A rogue squad of SAS soldiers is accused of murdering multiple bound or defenceless Afghan detainees, according to insiders who have some knowledge of the landmark Brereton inquiry into war crimes which is due to report within weeks.
The report, by senior judge Paul Brereton, has taken four years to complete and is underpinned by detailed confessions by Commando and Special Air Service Regiment soldiers who have admitted that they participated in or covered up the execution of unarmed prisoners and defenceless Afghans. The killings breach the rules of war and Australia's criminal code.
SAS soldiers on patrol in Afghanistan.Credit:Simon O'Dwyer
The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald have also obtained a letter written by Australia's former special forces commander, Jeff Sengelman, who blames the war crimes scandal on a "compromised" chain of command, describes special forces' misdeeds and cover-ups as "shameful and embarrassing", and warns a failure to reform would render the SAS and Commando regiments "strategically irrelevant".
"Many have opined to me that the unacceptable behaviours ... were somehow justified by operational imperatives, our sacrifice, and the stressors associated with combat operations," Mr Sengelman wrote in the April 2016 letter.
"While I am not insensitive to how this attitude may have arisen and am the first to acknowledge the exceptional commitment and sacrifice that operational service has required; this is not and never will be a satisfactory justification for deviation from standards or unacceptable behaviour. This cannot be in doubt. If it is for you, then we need to speak."
The SAS insignia: Who Dares Wins.Credit:Ken Irwin
While the contents of the Brereton report will remain classified after Justice Brereton hands it to Defence Force Chief Angus Campbell in coming weeks, some insiders have received general briefings about its findings and it is believed Justice Brereton will identify a small group of rogue SAS soldiers as responsible for multiple murders.
Justice Brereton is expected to send several war crimes referrals to the Australian Federal Police, sparking new police investigations in a move likely to require the AFP to dramatically boost the resourcing of its existing war crimes investigation teams. Those teams have been conducting two war crimes investigations since June 2018 into Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith after referrals by now former defence chief Mark Binskin. Mr Roberts-Smith denies all wrongdoing and is suing Nine Entertainment, the owner of this masthead, for publishing allegations that he is a war criminal, a key target of the Brereton inquiry and that he punched a woman in a domestic violence incident.
Defence has spent months planning its public response to the independent Brereton inquiry report, according to Defence sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. The sources anticipate a summary of Mr Brereton's findings will be released to the public.
The Age and Herald have interviewed more than a dozen serving and former insiders who have some knowledge of the findings and defence's anticipated response. The Brereton report is expected to expose:
- a rogue group of SAS soldiers, variously consisting of four to five men, executed multiple bound or defenceless prisoners to boost "kill counts" – a personal tally of Afghans shot dead – with no regard for the laws of armed conflict;
- a small number of commandos and SAS soldiers executed prisoners believing more senior soldiers had given tacit support for unlawful killings; and
- poor leadership and oversight, with some officers blind to warning signs that pointed to a collapse in basic morality among small soldier cliques.
The sources said they did not believe senior or mid-level officers had direct knowledge about war crimes. The evidence suggests small cliques of soldiers with relatively low ranks either participated in or witnessed war crimes but covered them up from the chain of command.
The letter written by Mr Sengelman in 2016 outlines cultural and systemic failings that Justice Brereton's report exposes. Mr Sengelman wrote that the Special Operations chain of command was "compromised" by weak officer leadership, exacerbated by officers and soldiers who championed a "warrior" culture at the expense of "ethical behaviour, moral outlook, or integrity of character". Mr Sengelman asked commandos and SAS soldiers to write to him directly with allegations of impropriety in 2015, prompting the Brereton inquiry.
Mr Sengelman's letter also champions the SAS and commando whistleblowers who exposed the war crimes even if it meant implicating themselves in wrongdoing. Defence top brass is preparing to highlight the fact that it was special forces' insiders who bravely exposed their own dirty laundry – risking their own careers and even jail time – when a summary of the Brereton report is released to the Australian public.
Former Special Operations Commander Jeff Sengelman.
Defence also intends to highlight the decision by Mr Sengelman and defence force chief Angus Campbell to ensure the whistleblowing was acted on, rather than being covered up. Mr Sengelman was the major general in charge of the commandos and SAS from 2014-17.
Mr Sengelman's letter makes clear that by 2016 he believed shocking behaviour had occurred while special forces were deployed to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2015. It was addressed to whistleblowers inside the Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) who exposed "toxic stories and anecdotes that have circulated unchallenged within Command too long".
"Never again can the SOCOMD chain of command be so compromised ... as it directly questioned trust between us all," Mr Sengelman wrote.
His letter warned that further efforts to cover up misdeeds in Afghanistan would make special forces "strategically irrelevant" and shake "the faith of our senior leadership, [overseas] partners and allies have in us to undertake discrete and sensitive missions".
"What it conveys to the rest of our Army and Defence Force is, frankly, shameful and embarrassing. We must never give our senior leadership reason to question their faith in selecting us to prosecute missions in the national interest," he wrote. "Our individual judgment, actions and, importantly, our inaction as leaders and bystanders, are demonstrations of our character and ethos.
"When you see something unacceptable, demonstrate the moral courage to stand up and do something about it."
In March 2020, the senior army officer in charge of Australia's special forces, Major-General Adam Findlay, delivered a private briefing to his troops in which he admitted some elite soldiers had committed war crimes which might have been covered up, and that Australia's special forces would take a decade to recover from the long-running investigation. He blamed the atrocities on "poor moral leadership".
Nick McKenzie is an investigative reporter for The Age. He's won nine Walkley awards and covers politics, business, foreign affairs and defence, human rights issues, the criminal justice system and social affairs.
Gold Walkley award-winning journalist and author. He was the first Australian journalist to be embedded with special forces in Afghanistan,
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMihAFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL2Etd2Fycmlvci1jdWx0dXJlLWFuZC10aGUtbXVyZGVycy10aGF0LWZvbGxvd2VkLXdoYXQtd2VudC13cm9uZy13aXRoLXRoZS1zYXMtMjAyMDA5MjQtcDU1eXhkLmh0bWzSAYQBaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlYWdlLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9hLXdhcnJpb3ItY3VsdHVyZS1hbmQtdGhlLW11cmRlcnMtdGhhdC1mb2xsb3dlZC13aGF0LXdlbnQtd3Jvbmctd2l0aC10aGUtc2FzLTIwMjAwOTI0LXA1NXl4ZC5odG1s?oc=5
2020-09-25 13:34:00Z
CAIiEGL9GyibQWrKzwuLtqx0HUwqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowgNjvCjCC3s8BML6jmwY
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "A warrior culture and the murders that followed: What went wrong with the SAS - The Age"
Post a Comment