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- An investigation into wars crime committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan has revealed the murder of 39 people by 25 Australian special forces personnel
- Those killed include Aghan prisoners, farmers, and other civilians in “possibly the most disgraceful episode in Australia’s military history”
- The report said SAS soldiers engaged in an appalling practice called “blooding”, where junior soldiers were commanded to shoot a prisoner to get their first kill
- In some cases, foreign weapons or military equipment were then placed with the body to make it look like the victim was a genuine threat
- The report has recommended 36 incidents be referred to Australian police for criminal investigation and 19 soldiers be investigated for murder
- Other recommendations include immediate compensation for the victims’ families in Afghanistan and the cancellation of military awards given to many soldiers
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologised personally to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for the soldiers’ misconduct in a phone call this morning
An investigation into wars crime committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan has revealed the unlawful killing of 39 people by 25 Australian special forces personnel.
Australian Defence Force (ADF) Chief General Angus Campbell released the final report into war crime allegations today, outlining what he called “appalling” and “deeply disturbing” findings of the conduct of Australian special forces.
The ADF chief said a culture of “toxic competitiveness” within the Special Air Service Regiment, commonly known as the SAS, led to rule-bending, corner-cutting, and, ultimately, war crimes.
Major General Brereton, who lead the investigation, interviewed 423 witnesses and scoured 20,000 documents and 25,000 images when putting together the report.
The report said that the findings of the investigation reveal “possibly the most disgraceful episode in Australia’s military history”.
The findings
A redacted version of the report has been released to the public, revealing the “murder” of 39 Afghan civilians by Australian military personnel and the mistreatment of two others.
Those alleged to have been killed include prisoners, farmers, and other civilians.
“None of these are incidents of disputable decisions made under pressure in the heat of battle,” the report said.
In some cases, junior soldiers were ordered by commanding officers to shoot prisoners to get their first kill — an appalling practice known as “blooding”, General Campbell said.
Moreover, the report alleged that some members of the Special Operations Task Group carried “throwdowns” — foreign weapons or military equipment like radios and grenades — that they placed with the bodies of the murder victims.
This was done so that the victims would appear to be “enemies killed in action”; a ruse to portray that the killings were justified.
“This practice probably originated for the less egregious though still dishonest purpose of avoiding scrutiny where a person who was legitimately engaged turned out not to be armed. But it evolved to be used for the purpose of concealing deliberate unlawful killings.”
Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry Report, 2020
Some of the incidents occurred between 2009 and 2010, though General Campbell said most happened in 2012 and 2013.
The report largely absolves senior command of blame for the war crimes, instead putting the responsibility on patrol commanders.
“While it would have been much easier to report that it was poor command and leadership that was primarily to blame for the events disclosed in this report, that would be a gross distortion,” the Brereton report said.
“The criminal behaviour of a few was commenced, committed, continued and concealed at the patrol commander level, that is, at corporal or sergeant level.”
What happens now?
First and foremost, the report stressed that due to the nature of the inquiry, it cannot and does not find guilt in any individual case. This process can only be done in a court of law.
As such, the report has recommended 36 incidents be referred to Australian police for criminal investigation and 19 soldiers be investigated for murder.
Other recommendations include paying immediate compensation to the victims and their families, cancelling medals of honour and awards received by several officers, and revoking the Meritorious Unit Citation for special operations task groups who served in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013.
The Meritorious Unit Citation is a decoration awarded to Australian military units.
“I have accepted all of the Inspector General’s findings and a comprehensive implementation plan is being developed to action his 143 recommendations and any additional measures necessary,” General Campbell said.
“I will lead this effort, supported by the Chief of Army and other senior defence leaders.”
He said the Chief of Army will today announce changes to the army’s order of battle — that is, its organisational structure.
When asked about what he would say to the families of the Afghan civilians killed by SAS soldiers, General Campbell said: “I am sincerely sorry for their loss, and I cannot imagine the pain and suffering and the uncertainty that loss has caused.”
“To the people of Afghanistan, on behalf of the Australian Defence Force, I sincerely and unreservedly apologise for any wrongdoing by Australian soldiers.”
General Angus Campbell, 2020
The office of Aghan President Ashraf Ghani said Prime Minister Scott Morrison personally apologised for the report’s finding in a phone call this morning.
In this telephone call, the Prime Minister of Australia expressed his deepest sorrow over the misconduct by some Australian troops in Afghanistan and assured the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan of the investigations and to ensuring justice.
— ارگ (@ARG_AFG) November 18, 2020
General Campbell said the actions of the few SAS personnel have undermined the ADF as a whole. He said moral authority is an element of combat power.
“If we do not hold ourselves on the battlefield at least to standards we expect of our adversaries, we deprive ourselves of that moral authority and that element of combat power,” General Campbell concluded.
Independent senator and former ADF member Rex Patrick also released a statement, calling on parliament to offer a formal apology to the people of Afghanistan.
“Unit and taskforce commanders, past and present, must step up and take personal responsibility for the actions of their personnel in what were clearly not isolated incidents. They should not await potentially protracted disciplinary and administrative processes of further investigation,” the senator stated this afternoon.
“Those commanders should step forward now, and publicly accept moral responsibility for their grave failures of command,” he said. “They should fall on their swords.”
