Tuesday, February 9, 2010 6:51 PM
Tories target Liberal 'disdain
for the Canadian Forces'
Jane Taber
The accusations were flying out of the Prime Minister’s Office today, again charging that the Liberals believe Canadian troops are guilty of committing war crimes.
The Tories used this tactic during questioning in the House of Commons over the Afghan detainee issue. They have also employed the tactic of guilt-by-association, doing so again today by focusing on remarks made by two men who know Michael Ignatieff.
According to the PMO Alerte-Info-Alert, an email sent to Tory MPs and supporters, the Liberal candidate in the Ontario riding of Dufferin–Caledon, Bill Prout, said: “Canadians have been involved with torture to get information from prisoners. (Caldeon Enterprise, February 9, 2010.)”
“This is another outrageous comment from the Liberal Party about our men and women serving in Afghanistan,” the PMO missive says. “Why is it that Liberals keep questioning the actions of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan? Is it because they are so desperate to score cheap political points they’ll make any sort of accusation? After all, they did attempt to raise money for their party on the issue of Taliban prisoners.”
Earlier in the day, the PMO took issue with the appearance of former Harvard professor Amir Attaran on a Liberal panel on Canadians abroad.
“Sadly, Ignatieff and the Liberals have once again demonstrated their disdain for the Canadian Forces by including in their meeting a witness who has accused Canadian troops of war crimes,” that PMO statement says.
“Amir Attaran, a former Harvard professor and close personal associate of Michael Ignatieff when they were at Harvard has said: ‘Canadians are complicit in torture, and therefore, it is beyond any doubt that Canadians have committed war crimes. The only question is who, and when, and what the details are.’(Global National, November 23, 2009)”
The Tories say Mr. Ignatieff is showing his “true feelings about the men and women of the Canadian Forces by giving a platform to someone who has made outrageous accusations against them.”
Not true, a senior Ignatieff official says: “Our leader has been very clear on this. It is not about the conduct of our troops, it is about what the government knew, what the government did (or did not do) and the fact they are trying to cover up. That and only that is the position of the Liberal Party. We never, ever questioned the integrity and honour of our troops. To pretend otherwise is simply ridiculous.”
He says, too, that he does not trust the “Conservative attack dogs for accurately representing what experts are saying” and that the Liberals are “debating ideas, not dictating them.”
“It may be difficult for some people in the Langevin block to understand, but you can listen to people without agreeing or insulting them.”
Pointing to recent TV panel in which Liberal MP Bob Rae and the NDP's Paul Dewar talked circles around Tory MP Peter Braid, the official figured the PMO "would put a stop this unpatriotic nonsense, but I guess they can’t help themselves."
(Editorial cartoon by Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)
