There is a lot in this Rosie DiManno column with which I might take issue. Scott Tribe, where I found the link, also has some comments on it. What I really wanted to draw attention to was this, in regard to the controversy surrounding the handling of Afghan prisoners detained by Canadian forces:
... the whole detainee scandal would never have arisen had not Ottawa winced at the optics of handing over prisoners to U.S. authorities.
Optics? Add DiManno to the long list of people who simply refuse to acknowledge the last seven years of American history when it suits them. Some of the most egregious of human rights abuses committed by American forces have occurred at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
It's amazing how someone can practice journalism while wearing blinkers.
When the doctor who does the autopsy on the body of one (innocent) prisoner tortured and beaten to death at Bagram describes the victim's legs as having been turned to jelly from endless beatings with a metal bar (he was strung up for days and used by any soldier who strolled in as a punching bag -- and yes, there's testimony, from U.S. soldiers who did it), that seems to me a little something more than "optics."
DiManno is not just an airhead; she's the full wind-tunnel.
Whooee! Our so-called leaders have been willfully turning a blind eye to the treatment of detainees held by the Afghans. I suppose they are burying their heads in the sand so they do not have to admit to being complicit in war crimes.
By turning a blind eye to mistreatment, they are also turning a blind eye to the fact that 60% -70% of those held by Afghan authorities are able to bribe their way out of jail. After bribing their way out, they go back to the frontlines and rejoin their Taliban brethren.
We don't see the bribery and corruption because we won't look at it. If we took proper responsibility for these detainees we could not only ensure that they are not mistreated, we could ensure that they are not bribing their way out of jail within hours of being handed over to Afghan authorities.
I just posted a piece where I call for the West to embrace Afghanistan's culture of corruption and bribery. Bribe them into being good little boys and girls.
We pay a huge financial cost for each Taliban we capture or kill. We can cut our costs and get a much better ROI is we simply pay them off.
JB
If they had really wanted to succeed in Afghanistan, they should have done something close to that a long time ago. Had they "flooded the zone" with cash back in 2002 (which is what Dubya effectively promised to do and then didn't deliver) then things might be a lot better than they are. Part of the reason the opium trade is so prevalent is that it's one of the few ways Afghans can make a living.
A thank you and a reference ....
Thanks for saying that - when I read it I feared I was alone in thinking just what you (and skadadl) said about DiManno - there never has been a war she hasn't liked.
Asia Times has an interesting article about the Taliban Taking a Thump and Coming Back. The thump is the death of one of their better commanders this past weekend: in other times and other circuumstances he would be called a Patriot. As part of the article there is a side light about Taliban finances - no doubt American funds would aid them, but they are not necessary, they do quite well, TYVM.
This is totally unsurprising and par for the course from Rosie DiManno. I don't know why the Star's readers have done that they are subjected to her bleatings.
The bleatings will continue until morale improves.
I'm curious as to why she keeps talking about "our values." It's quite clear that she doesn't have them herself. She should more properly say: "Other Canadians' values," or "mainstream Canadian values," because she's quite capable of defending any atrocity, as long as it's her team doing them.
She's a disgrace, to put it bluntly.