Kevin Patterson under investigation for Afghanistan story
According to a story in The Globe and Mail, author Kevin Patterson (who is also a doctor) is under investigation by the Canadian military for an article he wrote for the July/August issue of Mother Jones magazine that includes, in part, a graphic description of Patterson’s attempts to save the life of a young Canadian soldier. Patterson served for six weeks as a doctor in Kandahar. At issue is the fact that, in the article, Patterson names the soldier, who died of his wounds. For his part, Patterson says that the soldier’s death was covered at the time in the Canadian media, and thus his identity would have been easily discovered.
Patterson’s account of his time in Afghanistan will be included in Outside the Wire, an anthology of essays and interviews on Canada’s involvement in that country, to be published this coming December by Random House Canada. Patterson co-edited the book with former McDermid Agency agent Jane Warren. (Random House publisher Anne Collins wrote a letter to The Globe in support of Patterson.)
Elsewhere, Toronto political blogger Jack Cunningham defends Patterson’s actions on his blog Whig, even going so far as to suggest that the military’s actions may be politically motivated. Commenters on Cunningham’s blog, however, say the issue is clearly patient-doctor confidentiality.
