Can Canada be trusted?

In the midst of what turned out to be a bogus espionage scare over commemorative coins, senior Pentagon officials in Washington, D.C., speculated whether Canadians — widely considered to be among the United States' closest allies — might be "bad guys" involved in the spy caper.

"Who knows?" one official wrote in secret emails obtained this week by The Associated Press.

In sensational warnings that circulated publicly in late 2006 and early 2007, the Pentagon's Defence Security Service said coins with radio transmitters were found planted on U.S. army contractors on at least three occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors travelled through Canada.

In January 2007, the government abruptly reversed itself and said the warnings weren't true. But the case remained a mystery until months later, when AP learned that the flap had been caused by suspicions over the image of a poppy on the Canadian quarter.

What suspicious contractors believed to be "nanotechnology" on the coins actually was a protective coating the Royal Canadian Mint applied to prevent the poppy's red colour from rubbing off.

But at the height of the mystery, senior Pentagon officials speculated about Canada's involvement, according to emails marked "Secret/NoForn" and obtained by AP under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. The messages reflect the no-holds-barred attitudes over an inherent lack of trust within U.S. spy agencies.

"I don't think it is an issue of the Canadians being the bad guys," the Pentagon's counterintelligence chief wrote, "but then again, who knows."

Names blacked out

In the emails, released to AP with names blacked out but job titles disclosed, Pentagon officials question whether they should warn military officers in the U.S. Northern Command, who regularly met Canadian counterparts about classified subjects inside bug-proof, government meeting rooms. The rooms are known as secure compartmentalized information facilities, or SKIFs.

"Isn't the Canadian piece something that should be briefed to Northcom since the Canadians sit in their SKIFs?" asked the Pentagon's deputy director for counterintelligence oversight.

"Good point," replied the Pentagon's acting director for counterintelligence. "It is possible that DSS [the U.S. Defence Security Service] sent their report to Northcom. Then again, I don't think it is an issue of the Canadians being the bad guys, but then again, who knows."

'Put Humpty together again'

One email included a curious message on the same day the Defence Security Service publicly disavowed its warning about the spy coins.

"I am guessing y'all know the status of the Canadian coin situation," it read. It called for an internal meeting "to chat about the next step to put Humpty together again" and suggested notifying the media — and the Canadians.

The State Department, with tongue in cheek, reiterated Thursday that the U.S. trusts Canada.

"From the State Department's point of view, Canada is a trustworthy ally," spokesman Mark Toner told reporters. "I'd refer you to the Pentagon for anything else."