The blow-up in Parliament over the testimony of a former Canadian intelligence agent in Afghanistan is fraught with errors and missed opportunities. The agent, Richard Colvin, testified that from May 2006 through to the end of 2007 he frequently informed officials and politicians that Taliban prisoners transferred by Canadian forces to Afghani jails were being tortured by their Afghan jailers. While politically dangerous for the government if not handled well, few people were particularly surprised by the testimony.

What has been surprising is the way the government and many of its critics have responded. The government appears to have been overtaken by hysteria immediately upon hearing the reports of what Colvin said. In a classic case of ill-considered political management, Ministers shrilly denounced Colvin, making him out to be an unreliable fool and liar. His character has been trashed, his motives questioned and his competence denounced. As to the substance of the charge, the strategy has been simple – deny, deny, deny. Nothing was done wrong, brave soldiers just did their jobs and it is unpatriotic to raise any questions of this sort. Even the senior military officers and the Prime Minister have leaped into the fray.

The result has been a disaster for the government. Why has the government responded the way it has? Anyone with any skill in managing difficult political issues could have see immediately that this is a losing strategy. The government should have immediately done a few basic things. First it should have given the appearance of listening to what was said and of examining the situation seriously. Second, it should have set out its narrative about the challenges of taking Taliban prisoners and jailing them in a country where the government and the justice system are fragile and underdeveloped. Third, it should never have attacked Colvin’s character and believability. No-one will side with the government in that kind of attack. Fourth, it should have left room for the fact that mistakes and screw-ups could well have occurred over that time, but that the system has been fixed and can now be relied upon. As for response style, it should be cool, not red hot; considered, not fight or flight. And the Prime Minister should never become an attack-dog in these kinds of situations. Leave that to Ministers. And they should only engage in attacks on politicians, and then only when it is credible to do so.

This government looked until this week as if it has gained some maturity and skill in handling hard political issues. All of that has been undermined in less than a week. It is amazing to watch a government make so many huge missteps in a weeks time. One wonders who is responsible for this strategy. Are there no senior people who have the power and smarts to prevent these kinds of things from happening? Is there no adult supervision in the Cabinet Office?

Meanwhile on the other side there has been a unseemly number of people lighting their hair on fire with claims that war crime charges will, or should be, proceeded with immediately. They may be right. But for the moment they way overshoot the mark with this claim. The extremity of the claim, with so little evidence yet available, is almost as off-putting as the defenses of the government. It has undermined their credibility almost as much as the government has undermined its own credibility. I have no doubt that prisoners were tortured. But we know next to nothing about the circumstances. There are any number of extenuating circumstances that make charges unlikely – the fact that these are actions of a democratic nation, the circumstances of the transfers, the environment within which they took place, are all factors . There is considerable discretion for prosecutors in such case. It is very unlikely that any Canadian is going to stand trial on this matter whatever the evidence. They may have screwed up, but it is not credible that a federal minister or Canadian General deliberately subjected prisoners to torture as a strategy. But torture is wrong. We live in a democracy that officially proscribes it. The issue must be addressed by Canadians holding the government politically accountable. Answers must be provided and if anyone is fount guilty of wrong-doing they must be dealt with through exposure and dismissal.

It is time for cooler heads to prevail. The committee should continue its work. MP’s and Cabinet, including the Prime Minister should keep cool. They should answer questions. They should avoid extreme opinions. They should not attack public officials like Mr. Colvin. He is more believable to the public than they are right now, which is always the case in these kinds of situations. They will lose that fight politically. Someone needs to tell Mr. Harper and MacKay this, since they seem not to get it themselves.

And they should prepare to open the lid on what has been happening in Afghanistan with prisoner exchanges. They should explain the challenges and difficulties. And they should be open to admitting that things have not and perhaps could not be perfect. They need to stop attacking and begin to look reasonable and responsible. Above all they need to bring the temperature a way down. When in trouble a little humility can go a long way.