Support our troops, but don’t gag our democracy
Cats: politics|Of course we support our troops. We pay them to do a exceptionally difficult job in Afghanistan. We dispatch journalists to record their work. We send over entertainers to boost morale, set up Tim Hortons and deliver the Stanley Cup. We fly flags at half mast when the fallen return in flag-draped coffins. We shed tears for the ones they have left behind.
But “support our troops” should not mean “gag our democracy.” When General Rick Hillier responds to allegations of detainee torture by telling us that the troops are “pissed off” by the distraction of this story, he is missing the point.
Canadian citizens have every right to monitor the activities of troops deployed in their name. If detainees are being tortured after being handed over by Canadian troops, then Canadian journalists have a responsibility to tell that story. Canadian politicians are duty-bound to investigate and Canadian citizens are within their rights to ask questions. If this did not happen, we would not be living in a democracy.
If General Hillier doesn’t like the coverage of the mission, he ought check his press file which will be bursting with good press from “embedded” journalists such as the Globe’s Christine Blatchford.
Freedom of the press and democracy are not the prisoners of patriotic slogans such as “support our troops.” Let’s support the troops, but let’s do so intelligently and democratically. Let’s not allow that support to muzzle freedom of the press.
Canadian citizens have a right to be informed, to ask questions and stand up for democratic principles. And General Hillier, of all people, should know that.
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Briliantly put GT!
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:45 pm
One does often have to question the motives of the media. There always appears to be some kind of bias in the reporting. People are stupid and the media feeds the people. Do people want to watch unbiased, balanced reporting or do people watch the drama?
I agree with GT, but I am often appauled at the media coverage I see. It’s full of half truths, bad statistics, and anything else that will get an audience.
There are lots of ‘truths’ out there, but I doubt we see them all. We end up forming a biased opinion even from balanced reporting because we don’t have the whole picture.
The armed forces are screwed if they do, and they’re screwed if they don’t.
May 4th, 2007 at 2:06 am
All true Dick. The mass media is covered in warts, but it is still free even if not comprehensive. Manipulation by powerful military generals is dangerous. The point is to expose Hillier’s attempt to shut the media up about allegations of detainee torture by appealing to the “support our troops” slogan. This is why General Hillier appeared on the nation media to tell us that our boys are “pissed off” about this story. I’d say this is a case of the media doing a good job.
May 4th, 2007 at 6:52 am
I hear you, but what complicates matters is that the soldiers are doing their job. I like to think that they are doing it well. They aren’t like political candidates walking the party line, they are following orders. If the media was more careful to focus on the issue from the top down I doubt the soldiers would care, hell they might even cheer it on.
May 4th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Yes, the troops are doing what troops do, following orders.
The point is that the orders are flawed. Handing over prisoners to a regime notorious for torturing them violates a whole raft of international conventions including the Geneva Convention. Amnesty International launched legal action until the government made moves to change its flawed policy.
Hillier rammed this policy down the throat of government officials who objected to it. Other western democracies like Britain and The Netherlands negotiate prisoner agreements before handing them over. When questions were asked, our government handled it very badly, hiding behind patriotic slogans like “support our troops” rather than answering questions.
This is the story of a military general with waaaaay too much power. The dangers of that are well known. I’m not having this general tell me his troops are “pissed off” when my parliament is asking serious questions about the orders they are following.
The media is covering this from the top asking questions of harper, Hillier, O’conner, and MacKay (for what he’s worth). At first they couldn’t because gov’t was ducking and diving. If you want to blame anyone for coverage, blame government, on this one.
Does “support our troops” give military generals and prime ministers carte blanche to do anything in the theater of military conflict. I don’t want to live in a country that tells its troops to ship people off to places where they will be tortured, no matter what the crime.
Canada has egg on its face, thanks to Hillier, not the troops.
May 4th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Something happened to your last paragraph. I suspect tampering by the Government.
I have to admit I haven’t been glued to the available media on this subject. I have however seen images of soldiers on the ground doing their job.
I totally agree with you, but from what little coverage I have seen the average “media illiterate” is left with an image of soldiers doing something wrong, not leaders being asses.
May 5th, 2007 at 4:12 am
Based on the Military people I have met and known, I suspect that they are “pissed off” about the detainees – likely specifically pissed that Hillier and his political masters have failed to act on this issue in a transparent and honest way compatible with Canadian values, and instead have run the risk of falling into the same transfer/rendition/torture morass that the Americans have fallen into.
The sooner that this is fixed, the sooner we can hopefully move on to the issues at hand in Afganistan, namely the counterinsurgency. You know – Hearts and Minds – which Canada will try to win with, wait for it, MORE Leopard Tanks, which was General Hillier’s idea – Hmmm….perhaps our work in the leadership area isn’t done yet.
May 5th, 2007 at 4:52 am
TB’s contention is borne out by this morning’s report that troops were so upset by the treatment of one prisoner they wanted to get him back in their custody. Too bad Harper, Hillier keep ducking and diving.