Australian 'war crimes': Elite troops killed Afghan civilians, report finds

[K Shehzad]

In an inquiry report released by Australian Defence Force, has said that Australian elite soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people during the Afghan war.

The much awaited report after finding the credible evidence recommended investigations against nineteen current or ex-special forces soldiers over killings of civilians during 2009-13 in Afghanistan.

 

[+4vsgorillas-Apebane]

Talk the biggest bullshit about humam rights and high horse values but act like savages when they think no one is watching.

I'm certain the numbers are higher. Much much higher.

 

[HAIDER]

Australian special forces allegedly killed 39 unarmed Afghans: report
Reuters 19 Nov 2020
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An honour guard is formed at Defence Headquarters in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Nov 19, 2020, before findings from the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry are released. — AP



Australian special forces allegedly killed 39 unarmed prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan, with senior commandos reportedly forcing junior soldiers to kill defenceless captives in order to “blood” them for combat, a four-year investigation found.
Australia said on Thursday that 19 current and former soldiers will be referred for potential criminal prosecution for allegedly killing the 39 Afghan locals.
Detailing the findings of a long-awaited inquiry into the conduct of special forces personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, Australia's General Angus John Campbell said there was credible information of 39 unlawful killings by 25 Australian Special Forces personnel in 23 separate incidents. All of those kills were outside the “heat of battle”, Campbell said.
“These findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values,” Campbell told reporters in Canberra.
“The unlawful killing, of civilians and prisoners is never acceptable.”
The report said the majority of those killed, which included prisoners, farmers and other Afghan locals, were captured when they were killed and therefore protected under international law.
Following the recommendations of the report, Campbell said 19 current and former members of Australia's military will be referred to a soon-to-be appointed special investigator to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to prosecute.
Australia's Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds said last week that Canberra had been advised that local prosecution would negate charges at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
'Blooding'
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had earlier warned the report would include “difficult and hard news for Australians”, but few expected some of the most shocking revelations.
While the report was heavily redacted, it included allegations that senior special forces personnel ordered the killing of unarmed Afghans.
“There is credible information that junior soldiers were required by their patrol commanders to shoot a prisoner, in order to achieve the soldiers first kill, in a practice that was known as blooding,” the report read.
Once a person had been killed, those allegedly responsible would stage a fight scene with foreign weapons or equipment to justify their action, the report concluded.
The actions did not immediately come to light due to what the report concluded was a culture of secrecy and compartmentalisation in which information was kept and controlled within patrols.
The veil of secrecy was a key reason that the allegations took so long to come to light.
Although it has been the subject of rumour, Australia's official investigation only began after the publication of classified documents about alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
A former military lawyer, David McBride, has been charged with providing the classified papers to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. He admits that he supplied the papers, but says it is in the national interest.
The four-year inquiry was conducted by New South Wales state Judge Paul Brereton, who was appointed by the Inspector-General of Defence in 2016 to investigate rumours of war crimes in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2016.
The inquiry examined more than 20,000 documents and 25,000 images, and interviewed 423 witnesses under oath.
The report recommended Canberra should compensate victims' families even without a successful prosecution.
Campbell said he would seek to revoke citations for special operations task groups that served in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013.
The release of the report came after Morrison spoke with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
“The Prime Minister of Australia expressed his deepest sorrow over the misconduct by some Australian troops in Afghanistan,” Ghani's office wrote on Twitter.
Australia has had troops in Afghanistan since 2002 as part of the US-led coalition fighting the Taliban militia.
Australia has about 1,500 troops remaining in Afghanistan.

 

[Taimoor Khan]

Animals.

 

[Mav3rick]

So very very sad, even good people turn evil under influence of evil.

 

[Schlussel]

When International Criminal Court is taking up War Crimes investigation/prosecution?

 

[fallstuff]

Its on news here today.

 

[lastofthepatriots]

At least they are being held accountable.

 

[farok84]

Australian 'war crimes': Elite troops killed Afghan civilians, report finds - BBC News

A misconduct inquiry uncovers a "shameful record" of a "warrior culture" among some soldiers.

www.bbc.com

 

[Awan68]

So very very sad, even good people turn evil under influence of evil.

What????

 

[lonelyman]

In an inquiry report released by Australian Defence Force, has said that Australian elite soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people during the Afghan war.

The much awaited report after finding the credible evidence recommended investigations against nineteen current or ex-special forces soldiers over killings of civilians during 2009-13 in Afghanistan.

then stay the hell out of any Muslim country and withdraw your force and stop dropping bombs

 

[Imad.Khan]

Up to 3000 Australian troops could lose awards after war crimes report
Thousands of current and former Australian troops could be stripped of their accolades after a war crimes report detailed horrific allegations.

Finn McHugh
NCA NewsWireNOVEMBER 20, 202011:45AM

Australia's Chief of Defence Force Angus Campbell admitted there was an element of 'collective responsibility' even though the alleged 'unlawful…


Up to 3000 Australian soldiers could be stripped of accolades amid the fallout from Thursday’s horrific Afghan war crimes report.
The report found evidence of 39 murders by Australian special forces, recommending 19 troops be investigated by the AFP. It uncovered evidence senior troops pressured juniors to murder Afghan civilians and achieve their first kill as part of a perverse initiation ritual called “blooding”.
A review has been launched into all individual accolades awarded in Afghanistan, with decisions to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Up to 3000 Australian soldiers who served with the Special Forces in Afghanistan could now lose awards, a move Defence Force Chief Angus Campbell conceded would be a “hard blow”.

Up to 3000 Australian troops could lose awards after horrific allegations in the Afghan war crimes report. Picture: Department of DefenceSource:Supplied
“It will be done thoroughly. We’ve got to make sure that whatever we do, we treat people respectfully, we follow the processes, and we deal with it,” he told ABC Radio.
“This isn’t about ignoring it or avoiding it. It’s about making sure we cause no more damage or distress that might otherwise emerge in a very, very difficult situation. But we are determined to deal with it.”
A Meritorious Unit Citation awarded to the Special Operations Task Group for “sustained and outstanding service” has been revoked.
General Campbell says the horrifying details revealed in the Brereton Report speak to a “collective responsibility” and a “disgraceful and a profound betrayal of the Australian Defence Force’s professional standards and expectations”.

ADF Chief Angus Taylor says revelations in the report are a ‘disgraceful and a profound betrayal’. Picture: Mick Tsikas / Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
He said stripping accolades for the unit as a whole was appropriate.


“People understand why it is necessary. These unit citations are quite rarely given, and they’re given for the most meritorious of service,” he said.
“With so many allegations and so many people coming forward to the inquiry, it is difficult to see any way that a claim to maintain that citation can be sustained.”
Veterans Affairs Minister Darren Chester conceded Thursday was a “very dark day” but said the accused soldiers deserved the presumption of innocence.
The allegations should not cloud the good work done by the vast majority of the nation’s servicemen and women, he said.
“We want to be careful as Australians today that we don’t all lead to judgment. That we actually get a message to our serving men and women that we have their backs because they have had our backs,” he told the ABC.
General Campbell will have his own Distinguished Service Cross reviewed.
He said he personally “did not see” evidence of war crimes when serving in the Middle East but accepted the “there is a responsibility to know, to be curious, to understand what is going on in your organisation”.
“That’s the issue that is most painful for those who were in the senior command roles,” he said.
“What I saw, what I didn’t connect, what I perhaps walked past. I did not see these things, but I’m left wondering what did I miss and what could have been done otherwise?”
Although the report largely exonerated the upper-echelons of the ADF, former Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said responsibility went to the top.
“These people were put in the most difficult of circumstances. They were fighting a war against an enemy which plays to no rules,” said Mr Fitzgibbon.
“There is no excuse for the alleged actions, absolutely not, and they will pay a very heavy price for their alleged acts.
“But I think people right up the chain of command, in the Committee of National Security and the Cabinet, all have to take some responsibility about what we are seeing playing out here.”

 

[Mav3rick]

What????

Aussies are generally nice people, it is just that under the influence of evil USA, Australian forces also turned evil.

 

[Awan68]

Aussies are generally nice people, it is just that under the influence of evil USA, Australian forces also turned evil.

What do u knw about aussies,. i live here, no nation is nice, its comprosed of human biengs, human biengs when godless can be evil in the purest form, u dont need the US for that, US did not ask them to do this, they did this and hence are responsible for this, fyi.... if u really know aussies and yanks, yanks are more reasonable and nicer than aussies.

 

[Ahmet Pasha]

In an inquiry report released by Australian Defence Force, has said that Australian elite soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people during the Afghan war.

The much awaited report after finding the credible evidence recommended investigations against nineteen current or ex-special forces soldiers over killings of civilians during 2009-13 in Afghanistan.

These must be the ones that were too difficult to hide. These khanzeers must've done a lot more. American crimes are never investigated even though their veterans talk openly about it.