A travesty of Canadian journalism/Upperdate: Coup de Rick?

So Gen. (ret'd) Rick Hillier is a wannabe caudillo, right? Better hide your children, James Travers of the Toronto Star seems to be suggesting:

...
More common in U.S. or even South American generals, Hillier's popularity, and the populist drum he beats, make the former chief of defence staff a national phenomenon...

Hurl to the max.

Babbler's Update: I generally don't like to jump in on someone else's post, but this requires a bit more comment.

Travers makes the following assertion:

First Hillier surprised his Liberal political masters by formally signing, on Canada's behalf and at Afghanistan's request, a prisoner transfer agreement crafted in Ottawa as an adequate response to concerns spotted as early 2002 but now dismissed as weak.

That is in direct contradiction to Hillier's account:

Foreign Affairs took the lead and drew up a memorandum of agreement with the Afghan government. David Sproule, our ambassador in Kabul, was at the forefront of developing this agreement. Bill Graham, Ward Elcock and I were of absolutely one mind that an agreement with the government of Afghanistan was the way to go.

...

General Abdul Rahim Wardak, the former Chief of the Defence Staff who was now the Afghan Defence Minister, was going to sign on behalf of the government of Afghanistan and had requested that I sign it with him. Wardak and I had become close during my time as ISAF commander, when he was CDS for Afghanistan. He knew and trusted me. Foreign Affairs had no problems with this, so during my trip to Kabul, David Sproule accompanied me to visit Minister Wardak and, with Sproule orchestrating the shuffling of the various copies with signature blocks marked by yellow stickies, we signed the agreement, bringing it into force.

If Travers thinks Hillier's lying, if he has sources or evidence of that, he should bring them forward. Otherwise, he should apologize for misleading the TorStar readership.

Upperdate: Thanks Babbler, should have done it myself but was upchucking. I guess Mr Travers thinks he has found a case of coup de Rick.

More media coverage of the appearance at the Commons' committee by generals Hillier, Gauthier, and Fraser is here.

Uppestdate: Back at "South American generals", sure looks like Mr Travers was read by St. Rick of the Globe and Mail; but he ain't Salutin:

...
Wednesday afternoon, the Three Generals (it sounds better in Spanish) testified...Los generales were dismissive...