Torture in Afghanistan

Ottawa continues to try to block the release of uncensored documents discussing their knowledge, support and legal liability of prisoners being tortured in Afghanistan. One source who claims to have seen the uncensored documents claims the reason the government is trying to block the release of that information is because not only does it prove they knew about the torture, they wanted it to happen.

There are a few points I'd like to make. First, I completely oppose torture. Second, I think it's totally hypocritical that the federal liberals are making a big deal about this when their chosen leader has gone on record saying he supports torture of terrorist suspects. The Harper government denied it but the Ignatief government would boldly and openly endorse it. Both are wrong.

Some people can rationalize torturing terrorist suspects because they are cold blooded murders and lives will be lost if they are not tortured. Roughing them up a bit is one thing but torture is another. Then there's the innocent until proven guilty thing. What about Operation Northwoods and all the false flag terrorist attacks in history? What if the purpose of the torture is to get a fake confession to something the suspect didn't do? That would change things considerably. That is one of the reasons I oppose torture. I believe that has happened in the past and the Toronto 18 is indeed suspect.

Torturing prisoners in Afghanistan is wrong because our very presence there has become suspect. If they really were responsible for 9/11 then the war is valid. However, there is a wealth of scientific evidence which makes that presumption suspect. We all know the invasion of Iraq was about oil not weapons of mass destruction. MI 6 were caught red handed putting false information into the media about Iraq's WMD in Operation Mass Appeal which proved to be false.

Likewise, the bin Laden confession video didn't even look like bin Laden. The bin Laden family gave Bush start up money for his family's defunct oil company in Texas and actually helped build the WTC in New York. Prior to 9/11 Texan oil Barron's from Unocal were wining and dining the Taliban trying to win the contract for the oil pipeline called Centgas, Central Asia Gas Pipeline that was to be built through Afghanistan piping oil from Turkmenistan to Pakistan. The two companies competing for the project were Unocol from the U.S. and Bridas from Argentina.

Although an agreement with Unocal-led corporation CentGas was reached, the deal was forfeited in January 1998 in favor of one with Bridas. Instability in Afghanistan delayed construction of the pipeline, however, and following the United States Invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, the Bridas contract was rescinded in favor of the former one with Unocal.

There we have it. Unocol lost the contract with the Taliban to build the oil pipeline through Afghanistan in January 1998 to Bridas, an Argentina firm. After the invasion of Afghanistan, Unocol was given the contract again in October 2001. Do the math. Iraq's war for oil revisited.

So notwithstanding the religious extremism in Afghanistan and notwithstanding the many wonderful people who have given their lives to that struggle, the whole mission is fundamentally suspect and Michael Ignatieff, the devil incarnate, teaches torture is OK so it is totally hypocritical for the Liberal government to complain about something they would publicly endorse. Nevertheless, we need to stop our participation in torture. Especially when it is done to obtain false confessions. "Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me."