Well the truth is finally coming out. Once again the Liberals are blaming the governing party the DISCISIONS THAT THEY MADE.
First it was Kyoto targets and now this......
Liberals OK'd Afghan detainee deal
Ex-PM Martin gave defence minister approval to negotiate transfer agreement
Andrew Mayeda and Mike Blanchfield
The Ottawa Citizen
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Former prime minister Paul Martin gave approval almost two years ago to then-defence minister Bill Graham to negotiate a detainee transfer agreement with the Afghanistan government, according to government documents obtained by CanWest News Service.
The revelation, contained in cabinet correspondence and Defence Department briefing notes, comes as the Harper government continues to face criticism over its conduct of the Afghanistan mission and allegations that detainees were abused after being transferred to Afghan authorities.
The documents show that Mr. Martin, who has yet to speak publicly on the controversy, was briefed on the outlines of the agreement more than six months before it was signed.
In a May 27, 2005, letter from Mr. Graham to Mr. Martin, the prime minister was told that Canada planned to negotiate an agreement with the Afghan government that spelled out "explicit undertakings" on how the detainees would be treated.
The same day as the letter, Mr. Graham "authorized the Canadian Forces to seek arrangements with relevant authorities on the transfer of detainees," according to a Defence Department briefing note.
"The prime minister concurred with this approach on 10 June, 2005," states the note.
The documents appear to debunk allegations that Chief of Defence Gen. Rick Hillier acted on his own and without proper government supervision when he signed the controversial detainee deal on behalf of the Canadian government in Kabul on Dec. 18, 2005.
They also shed new light on how the former Liberal government crafted a deal that has become one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's biggest political headaches since taking power, sparking daily calls for the resignation of Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor.
The May 2005 letter states that Canada's new detainee policy "proceeds from the same premise" as strategic objectives approved by former prime minister Jean Chretien in November 2001.
Mr. Chretien was the first prime minister to commit warships and special forces troops to the U.S.-led war on terrorism, one month after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S.
The government planned to reach an agreement with Afghanistan under which detainees transferred by Canada would "be afforded treatment consistent with the standards set out in the Third Geneva Convention, regardless of the legal status of those detainees," the letter states.
The letter, also sent to former foreign affairs minister Pierre Pettigrew, assures that information on detainees "will be passed along in a timely way" to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), "which has the mandate and resources to track prisoners of war and detainees captured during armed conflict."
The letter does not specify whether the Red Cross will report back to Canada on the condition of the detainees.
Mr. O'Connor recently apologized for misleading Parliament about the role of the Red Cross. He said it was reporting back to Canada, when that was not correct.
On May 31, 2005, Mr. Graham and Gen. Hillier met Afghanistan foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah to discuss the "possibility" of a bilateral "framework agreement," according to the briefing note.
On July 28, Gen. Hillier sent Mr. Graham a letter asking for his approval "to include language in a proposed Military Technical Agreement with the government of Afghanistan concerning the Canadian Forces plans to negotiate a bilateral agreement on the treatment of detainees."
Mr. Graham signed off on the plan.
In the House of Commons yesterday, the Conservative government faced another round of questioning about its handling of the Afghan detainee issue.
The government has faced criticism that it has exposed prisoners to torture in Afghan prisons after they were transferred there by the Canadian military personnel, and that it has offered contradictory explanations about the issue.
Mr. Harper told the Commons yesterday that Gen. Hillier did not act on his own when he signed the agreement.
"It is my clear understanding that any such agreement would have required the approval of the Liberal cabinet ministers of the day."
Unlike similar agreements reached by the Dutch and British governments, the Canadian deal did not contain a guarantee that Canadian officials could follow up on transferred detainees.
The government has since negotiated a new agreement with Afghan authorities, under which Canadian officials will have access to detainees after they are transferred.
http://www.canada.com/components/print. ... a52f8e3570