Minister Under Fire - Some Of It Friendly

The past week has been particularly rocky for the former brigadier general and defence industry lobbyist, who turned 67 two weeks ago. First came Mr. Harper's climbdown Friday over a controversial ban on media coverage of repatriation ceremonies for Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Mr. O'Connor was caught off guard not only by the reversal, sources say, but also by the manner in which Mr. Harper announced it — saying he had left “fairly clear” instructions to leave decisions on media access up to soldiers' families. For weeks, and with the Prime Minister's apparent backing, Mr. O'Connor had been saying the exact opposite. Then came a parliamentary committee hearing Tuesday, during which Mr. O'Connor was peppered with questions about Canada's military mission in Afghanistan. On several important subjects — the recent anti-American riots in Kabul, the bombing of civilians by coalition forces in Azizi, and the status of the fight for “hearts and minds” across Afghanistan — the minister struggled in his answers, referring his questioners to television reports. Queried about the media ban, Mr. O'Connor said that the Prime Minister had indeed instructed him to consult military families, but then declined to explain further, saying, “I have to watch what I say.” Most recently, in Question Period on Wednesday, Mr. O'Connor appeared to contradict a senior Canadian military commander's assertion that Taliban and al-Qaeda combatants are not accorded prisoner-of-war status under the Geneva Conventions. “He's obviously not clear on what part of the Geneva Conventions applies to these prisoners that we take,” Mr. Dosanjh said. Mr. O'Connor's missteps are undermining his leadership of the Canadian military, which for the first time in decades is conducting combat operations and taking significant battlefield casualties, Mr. Dosanjh said. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060601.wxoconnor02/BNStory/National

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