Hillier, and what Canadians know about the CF
I noticed on Monday that Amir Attaran and his fan base in the press have decided to personally target General Rick Hillier over changes to the way DND processes Access To Information requests on detainees in Afghanistan.
I'm not going to defend DND's decisions on what constitutes operationally sensitive information in this case, because I'm not entirely sure I agree with them. I feel they've been overly cautious in the past, and I don't doubt they'll be overly cautious for some time to come.
But it's worth noting that the ATI process has never been tested in a time of such intense military operations in this country, and that an evolving balance between the public's valid right to information and the government's valid right to secrecy should be expected in such circumstances. It's also worth noting that obvious mistakes have been made in ATI releases in the past.
Instead of sticking to a balanced and reasonable discussion of where the line should be drawn in the vast grey area between such conflicting interests, Attaran and his adoring media fans decided to go after Hillier, though, as though he's some sort of tin-pot dictator in the making. Just look at the headline to the Globe and Mail article: "Hillier muzzles military over detainees."
The truth is that Rick Hillier has done more to open the CF up to the media and public than any other CDS the CF has ever had. Name me another government department where the lowest employee on the organization chart can speak freely with members of the media about his or her work. Name me another government department that allows the press in to observe its inner workings, stand alongside its employees as they do their job, listen to them bitch and complain and laugh and cheer for weeks at a time. Name me another CDS that has been as honest and forthright with the Canadian people as Rick Hillier, as accessible as he has, as genuine.
You can't. Because Hillier's the real deal. And his petty critics are nothing more than Liliputians trying to tie down Gulliver. Let's hope they never succeed.
I'm not going to defend DND's decisions on what constitutes operationally sensitive information in this case, because I'm not entirely sure I agree with them. I feel they've been overly cautious in the past, and I don't doubt they'll be overly cautious for some time to come.
But it's worth noting that the ATI process has never been tested in a time of such intense military operations in this country, and that an evolving balance between the public's valid right to information and the government's valid right to secrecy should be expected in such circumstances. It's also worth noting that obvious mistakes have been made in ATI releases in the past.
Instead of sticking to a balanced and reasonable discussion of where the line should be drawn in the vast grey area between such conflicting interests, Attaran and his adoring media fans decided to go after Hillier, though, as though he's some sort of tin-pot dictator in the making. Just look at the headline to the Globe and Mail article: "Hillier muzzles military over detainees."
The truth is that Rick Hillier has done more to open the CF up to the media and public than any other CDS the CF has ever had. Name me another government department where the lowest employee on the organization chart can speak freely with members of the media about his or her work. Name me another government department that allows the press in to observe its inner workings, stand alongside its employees as they do their job, listen to them bitch and complain and laugh and cheer for weeks at a time. Name me another CDS that has been as honest and forthright with the Canadian people as Rick Hillier, as accessible as he has, as genuine.
You can't. Because Hillier's the real deal. And his petty critics are nothing more than Liliputians trying to tie down Gulliver. Let's hope they never succeed.
posted by Babbling Brooks at 2:35 p.m.
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