KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A handful of Canadian MPs on a secret visit to Afghanistan became part of a tightly managed political show that graphically illustrated the cloud of secrecy that persists over the country's mission.
The trip over the last two days was meant to showcase the changing face of Canada's involvement for the House of Commons defence committee. It was highlighted by extraordinary restrictions, not all of them aimed at keeping the Taliban in the dark.
Journalists embedded with the Canadian army at Kandahar Airfield were barred from covering the politicians until the last few hours of the visit, under an order that came as a complete surprise to senior commanders on the ground.
The directive came from Ottawa and included consultation with the Privy Council Office, the administrative wing of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office, said defence sources.
New Democrat foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar said it was an obvious attempt to ensure there was no repeat of the embarrassing fiasco caused by Maxime Bernier. The former foreign affairs minister prematurely called for the removal of Kandahar's controversial governor last month.
"The experience with Mr. Bernier probably has everything to do with it,'' Dewar said prior to boarding the plane for home. "Everyone else shouldn't have to pay the price for it.''
The handling of the defence committee's trip was an extraordinary break from its previous visits and from those of other dignitaries.
News of the presence of Canadian officials in Afghanistan is normally a closely held secret, but journalists had not been barred from covering their movements or meetings -- as long as the story is held until they are safely out of the country.
Keeping reporters away during the committee's visit is only the tip of the iceberg.
Despite the John Manley commission's call for the Conservative government to be more forthcoming about the Afghan mission, the restriction on information on the ground as it relates to reconstruction and development activities has become tighter.
Manley, a former Liberal deputy prime minister, was not available to comment Tuesday.
But a few days ago, Manley said in a CBC interview he's concerned information about the mission still wasn't getting out to Canadians. Part of the problem is the tight information control by the Prime Minister's Office, he said, and that key departments like Foreign Affairs and CIDA remain media averse.
Officials routinely put off, or refuse, interview and information requests from Canadian journalists in Kandahar -- sometimes because it conflicts with the Foreign Affairs Department's weekly briefing given to the media back in Ottawa.
Although diplomatic staff in Kabul try to be helpful, the Canadian military remains the only institution in Kandahar that allows its members to speak on the record.
Information on Canadian-funded projects often come from Afghans instead of Canadians.
The defence committee's trip included a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and senior UN officials in Kabul, as well as provincial leaders in Kandahar City. The MPs said the meetings were informative and gave them confidence.
The fact that no Canadian journalists were present struck some of them as odd, and many said later they were unaware of the prohibition.
When MPs finally did speak to the media, Conservative committee chair Rick Casson defended the decision and said the military had told him it was a matter of security.
"We were told, not by the PCO, but by the defence people here, that it was a matter of security and as far as I'm concerned that's what it was,'' said Casson.
But many of the committee's meetings were held safely behind the wire at Kandahar Airfield, or at the nearby provincial reconstruction base which sees journalists come and go freely without the protection of the army.
Throughout the visit, their movements were recorded by Canadian army photographers and a video cameraman. Members of Combat Camera, as the military unit is called, were instructed to "hand out'' the pictures and footage to journalists.
Liberal defence critic Bryon Wilfert seemed prepared to be forgiving, emphasizing the mission was apolitical, but conceded that there is still a long way to go in getting the word out.
"The government has to do a far better job and I don't like managing messages at all,'' he said. "At the end of the day we want to make sure Canadians are informed.''
Major news organizations in Canada have maintained a presence in Kandahar since a Canadian battle group deployed to the region in early 2006.
Their reporters in Kandahar have had standing requests, some over a month old, to speak with Ottawa's civilian representative in the province, Elissa Goldberg.
In the case of The Canadian Press, the requested interviews have been postponed twice and not rescheduled.
Questions about potential stories on micro-financing, policing, Canadian-funded restoration of Afghan army barracks and renovations to the local prison in Kandahar have all languished.
However, members of the army's Combat Camera unit have been to Sarpoza prison to do a documentary. Unlike civilian media, they do not require written permission from the Afghan government for a visit.
