Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The Canadian Press Thinks Repeatedly = 2

Just another gleaming example of what journalistic integrity has been reduced too. Check out that headline:

"Red Cross repeatedly warned Canada of Afghan prison abuse: documents"

Now read the first line of the story:

"OTTAWA - The International Red Cross met twice with senior Canadian officials in Kandahar to deliver veiled but insistent warnings about torture in Afghan jails a year before Canada acted to protect detainees."

So in today's math repeatedly means two. And it gets worse. The story states the Red Cross gave dire warnings of torture:

"But the risks were so dire that detainees might be tortured in Afghan jails that the agency felt compelled to alert senior Canadian diplomats and officers in person, say memos made available on a confidential basis to The Canadian Press."

Seems pretty clear cut, right? Nope. It seems a Red Cross spokesperson actually denies the gist of the story, yet the Canadian Press still ran with that headline:

" A spokesman for the International Red Cross played down the face-to-face sessions with Canadian officials.

The agency would "never share confidential information," and the memo and Mendes' comments are "someone's interpretation of the meeting," Bernard Barrett, Red Cross spokesman in Washington, D.C., said in an interview."



Brilliant job by the Canadian Press. Smear the government with a story that actually refutes the headline if one takes the time to read it. You guys must make all journalists so proud.

9 comments:

Fay said...

Well said!!!

wilson said...

Any article from Canadian press needs scrutiny.
The media is weaving in and out of different years, and different memos, trying to create confusion.

About those Red Cross concerns (23rd paragraph in CP article),
maybe that first face to face the RC had was while the Martin government was in power, RC reporting notice of transfer ''sometimes taking 60 days ''.
Canadian Press omits the date on that one.

from a different article, the Chretien/Martin years:

''...Military documents obtained by CBC News detail the transfer of 35 detainees caught by Canadian troops in Afghanistan,
beginning in 2002 and ending in April 2006.
(Harper govt sworn in in Feb)

In one case in January 2002, officials of the then Liberal government waited nearly 3½ months before notifying the International Red Cross it had transferred a detainee.

In 2006, the length of time shortened to between four and eight days...''

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/11/23/detainees-afghanistan.html?ref=rss

jad said...

As I understand it, based on the Colvin documents and the testimony of Ambassador Mulroney, the Red Cross was concerned about the process involved. Canada apparently was taking too long to advise the Red Cross of the names and locations of the prisoners they had captured.

Of course according to Jim Travers,to people who understand these things, "process" is just code for "torture".

maryT said...

No more money or blood for the Red Cross until they make it public that most of their concerns were under liberal rule.

Anonymous said...

There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also.

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