You would have to be a Catallaxy level idiot not to see a huge problem with the way some members of the SAS were operating, and how others were letting it slide, as well as how the Army could initially credulously accept version of events which let them label a killing as self defence. I mean, there was even audio of other SAS members saying they knew that what one of their guys was doing was wrong and he was crazy to let anyone else see it happen. They also knew it was counter-productive to winning the PR war with the locals.
I know it's true that the Army - and the SAS in particular - gets to experience the worst of wars by being so "up close and personal" with the death and destruction. But I also found years ago, from personal experience, that Army officers generally were easily the most "up themselves" of any in the ADF, with a somewhat obnoxious belief in their being the only really "serious" arm of defence. It doesn't surprise me that they would be the service with the biggest cultural inclination to excuse themselves of criminality.
A major reckoning is coming - and is well overdue.
Update: took him a while, but Catallaxy level idiot CL weighs in with a post which is essentially a complaint about how dare the ABC expose a likely war crime. I doubt he actually watched the 4 Corners program itself, which makes clear the whole internal culture issue, and I also have no doubt he has no personal experience of the defence force. Just a culture war idiot whining.
Update 2: read the comments following the thread, and how patently obvious all (or nearly all) have not watched the ABC program in question. (One points out he hasn't watched 4 Corners since 1997! Another claims that you just can't trust anything the ABC says, clearly ignorant of the fact that she can watch the video killing with her own eyes!)
CL himself, displaying his routine level of ignorance and supposition, opines:
I assume the man was shot because it was a very hot op, he was considered a spotter/combatant and they couldn’t wait around for MPs to arrive. Being tied up with him for any length of time may also have made them sitting ducks.
They deliberately stay ignorant, but are sure that it must all be a beat up anyway. Because ABC.
3 comments:
The key to good statesmanship is to make your wars BIG AND SHORT or not at all. This corruption of our lads behaviour came about because we left them in the field too long, and for no good reason. In all cases where they have misbehaved they must be punished, but not over-punished. Because its the decision-makers who left them exposed for that length of time, that are responsible, for their predictable moral degradation. No-one should be left unpunished. But some sort of understanding is in order here.
Its our leadership who should have their heads stuck up on pikes outside of our parliament buildings. Just to remind them that the second goal of military policy is to bring our boys safely home to Momma and very quickly at that.
very rotten
Actually, Graeme sounds reasonably sensible in that comment (well, if you exclude the heads on pikes image). Leave soldiers in a dirty war with no prospect of long term success, and they get embittered and will seek to take revenge on the population illegally.
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