We only tortured a few, less than 10%, of our prisoners... .

When I was a child there was a soap ad that spoke of a brand of soap being 99 4/10th % pure (or something like that). I remember thinking "so 6/10th % is what? Poison?".

So here, yes, "we tortured but far fewer than alleged". Perhaps the Conservatives are wise to distance themselves from the Afghan government. Of course, that doesn't justify abandoning the Afghan people ... .

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/mobile/news/national-news/Prisoners+tortured+fewer+than+alleged+warden/2251880/story.html


KANDAHAR CITY, Afghanistan — Prisoners were tortured at Sarpoza Prison in Afghanistan, but not in nearly the numbers alleged this past week by a Canadian diplomat, the prison's chief warden has told Canwest News Service.

"Yes, there was torture and people were certainly beaten," chief warden Col. Abdullah Bawar said Saturday during an interview conducted inside the prison's heavily guarded walls.

"Hands and legs would be tied and they would be beaten with cables. I even remember one man who broke his leg from a beating."

Although his timeline was a bit fuzzy as to when such abuses stopped, Bawar estimated that "around 100 prisoners" from a population of about 1,100 had been physically abused during 2006 and 2007, which he referred to as "this dark period."
James Morton
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