It's Children Overboard all over again. John Howard has put on the white gloves of ignorance and blamed everyone else for not telling him about what he should have known of the Iraqi prisoner abuse.
http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/01/1086058847228.html

If there is one message from what's happened, it is that when this Government is in a jam, it volunteers little except under duress. After a day and a half of probing by a Senate estimates committee, the Government yesterday had to capitulate.

O'Kane was kept away from questioning by the senators. The man who was apparently old enough and experienced enough to be helping respond to serious allegations of prisoner abuse was said to be too young and junior to appear before Australian senators.

It was clear at the weekend that Howard was making sure he had "deniability" if he needed it. Pressed on the Seven Network about when the Government and bureaucracy first knew of the allegations, he stressed, over and over, that what he was saying was what he had been told by Defence.

If Howard's behaviour has a familiar ring, that of Smith and Cosgrove is inexplicable.

The pair put out a statement about 5pm on Friday designed to defuse the issue.

They said O'Kane's recollection was that "he heard about the seriousness of this issue about the same time as the CNN media reporting in late January".

"As part of his work in the coalition headquarters, Major O'Kane worked on a response to the first October 2003 (Red Cross) report. It is understood from Major O'Kane that the October 2003 report raised general concerns about detainee conditions and treatment, but no mention of abuse."

Almost as soon as this hit the Canberra press gallery, Defence officials who were working night and day in preparation for the Senate estimates hearing realised it was wrong. The October report was much more serious; O'Kane knew a lot more much earlier. By Sunday, after more intense work over the weekend, it was obvious it was totally inaccurate.

But did Smith and Cosgrove fess up on Monday morning? No. Only late yesterday morning, just before Howard's news conference, did Smith read a grovelling retraction.

One supposes the timing was on political orders, but the tactical thinking was obscure and the result was to further discredit a pair already impaled on their swords.