Torture has been a grim component of nearly every aspect of the current war in Afghanistan. Setting aside the behaviour of the Taliban regime and their Afghan opponents, the warlords of the Northern Alliance, which included grievous violations of human rights, US forces were involved in torture from almost the moment of their arrival in Afghanistan in late 2001.
In the years after 2001, the US government attempted to justify its invasion and occupation of Afghanistan through narratives of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that were based almost entirely on confessions elicited by torture from actual or suspected associates of Osama bin Laden.
And torture has been an integral part of the counterinsurgency tactics employed by the US, its NATO allies, and the Karzai regime. These tactics—involving infantry sweeps through communities in whose vicinity resistance has been encountered, more or less indiscriminate arrests, and the handing over of prisoners to the Afghan police or to the National Directorate of Security, whose ‘intelligence’ (based on torture) then serves as a guide to further arrests—have victimized large numbers of civilians, most of them people with no connection to the Afghan resistance.
Canada, as a practitioner of these tactics, has been implicated for at least the past six years in a detainee-torture scandal, one of whose consequences has been very serious damage to Canada’s international reputation. There is evidence that this scandal reaches to the very highest levels of the Canadian government.
full article http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24473
Stumble It!
Damn good thing he is the official opposition!
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canadian War Crimes in Afghanistan
Canadian Politics
Written By:
Wednesday, May 04 at 15:52
Torture has been a grim component of nearly every aspect of the current war in Afghanistan. Setting aside the behaviour of the Taliban regime and their Afghan opponents, the warlords of the Northern Alliance, which included grievous violations of human rights, US forces were involved in torture from almost the moment of their arrival in Afghanistan in late 2001.
In the years after 2001, the US government attempted to justify its invasion and occupation of Afghanistan through narratives of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that were based almost entirely on confessions elicited by torture from actual or suspected associates of Osama bin Laden.
And torture has been an integral part of the counterinsurgency tactics employed by the US, its NATO allies, and the Karzai regime. These tactics—involving infantry sweeps through communities in whose vicinity resistance has been encountered, more or less indiscriminate arrests, and the handing over of prisoners to the Afghan police or to the National Directorate of Security, whose ‘intelligence’ (based on torture) then serves as a guide to further arrests—have victimized large numbers of civilians, most of them people with no connection to the Afghan resistance.
Canada, as a practitioner of these tactics, has been implicated for at least the past six years in a detainee-torture scandal, one of whose consequences has been very serious damage to Canada’s international reputation. There is evidence that this scandal reaches to the very highest levels of the Canadian government.
full article http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=24473
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Canada as a practioner? Seriously? Who comes up with this crap anyway. I have completed 4 tours there, and in a get your nose bloodied, give one back environment and I have never seen nor heard of us canadians practising torture. Come on, this is serious stuff, does anyone other than the TB Jack supporters really believe that Canada is a practioner of torture. Maybe some of these people should spend some time over there with the Canadian contingent before they spout off crap like this.
When you factor in the reality that Canada supports its US 'ally' in the middle east and Afghanistan, who do in fact torture, in Iraq and at Guantanamo, and also knowing that the Canadian government left Omar Khadr and Mahar Arar to twist in the wind as they were tortured, then I think walking and talking like a duck, so to speak, applies here. And let's not only look overseas. Think G20 brutality in Toronto.Think of the poor chap who was tazered to death at Vancouver airport. Torture and brutality are back as a means of controlling people. And we just meekly accept it.
Again I say "seriously". The action of a few bad eggs at the G8 summit in no way defines us as Canadians. Supporting an Ally does not mean you condone thier methods. It simply means you have a commen goal. Do you actually bel;ieve that the Canadian Government was ever really in a position to influence the treatment of Khadr or Arar (whom our taxpayers grossly compensated). However, none of this was the actual point now was it. The point was that the article states that Canadians are practioners of torture which is entirely false and a severe slap of the faces of canadian soldiers who have sacrificed a hell of alot in performing thier duties for Canadians. Now you are perfectly content to smear them while you sit smuggly and comfortably in your orange arm chair, probably having never really put yourself out for anyone let alone Canada. Shame on you.
To paraphrase the late, great lyin' Brian Mulroney (in his debste with John Turner): You had an option, sir. You could have said, 'I am not going to do it. This is wrong for Canada, and I am not going to ask Canadians to pay the price.' You had an option, sir — to say 'no' — and you chose to say 'yes'...
To paraphrase the late, great lyin' Brian Mulroney (in his debste with John Turner): You had an option, sir. You could have said, 'I am not going to do it. This is wrong for Canada, and I am not going to ask Canadians to pay the price.' You had an option, sir — to say 'no' — and you chose to say 'yes'...
By this are actually now saying that i took part in torture through my efforts overseas to keep the wolf from your door. Clearly you have sat pretty comfortable all your life and havent had to rise to the occasion. you are just another one of those that sits safe, sound blind and deaf and allow others to ensure you can continue this farce even while you cut them down at your whim. A very huge shame on you.
The Canadian legal industry routinely turns a blind eye to torture of prisoners in prisons, often innocent and wrongfully arrested, something we can expect to escalate under the Harper majority.
By turning captured people over to the Afghan Government, knowing full well they would be tortured, under international law, they were actively participating in torture, and were thus guilty of war crimes .
The Canadian legal industry routinely turns a blind eye to torture of prisoners in prisons, often innocent and wrongfully arrested, something we can expect to escalate under the Harper majority.
I think maybe your the one who turns a blind eye. You smuggly crap on the sacrifice of canadian soldiers. Now I will ask you, were you there, did you observe these incidents of torture or are you basing all of this crap on what you hear on your orange TV? Hey Pal, as I said, I was there! many times, and in a position to know what I'm talking about but you still turn your ignorant blind eye to what I am telling you and instead cling to whatever media crap that makes Harper bad in your eyes. To me this discussion is closed as you obviously cant listen to someone who actually knows what they are talking about.
Stay in your safe little hole, its ok we'll look after you.
Everyone is entitled to their own, possibly incorrect, opinion.
By this are actually now saying that i took part in torture through my efforts overseas to keep the wolf from your door. Clearly you have sat pretty comfortable all your life and havent had to rise to the occasion. you are just another one of those that sits safe, sound blind and deaf and allow others to ensure you can continue this farce even while you cut them down at your whim. A very huge shame on you.
Tut tut! Do you think that the police here should just take a perp into the alley and put a bullet in his brain?
And regarding captured fighters, why would you even WANT to turn them over to torturers?
What is 14 inches long, and hangs between the legs of Uncle Sam? His Canadian apologist's necktie!
I don't think anyone who would return to a war zone several times, is anyone we can consider a source of "Good Judgement, nor mental competence. The mental damage cause by war is becoming increasing self evident.