CSIS official does about-face on torture testimony
OTTAWA - A senior CSIS official has backpedalled on his admission that the spy agency uses information extracted through torture.
In a letter to the Commons public safety committee Thursday, Geoffrey O'Brian of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said his comments to MPs this week "may have provoked some confusion."
"I wish to clarify for the committee that CSIS certainly does not condone torture and that it is the policy of CSIS to not knowingly rely upon information that may have been obtained through torture," O'Brian wrote.
He is a lawyer who provides advice on legislative issues at the spy service, where he has worked since its inception almost 25 years ago.
The letter contrasted sharply with his testimony at a committee hearing on Tuesday
O'Brian told MPs then that the agency would use information gathered through torture in the rare instance that it could prevent a catastrophic terrorist plot like the 1985 Air India bombing or the 9-11 attacks.
"The simple truth is, if we get information which can prevent something like the Air India bombing, the Twin Towers - whatever, frankly - that is the time when we will use it despite the provenance of that information."
O'Brian's comments sparked criticism of CSIS from opposition MPs and human-rights advocates. They also prompted Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan to quiz CSIS director Jim Judd at a Tuesday night meeting about the spy agency's policy on torture.
On Thursday, Van Loan told the committee he's willing to issue a written directive to CSIS prohibiting the use of information from torture - a signal welcomed by NDP public safety critic Jack Harris.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/CSIS-official-does-about-face-on-torture-testimony.html
We just never will know what is really going on with the police, the RCMP, CSIS', or any bureaucratic, or governmental agency!
They lie, they cheat and if they do tell us what is happening, they then tell us that they want to correct what they said to conform to what they meant to say!
OTTAWA - A senior CSIS official has backpedalled on his admission that the spy agency uses information extracted through torture.
In a letter to the Commons public safety committee Thursday, Geoffrey O'Brian of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said his comments to MPs this week "may have provoked some confusion."
"I wish to clarify for the committee that CSIS certainly does not condone torture and that it is the policy of CSIS to not knowingly rely upon information that may have been obtained through torture," O'Brian wrote.
He is a lawyer who provides advice on legislative issues at the spy service, where he has worked since its inception almost 25 years ago.
The letter contrasted sharply with his testimony at a committee hearing on Tuesday
O'Brian told MPs then that the agency would use information gathered through torture in the rare instance that it could prevent a catastrophic terrorist plot like the 1985 Air India bombing or the 9-11 attacks.
"The simple truth is, if we get information which can prevent something like the Air India bombing, the Twin Towers - whatever, frankly - that is the time when we will use it despite the provenance of that information."
O'Brian's comments sparked criticism of CSIS from opposition MPs and human-rights advocates. They also prompted Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan to quiz CSIS director Jim Judd at a Tuesday night meeting about the spy agency's policy on torture.
On Thursday, Van Loan told the committee he's willing to issue a written directive to CSIS prohibiting the use of information from torture - a signal welcomed by NDP public safety critic Jack Harris.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/CSIS-official-does-about-face-on-torture-testimony.html
We just never will know what is really going on with the police, the RCMP, CSIS', or any bureaucratic, or governmental agency!
They lie, they cheat and if they do tell us what is happening, they then tell us that they want to correct what they said to conform to what they meant to say!
