On truth suppression techniques

It doesn't look like the range of Canadians who have made Afghanistan their top issue in writing to PMS will have reason to stop anytime soon, as the CP reports that a report into possible "friendly-fire" Canadian deaths will be subject to a veto by the countries whose soldiers may have contributed that fire:

A closed-door investigation into the possible friendly fire death of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan has concluded, but the board of inquiry's final report won't be released until it is vetted by U.S. and Afghan military officials.

The board investigated the death of Pte. Robert Costall, who was killed last spring during a fierce firefight between coalition forces and insurgents at Sangin, west of Kandahar...

The inquiry's terms of reference, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, order Brig.-Gen. Chris Davis, the board president, to "determine what information, including any that has been received from coalition partners, is releasable under Canadian law."

The April 13 document also confirms testimony from the inquiry has been designated as secret, and U.S. and Afghan officials have a veto over the release of what they consider "classified" information.

Needless to say, Canadians won't have much reason to be confident in the outcome of the report when the other countries involved will be entitled to exclude any inconvenient information from the final report. And even the unaltered report may itself rest on shaky ground, as the terms of reference also limit evidence-gathering based on an intention to ensure "complete understanding and collaboration" with the U.S. - a rather curious indulgence to grant a country whose soldiers could be at fault.

Of course, no report on a single incident would do much to assuage the justifed concerns Canadians have with the mission. But with the Cons ensuring a minimum of transparency and effectiveness even for an inquiry process designed to get at the truth, there's all the more reason for concern that much of the story surrounding Afghanistan and other issues is being hidden from the public eye.