations. 


Court challenge to torture


The January 23 announcement of a supposed change in torture policy
stems from the government's growing concern about a legal challenge in
the Federal Court of Canada brought by the BC Civil Liberties
Association (BCCLA) and Amnesty International that would oblige the
military to treat prisoners according to the post-World War II Geneva
conventions. Like the U.S., Canada says its presence in Afghanistan is
not bound by the conventions. 


The government is trying to negotiate an end to legal challenge. The
sticking point is the insistence by Amnesty and the BCCLA that any
change to detention policy must be publicly announced seven days in
advance. 


Manley recommends against vote


The report recommends strongly against any vote in the Canadian
parliament on the future of the war. The Liberals say they want a
withdrawal from the combat mission in Kandahar by 2009. But the review
panel wants the Liberals and the governing Conservatives to reach an
agreement to continue selling the war by "leveraging" more commitment
from Canada's imperialist allies in Europe. 


Manley says the best outcome in Afghanistan that can be hoped for is
a shattered country where imperialist interests are nonetheless
preserved. "We're not going to have a VE day here with parades in the
streets," he cautioned journalists on January 23. 


Growing numbers of Canadians are questioning the war's aims and
rationale. More and more can be won to what is the only principled and
humanitarian end to the carnage: a withdrawal of foreign occupation
forces and the recognition of the right of the Afghan people to freely
determine their political future. 


Of course, Manley was never even asked to consider the option of
pulling out troops immediately. Instead, his report was designed to
bolster support for Canadian involvement in the occupation. It the days
and weeks ahead, it will continue to be used by those who are pushing
for an indefinite extension of this costly and illegitimate war. 

 
                      
     Roger Annis is a trade union activist in Vancouver and a member of the Stopwar.ca coalition in that city.