new documents dispute both David Mulroney and general Rick Hillier's testimony

But don't tell Christie Blatchford! She might question your patriotism. H/T Contrarian

From Contrarian's link comes this. Con clown Christie:

E-mail trail only adds to Afghan questions

And they took a lot of prisoners – many more than either the British, who were at the time in Helmand Province where things were then relatively quiet, or the Dutch, who were later moving into Uruzgan.

From the start, Canadian soldiers were using gunshot residue tests (this was mentioned by the former chief of defence staff Rick Hillier in his testimony to the committee this week, but the significance of the remark went unnoticed) to sift the wheat from the chaff.

In condemning with the same brush highly professional Canadian soldiers, and to complain that they were complicit in breaches of the law of armed conflict and knowingly buried his reports, it is Mr. Colvin who has some explaining left to do.

Is it really Mr.Colvin who has some splainin to do, Christie? Or is it you and the control freak, stephen harper and his yes men? I know Christie, being handed talking points is so much easier than doing your job, and perhaps you are just angling for a SenaToryal appointment, but really, try and be discreet.

Mulroney, Hillier have some explaining to do

Look Here, Christie!

Little evidence detainees linked to Taliban: report

The Canadian government documents detail how agents from the National Directorate of Security, a key Afghan organization involved in the fight against insurgents, raised concerns in spring 2007 that Canadian and NATO soldiers were taking people into custody, but could not provide proof of how they were involved in insurgent activities. As a result, the NDS had been releasing most of those captured.

So Christie's claims that 1 "And they took a lot of prisoners – many more than either the British, who were at the time in Helmand Province where things were then relatively quiet, or the Dutch, who were later moving into Uruzgan."

And two ~ (this was mentioned by the former chief of defence staff Rick Hillier in his testimony to the committee this week, but the significance of the remark went unnoticed) seem pretty irrelevant. Unless of course, one only tows the party line. Why is Mulroney more credible than Colvin? Why is Hillier, for that matter?

Members of a Commons committee recently heard testimony from Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin who said that many of the Afghans detained by Canadian troops were innocent farmers, peasants or people in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

His view, however, was challenged last week by diplomat David Mulroney, who had been a key player in the Afghan mission. He testified there was "no doubt that the detainees captured by the Canadian Forces posed a real threat to Afghans, and more than that, in some cases, had Canadian blood on their hands."

No doubt? Perhaps in the black and white, good vs evil world view of the neo-con. Hillier was just as confident.

Retired general Rick Hillier also disputed Colvin's allegations and said that Afghans taken into custody were indeed working for the enemy.

He told the Commons committee that those detained had actually been caught in the act of trying to kill Canadian troops and had explosive or gunpowder residue on their hands.

Really? How many of them, sir? 25%-50-75? Why were so many being released? More.

During a May 7, 2007, meeting at the NDS prison in Kandahar, the Afghan intelligence officials complained to a Canadian Forces legal advisor, as well as Foreign Affairs and Correctional Services Canada representatives. "(Names of NDS agents censored from document) complained that they need more detailed charge information when detainees are transferred by Canadian Forces," the Canadian government report from Kandahar noted. "In the cases the only evidence is (details censored from document) which in the Afghan context is insufficient grounds to hold someone in detention."

The report was sent to various Canadian officials including Mulroney, Foreign Affairs, Defence Department and Privy Council Office representatives. Colvin was not included on the list.

The NDS officials asked that their concerns be passed on to Canadian and NATO troops, according to the report.