The Gazette has had an editorial in which the editor states that Canada's opposition to Torture must be absolute. I agree with this editorial. There have been European countries that are actively monitoring the prisoners in the jails. Even Canadian diplomat, Richard Colvin, was told to stop writing about the situation in Afghanistan. Why can't our government make sure that prisoners aren't being tortured. Then, we wonder why Taliban support is steady and why the residents don't want to cooperate with our troops. We should help the population instead of burdening it.
Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan face not only an intractable Taliban opposition but also a non-combatant population that might want to trust foreign troops, but has its doubts. The last thing Canadians need, then, is for the population to view our troops as callously complicit in the torture of innocent civilians.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/opposition+torture+must+absolute/2243748/story.html
Some countries evade international torture standards by labeling their torture as legitimate interrogation techniques. Definitions, and inspections by third parties are the keys to limiting the use of torture by states.
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