Semi-liveblog of Rae-Dosajnh Afghan detainee presser

12:17:22 PM
"We're mainly here to answer questions," -- an encouraging start from Bob Rae, at least from the perspective of the assembled media, although he and Dosanjh do come bearing what appears to be a remarkably thorough timeline -- a "timeline of torture", according to the headline -- from August 16, 2005 to last week. He'd also like to remind us all that this is not about the troops, or the support thereof -- everybody supports the troops, he notes. This has to do with cabinet, and what was known by whom, and when.

Dosanjh *also* wants to point out that this isn't just about Colvin's allegations at this point -- it's about what international organizations have been saying since 2005, and it's not going to be resolved in Question Period, or by a parliamentary committee.

Rae then goes through an amalgamation of his and Dosanjh's opening remarks in French. Good turnout of media, by the way -- I think pretty much every outlet is here, although I'm not sure if it's running live.

12:23:40 PM
Asked how he felt about the PM's most recent assertion of non-troop-supportingness, Rae reminds us of the collaborative efforts between the government and the Liberals in Parliament to extend this mission -- oh, those were the days -- and assures all Canadians, including the troops, that they're all concerned about the situation, and to call this unpatriotic is "frankly beyond the pale."

12:27:00 PM
Roger Smith wonders why this particular statement has so appalled the Liberals -- to the point that they put out a statement repudiating his words. Was it the venue? The comment? Dosanjh tries to stress the need to take this out of the partisan arena - yeah, good luck with that - but Smith persists, noting that the Liberals seem to be on the defensive. Are they getting a lot of feedback? Is that why they had to come out to the Foyer to reassert their support for the troops? Dosanjh notes that, as far as his experience goes, when he was at the airport yesterday, people came up to shake his hand and tell him to keep standing up for the troops -- *and* Canadian values.

12:29:45 PM
Rae gives a non-soundbyteable comment on what Canada's response should be to the anticipated request from President Obama on Afghanistan; he stresses the need to look at what's happening in Pakistan, for instance, but doesn't offer a pithy one liner of the "I'm skating" variety.

12:31:27 PM
And a question on a completely different part of the world, courtesy of the CBC's James Cudmore, who wonders about the upcoming elections in Honduras.

12:32:14 PM
The Canadian Press wonders about the link between "strategic concern" over the treatment of detainees, which retired General Gauthier stressed last week, with what's going on in the House and at committee, and Rae does a not bad job of explaining it -- the question of how you treat prisoners *is* critical to the success of the mission. "We don't believe in corruption, we don't believe in torture" -- and it's "perfectly rational" to question the government about whether it led in that direction. "One of the things we all have to reckon with is that we're trying to deal with the issue of abuse of people, and it's very important for Canada to continue to show real leadership" -- which is why he thinks 'justice would be well served' if the prime minister went forward with a public inquiry.

12:36:00 PM
Richard Brennan notes that Rick Hillier described Afghanistan as a "failed state" -- why, in that case, did we transfer prisoners there?  Rae suggests that question may be better put to Hillier, although he does use it to segue to his closing line about "getting to the bottom of it."