Public Servants are Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take it Anymore - I HOPE

The general changing his story yesterday has shed new light on claims made by the the Harper government, that there was no proof that torture took place.

Some of the columnists are also changing their tune, as even more diplomats step forward to support Richard Colvin.

Travers: Afghan torture backspin leaves Tories squirming
Smear of whistleblower, general's flip flop, has MacKay on defensive
By James Travers National Affairs Columnist
December 10, 2009

OTTAWA–Tug one thread, the worn adage advises, and the whole sweater unravels. Just weeks after Richard Colvin pulled the single strand of Afghan prisoner abuse, Peter MacKay's defence is in tatters, torn apart by the admission that a Canada detainee was beaten.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk's stunning reversal Wednesday proves the wisdom of another political maxim: The cover-up is always more damaging than the original fault. By bobbing and weaving around torture allegations, Conservatives exposed the more threatening problem of the badly strained relationship between civil servants and their political masters.

Colvin did his duty by speaking truth to power. MacKay responded by tarring the diplomat ....

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Protest grows against Tory government's attack on Colvin
The Canadian Press
More than 35 top diplomats add names to list as MacKay faces mounting pressure in detainee-abuse case
Paul Koring and Steven Chase
Globe and Mail
December 09, 2009

The number of former ambassadors protesting the Conservative government's attacks on diplomat Richard Colvin is snowballing, with organizers saying the list will exceed 35 today and is headed for 50.

The initiative began days ago after more than 20 former diplomatic heads of mission banded together to speak out against Ottawa's response to Mr. Colvin's testimony on Afghan-detainee abuse. They warned that it threatens to cast a chill over the foreign service and they singled out Defence Minister Peter MacKay for having "savaged" the diplomat in public.

"It's quite amazing," organizer and ex-Canadian ambassador Gar Pardy said of the growing response from former top diplomats. "People just want to be part of it." ...