A suspected Taliban prisoner is searched, handcuffed, and processed by Canadian soldiers in northern Kandahar on May 10, 2006.JOHN D MCHUGH
Searching for ways to change the channel on allegations of Afghan prisoner abuse, the Harper PMO is accusing the Liberals of trying to fundraise by attacking Canadian troops.
In the PMO's most recent "Alerte-Info-Alert" (talking points from the top) to Conservative MPs and supporters, it attacks Liberal Party national director Rocco Rossi for sending out a fundraising letter asking for donations to help fight what he describes as "textbook U.S. Republican-style attack politics" with regard the government's handling of the prisoner abuse story.
"Sadly, Rossi's letter seems to be part of a deliberate Ignatieff strategy to politicize the issue of Taliban prisoners while attempting to raise some cash for the Liberal Party," the email alert says.
In his fundraising letter, Mr. Rossi wrote that the "Afghan detainee scandal has the government's spin machine on overdrive. First, the Conservatives called Richard Colvin, the courageous public servant who testified about prisoner abuse at a parliamentary committee last week, a Taliban 'dupe.'
"Now, we've learned that Mr. Colvin copied the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on his warnings, suggesting that those at the highest levels of government were aware of the situation. … We owe it to our troops, our diplomats, and to Canada's international reputation to find the truth about what happened. In times like these, no one can afford to sit on the political sidelines."
In its counter to the Rossi letter, the Harper PMO urges Tory MPs "not to respond to this shameless attempt to raise money by the Liberals." It goes on to say that the "desperation of the Ignatieff Liberals to try to politicize any issue for their private political benefit speaks for itself."
It's getting nasty out there.
(Photo: A suspected Taliban prisoner is searched, handcuffed, and processed by Canadian soldiers in northern Kandahar on May 10, 2006. John McHugh/AFP/Getty Images)