(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Canada believe a public inquiry on what the government and the Canadian Forces knew about reports of prisoner torture in Afghanistan is necessary at this time, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion published in the Toronto Star. 53 per cent of respondents support this notion, while 36 per cent oppose it.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Canada believe a public inquiry on what the government and the Canadian Forces knew about reports of prisoner torture in Afghanistan is necessary at this time, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion published in the Toronto Star. 53 per cent of respondents support this notion, while 36 per cent oppose it.
Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. The conflict began in October 2001, after the Taliban regime refused to hand over Osama bin Laden without evidence of his participation in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.
At least 1,520 soldiers—including 133 Canadians—have died in the war on terrorism, either in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Earlier this month, Canadian intelligence officer and diplomat Richard Colvin testified to a parliamentary committee about a series of memos he wrote between May 2006 and October 2007 warning that Afghan detainees captured by Canadians and turned over to Afghan authorities were being tortured in Afghani prisons. Colvin testified that those memos were ignored until newspaper reports brought the matter into the public eye. Canadian government ministers have dismissed Colvin’s claims as "not credible" and "entirely suspect."
On Nov. 19, New Democratic Party (NDP) foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar called for a public inquiry into this matter, declaring, "There are concerns that the government was complicit in torture, in violation of international law, while engaging in a massive cover-up that put our diplomats and soldiers on the ground at risk."
Polling Data
Do you support or oppose launching a public inquiry on what the government and the Canadian Forces knew about reports of prisoner torture in Afghanistan?
|
Support |
53% |
|
Oppose |
36% |
|
Not sure |
11% |
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion / Toronto Star
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,010 Canadian adults, conducted on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
