Training the ANA: MND O'Connor tells the simple truth

But the Globe and Mail (along with most media) continues to spin the fake story of contradictions between the minister and the CDS:

Over the weekend, Gen. Hillier once again seemed to take a different tack from Mr. O'Connor, insisting that it will take ”a long while” until the Afghan National Army is ready to carry on the fighting against the Taliban now in the hands of Canadians and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces.

A week ago, Mr. O'Connor had made a more optimistic forecast about the shifting of responsibility from Canadian troops.

But Mr. O'Connor said there is no discrepancy between his opinion and that of Gen. Hillier.

”I never said that the army units would be trained within six months,” he said. ”I said that over the next six months we will get four or five of these battalions to train. And if you check, my words, word by word, I said that at some time in the future we will be able to go into some reserve state. But we don't know how long that is [emphasis added].”

The Canadian troops are committed to remaining in the country until February 2009 and are shifting their focus to the training for the Afghan army, he said...

Exactly. But our media will never admit they were wrong; they've got their stinking agenda. L. Ian MacDonald identifies part of it in the Montreal Gazette:

This isn't really about policy differences between Hillier and O'Connor. For the media, it's very close to becoming a game of gotcha...

Once again, I urge you to watch the video of what the MND said (ignore the first few seconds), and then what the CDS said, on CTV's "Question Period". Point out any contradiction or any rosey optimism on the part of the minister. IT'S NOT THERE--and the CTV interviewer himself highlights the conditionality of what Mr O'Connor said.

CTV:

If all goes according to plan, and I appreciate this is war and sometimes doesn't, but if all goes according to plan Canadians will be doing less of a combat role in the south. Correct?

MND:

That's correct

But: GOTCHA! GOTCHA! GOTCHA! I hurl. I wonder why none of the print media have printed a transcript of what was actually said. Work, I guess.